Townhall|Kurt Schlichter:
There are a lot of solid conservatives frustrated and appalled by the Biden Riots, and a lot of those folks wonder why Donald Trump doesn’t just make it all stop – you know, sort of like Grandpa Badfinger implicitly promises he will do if we restore the garbage liberal establishment, except with military force. “Call up the Guard,” right? But what folks do not understand are the practical problems with Trump using troops (sending federal law enforcement officers presents similar problems, but also a unique and big one – there just aren’t as many federal cops as there are soldiers). The devil is in the details, and the devil here makes Trump pulling the trigger on the troops in the current situation a very bad idea. We should support his strategic patience and not do what the Democrats want by getting mad at the president for refusing to stumble into an ambush.
Let me share some background. After I got off active duty the first time, I joined the California Army National Guard. For the next 23 years I participated in, planned, and commanded during multiple civilian support operations. I was in the Los Angeles Riots, the Northridge Earthquake, and I commanded two battalions along with other forces in northern San Diego County during the 2007 fires. I planned ops from platoon to state headquarters level, and wrote about civil support ops in Infantry magazine and even in a first-of-its-kind law review article. So, I know a little about this stuff.
And what I know tells me that, despite our fantastic soldiers’ abilities, this is a bad idea.
But why? Let’s address the donkey in the room – Democrat governors, mayors and district attorneys do not want military forces deployed and will at least refuse to cooperate with them, if not actively hinder them. That makes a blue city like Portland a “non-permissive environment,” and the military is certainly designed to operate in them. That’s why when the military moves in force with, say, an infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) of 5,000 soldiers plus support elements (thousands more), we essentially deploy a small town with everything we need to survive – food, fuel, ammo, medical, maintenance, commo, power, transportation, even lawyers. Typically, in cities engulfed in chaos, it’s a permissive environment. The cops work with us. They take custody of arrestees, hold them, and the DA prosecutes them. Hospitals take in our wounded and sick. We use local government property to operate out of. We have access to the infrastructure of society. But what if the Democrat regime refuses to allow all that? Then the troops are on their own; it’s now an invasion, and while doable logistically, it takes a massive footprint.
A permissive environment solves some, but not all of the issues we will review. A non-permissive environment makes the whole thing exponentially worse.
First, let’s think through the force package. Who do we send, and under what rules? more
Yeah, I read this earlier today – Makes perfect sense.
Very well worth reading. Lays out all the reasons why President Trump hasn’t sent in the National Guard to put down the insurrection in Portland. Anyone frustrated by what’s going on in Portland needs to read this piece.
Never in a million years would I have thought that a national guard unit or (regular army for that matter) being deployed within CONUS would even have to plan for a “non-permissive environment” because of anti-american demoncrats refusing to support them in ANY way at all.
Anyone who knows about the logistical effort required by the military to function that way knows that it will require forces from ALL branches of the military to make it work efficiently and effectively for the time it takes to complete its mission and that means a full-bore invasion into “friendly” territory.
People who are not familiar with that herculean-effort should read the linked article because it truly is a no-win situation for the president….he will dammed if he does and double-dammed when he does so even though it sucks for the locals to sit and take it…. it is the only option right now for Trump.
I agree completely for the feds to go after the head of the snake and take out PantyFa leadership then using the intelligence gained through “enhanced interrogation” roll up their logistical support for their war effort and charge everyone involved under RICO all the way up to soros himself along with everyone who gives support to the enemy, that way Trump can show positive results while cutting off the anti-americans ability to wag war against the USA on a nightly basis.
The left would love for Trump to send in troops, they’re hoping he will.
I don’t know the extent of efforts behind the scenes to get the leaders and financiers of this insurrection but I’m sure Trump knows he needs to cut the head off the snake.
I just keep in mind how many on his team are secretly working against him.
As I recall, we fought a war, losing 620,000 souls over this delegation of power back in the 1860s.
I fear we will again.
A Soldiers take indeed. We ran into many of these issues in Katrina with non-cooperative, corrupt, incompetent civilian leadership in Louisiana at the state, county, and local level.
If not for Gen Honore the whole thing would have blown up in Shrubs face. Whenever you use AD to perform a NG mission you are going to have real issues, and this very well trained Soldier has pointed out the challenges in even deploying the guard.
I would deploy the artillery units on the governor’s mansion and mayor’s residence in those areas.😁
Yes it is a trap and I am glad he had avoided it, but he could put out some ads about joining the national guard to troll the left.
“Now, federal troops are barred from enforcing civilian law by the Posse Comitatus Act, unless the president invokes the Insurrection Act. ”
Is that what Eisenhower used to send the 101st to Little Rock?
Good article. It provided the factual evidence supporting what all of us here know in our gut. Sending in troops would be reported as a hostile invasion, NOT a rescue mission. Instead, follow the money and take out the financial backers and those responsible for providing logistical support to the domestic terrorists.
I don’t know if Schlichter is the one that said, “You can vote yourself into socialism, but you have to shoot your way out.” I think everybody here wants to ignore the fact that you’re going to have to get your hands bloody to cure this problem. No, your enemy isn’t going to compromise, and they’re not going to be reasonable and allow you to walk off into the sunset with your property intact. They hate you and want you exterminated. Sorry to break it to you, but it doesn’t matter if Trump does or does not send in the troops. He’ll be blamed for whatever happens anyway.
Trump can’t send in troops. Can you imagine the headlines….good gawd..
Ferd Berfle SEPTEMBER 4, 2020 AT 12:41 PM
Trump can’t send in troops. Can you imagine the headlines….good gawd..
Seriously? How much worse can it be than it already is? He’s literally Hitler, he’s an evil racist, he wants to kill all visitors-from-other-lands-that-decide-they-want-to-live-here, he’s destroying this country, he wants to suppress the rights of mostly peaceful protestors. and anyone they kill is his fault. What’s left? Look, if you expect the 5th column that is the media to ever say anything positive about him, you’ve been asleep for 4 years.
Portland being a “non-permissive” area is not a good reason not to deploy troops if it becomes necessary. The federal government sent federal troops into non-permissive areas during the Civil War, such as Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, etc.
Also, we sent troops into non-permissive areas during WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, and are doing so currently in Afghanistan. In all of those places we sent the troops, support services went with them to supply and care for them, such as food and medical facilities. The entire military structure is there to support the troops.
I think it usually is a logistics nightmare, and results in lots of SNAFU’s. Sometimes, supply nightmares have to be expected and dealt with.