By Daniel Nardini
Recently, Federal District Judge Charles R. Breyer again ruled that the use of the National Guard for law enforcement was illegal under the Posse Comitatus Act in California. This puts another wrinkle in the plans of U.S. President Donald Trump to deploy the National Guard into other major cities. Nevertheless, Trump will not let this stop him using the National Guard in any major city—especially in states controlled by Democratic Party governors. I will not deal with the political ramifications of this move, but they are many. Above all else, the deployment of the National Guard to Chicago is a complete misuse of the military. I think the three most important functions of the National Guard is to help in emergencies and national disasters, fight in wars, and maintain order when there is no other authority.
In the case of Chicago, there is a functioning authority. There is the Chicago City Council, the Chicago Police Department, and all city emergency services. These are still very much functioning, and the city has not been over-run with chaos and violence on a scale Trump claims. Yes, there are serious crime issues and poverty is still a major problem. The two things that will help to solve these problems are more funding for the police as well as city programs to reduce poverty and providing more jobs so people can work and get themselves out of poverty. Sending in the National Guard is NOT a priority. Sadly, the federal government has cut a lot of the funding to all of these anti-poverty programs as well as funding for the police. This is just making a bad situation worse, and will make it harder for outreach to those people who need it the most. Plus the massive cutting of Medicaid will do serious irreparable harm to the poor already suffering more than enough.
One important difference between the local police and the National Guard is that the police have been trained in law enforcement. An average Chicago policeman receives a rigorous 18 month training session to be able to function on the streets. As we have now learned from federal court transcripts in California, National Guardsmen deployed to Los Angeles were handed a booklet on what they could and could not do in order to do law enforcement. This is bad because these Guardsmen were really not trained to handle a local situation. More often than not, the Guardsmen were trained to use force and deadly force rather than trying to diffuse a bad situation. If there is no other authority, the the National Guard becomes the law. Therefore, it is a bad idea to put the National Guard where law and order do exist. Worse, the National Guard might clash with the local police who are the ones most capable of maintaining law and order. Besides, the National Guard undermines not only the authority of the local government but also of the governor of a state, and this can lead to a breakdown of government.
Worse yet, what trust the local police and the City of Chicago have built up in the local communities would be erased. Essentially the National Guard is a foreign force that exists when no other force is present to maintain order. This logic seems to have escaped Trump. But then, Trump has been called the “fire hose of chaos.” What he is trying to do to Chicago has to call into question his mental as well as physical health and competency. But then I do not think that he is the one calling the shots. He could well start an actual conflict on American shores and in America’s major cities that could truly make the United States into a hellscape.
How Not to Use the National Guard
By Daniel Nardini
In the case of Chicago, there is a functioning authority. There is the Chicago City Council, the Chicago Police Department, and all city emergency services. These are still very much functioning, and the city has not been over-run with chaos and violence on a scale Trump claims. Yes, there are serious crime issues and poverty is still a major problem. The two things that will help to solve these problems are more funding for the police as well as city programs to reduce poverty and providing more jobs so people can work and get themselves out of poverty. Sending in the National Guard is NOT a priority. Sadly, the federal government has cut a lot of the funding to all of these anti-poverty programs as well as funding for the police. This is just making a bad situation worse, and will make it harder for outreach to those people who need it the most. Plus the massive cutting of Medicaid will do serious irreparable harm to the poor already suffering more than enough.
One important difference between the local police and the National Guard is that the police have been trained in law enforcement. An average Chicago policeman receives a rigorous 18 month training session to be able to function on the streets. As we have now learned from federal court transcripts in California, National Guardsmen deployed to Los Angeles were handed a booklet on what they could and could not do in order to do law enforcement. This is bad because these Guardsmen were really not trained to handle a local situation. More often than not, the Guardsmen were trained to use force and deadly force rather than trying to diffuse a bad situation. If there is no other authority, the the National Guard becomes the law. Therefore, it is a bad idea to put the National Guard where law and order do exist. Worse, the National Guard might clash with the local police who are the ones most capable of maintaining law and order. Besides, the National Guard undermines not only the authority of the local government but also of the governor of a state, and this can lead to a breakdown of government.
Worse yet, what trust the local police and the City of Chicago have built up in the local communities would be erased. Essentially the National Guard is a foreign force that exists when no other force is present to maintain order. This logic seems to have escaped Trump. But then, Trump has been called the “fire hose of chaos.” What he is trying to do to Chicago has to call into question his mental as well as physical health and competency. But then I do not think that he is the one calling the shots. He could well start an actual conflict on American shores and in America’s major cities that could truly make the United States into a hellscape.