National Guard is Not THE Answer
I know there are a lot of folks cheering right now because President Trump mobilized the National Guard and put a seeming end to crime in our nation’s capital. All the statistics show a drastic decrease in crime, especially violent crime, in Washington DC since the National Guard arrived. Those young men and women from the National Guard have been out on the streets providing a presence and obviously having an impact.
I know there are even more people cheering because the next move, as being reported or claimed, is to replicate this action in numerous cities across the United States… starting in Chicago. There are rumors of more National Guard mobilizations and being placed under Federal control to augment police departments and Federal law enforcement agencies in a number of major metropolitan areas. It won’t likely stop at Chicago.
The assumption is, based on the short-term effect in Washington, we will see the same drastic crime reduction in the “blue cities”. But will we? My guess is we probably will, but only in the short term.
UNLESS YOU WANT NATIONAL GUARD OCCUPYING FOREVER.
The reality is, these cities have elected officials. They reside in states that have more elected officials. They are governed by policies emplaced by elected officials. They have police departments run by either elected or appointed officials at the local, county, and state levels. Federalized National Guard troops are a TEMPORARY solution. And when they leave, nothing will have changed. These cities will go back to being what they were BEFORE the National Guard showed up.
UNLESS YOU WANT NATIONAL GUARD OCCUPYING FOREVER.
These cities, like Chicago, have been slowly eroding under the weight of policies developed and implemented by Democrat leadership for decades. The police departments have had their collective backbones removed through budget cuts and social experimenting. District and States Attorneys have allowed criminal activity to flourish. Even the previous presidential administration was supportive of the types of policies that facilitated criminal activity.
So, when the National Guard leaves, unless ANY of this has changed these cities will revert to what they were. No policy change and no political climate change means nothing changes in those cities. Violent crime will take a short-term dip and everyone will cheer. But, the National Guard isn’t there to stay.
UNLESS YOU WANT NATIONAL GUARD OCCUPYING FOREVER.
And on the topic of those young men and women standing on street corners, walking presence patrols, and providing some impression of security, what happens when one of them gets killed? Or kills someone? Most people don’t realize these individuals and organizations are NOT TRAINED for any type of policework. Are there Military Police units in the mix? I am sure there are… but not all of them.
UNLESS YOU WANT NATIONAL GUARD OCCUPYING FOREVER.
Then, maybe, they will be trained enough to provide some real augmentation to the understaffed and underfunded police departments in these great cities. Right now, they are nothing more than a piece of plastic over a sucking chest wound. Great temporary solution, but unless you do some surgical repair, that patient is a goner. That is what is happening in our cities. A short-term solution that will amount to nothing if there isn’t significant policy and administrative changes.
UNLESS YOU WANT NATIONAL GUARD OCCUPYING FOREVER.
And, unless you didn’t get my drift we DON’T WANT NATIONAL GUARD OCCUPYING FOREVER. Personally, I don’t want them occupying at all. I think this is a horrible tactic and, while it may not violate the words of the Constitution, I believe it certainly violates the spirit in which it was written.
Make no mistake, we need solutions to violent crimes in these cities but the National Guard is Not THE Answer.