Some facts which aren't clearly grasped by the news media.
What was approved to be in DC was 21,000 National Guardsmen.
On the 14th, 7,000 from 14 states (this is straight from the Nat'l Guard HQ's itself in DC).
The rest? I would suggest that on Inauguration Day....they probably had in the 14k range and the rest will be there by this weekend.
Some being recalled back to their states? That has started but once federalized, they are not under the authority of the states.
The living quarters situation for the 21k? Some chatter indicates hotel rooms are being procured. The cost on this? Most of the decent hotels in DC are $200-plus for a two-bed situation. With 21k, it'd be a fair cost situation.
The more you look at this....three central questions arise:
1. Is there some central plan?
2. If a plan does exist....how many days are built into this?
3. Does this whole plan center on impeachment occurring and the Guardsmen are there only to protect the Senators/House Members?
The possibility that they'd react in a situation and do something really stupid? Like firing on unarmed protesters? That's generally what I'd worry about. The longer this goes on....the more unpredictable the landscape becomes.
Looking more like Beirut or Baghdad than some American city? This is part of the story that you can't really imagine.
So to the final concern....getting to the day after impeachment and conviction of Trump. Will the need for the Guardsmen go away? I'm more likely to believe now that a minimum of 20k Guardsmen will be there through the middle of April, and that 5k to 8k will be on duty throughout the rest of the summer.
If some incident occurs where 40-odd Americans are shot by Guardsmen....expect the 20k to be there for the rest of 2021. It'll be a harsh year to accept.
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