NationofChange
This month’s insurrection at the Capitol revealed the dismal failure of the Capitol Police and the Department of Defense to use their expertise and resources to thwart a clear and present danger to our democracy. As the government reform group Public Citizen tweeted, “If you’re spending $740,000,000,000 annually on ‘defense’ but fascists dressed for the renaissance fair can still storm the Capitol as they please, maybe it’s time to rethink national security?”
At a time of acute concern about the health of our democracy, any such rethinking must, among other things, focus on strengthening the authority of civilians and civilian institutions over the military in an American world where almost the only subject the two parties in Congress can agree on is putting up ever more money for the Pentagon. This means so many in our political system need to wean themselves from the counterproductive habit of reflexively seeking out military or retire
More Military Influence and Spending Has Not and Will Not Make Us Safer
Members of the National Guard arrive at the U.S. Capitol on January 12, 2021, in Washington, D.C.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images
By
This monthâs insurrection at the Capitol revealed the dismal failure of the Capitol Police and the Department of Defense to use their expertise and resources to thwart a clear and present danger to our democracy. As the government reform group Public Citizen tweeted, âIf youâre spending $740,000,000,000 annually on âdefenseâ but fascists dressed for the renaissance fair can still storm the Capitol as they please, maybe itâs time to rethink national security?â
By ALEX HORTON | The Washington Post | Published: December 23, 2020 WASHINGTON On June 1, federal police backed by National Guard troops fired tear gas at demonstrators near the White House, sending them running for cover in a barrage of pepper balls and flash grenades. By nightfall, as the protesters snaked their way downtown, two Army helicopters roared low overhead in an apparent effort to disperse the crowds. The mission, authorized by Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, stunned lawmakers and military law experts, prompting an investigation within the D.C. National Guard. That incident is one of several tumultuous moments that have tested McCarthy, the top civilian official in charge of the military s largest force, over the past year.
Show of force on U.S. streets and crisis at Fort Hood tested Army secretary this year Alex Horton Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy, left, accompanied by Gen. James McConville, Army chief of staff, on Dec. 8. (Andrew Harnik/AP) On June 1, federal police backed by National Guard troops fired tear gas at demonstrators near the White House, sending them running for cover in a barrage of pepper balls and flash grenades. By nightfall, as the protesters snaked their way downtown, two Army helicopters roared low overhead in an apparent effort to disperse the crowds. The mission, authorized by Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, stunned lawmakers and military law experts, prompting an investigation within the D.C. National Guard.