Will National Guard retain 5K troops in DC through the fall? Far-right report mocks 'United States of Fallujah'
Thousands of National Guard personnel could remain in Washington DC through the fall of 2021, an internal email received by FOX 5 has revealed. According to the email, the National Security Council has asked the defense department to engage the Capitol Police to plan for support beyond March 12.
Military.com reported last month that the National Bureau is working as per a plan to call for volunteers from the 25,600 NG members in DC to stay on duty in the capital till mid-March. Guard members were flown into the DC in January to ensure the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris just two weeks after the attacks on the Capitol by the angry supporters of former president Donald Trump. Five persons have been killed in the protests. While the inauguration was conducted peacefully, the NG continued to field requests from the US Secret Service and federal law enforcement. Sources in the Guard said that nearly 7,000 troops would remain in the DC through the end of January. A Guard official told Military.com that the plan was to have up to 7,000 troops remain in the DC through March 12 though the details were not revealed.
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But now, it seems the Guard personnel might remain in the DC through the Fall of 2021. According to Fox 5, a meeting is scheduled on Wednesday, February 17, to discuss the issue. According to the report, Robert Salesses, who started to bear the responsibilities of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Global Security on January 20, 2021, wrote in the email: “If it’s not possible to sustain at the current level with NG personnel, we need to establish the number of NG personnel (DCNG and out-of-state) we can sustain for an extended period – at least through Fall 2021 – and understand additional options for providing DoD support, to include use of reserve personnel, as well as active component.”
On Thursday night, February 11, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton was asked by DC residents during a virtual town hall the duration of the stay of the National Guard in the DC but no straight answer came up. Fox 5 later contacted the DC National Guard on the matter and the following statement was issued: “The National Guard is conducting prudent planning for the eventual end of the security mission and the return of its Soldiers and Airmen to their home stations.”
Meanwhile, Stars and Stripes reported last week citing sources in the US Army and NG that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved a plan to retain 7,000 NG troops and airmen in Washington through March 12 and then 5,000 indefinitely. Austin has been accused by the conservative camp of politicizing the armed forces by trying to purge supporters of Trump in the military in the name of erasing extremism from their ranks.
Far-right news website Big League Politics slammed the Biden administration over the development saying it “will continue the military occupation of the US Capitol”. In a report, it added that “The Bill of Rights and Constitution are no more” and the presence of the troops in the Capitol will remind the Americans that “they no longer live in a free country”. “Welcome to the United States of Fallujah,” the report mocked and suggested that Biden, whom they referred to as “President-Imposed”, lost his legitimacy after the Senate rubber-stamped an election which is “marred with unprecedented fraud”.