Inside the Pentagon’s pitched battle to stave off use of active-duty troops to quell violence on streets

SUNDAY NIGHT: On May 29, demonstrations in the wake of George Floyd’s death had turned violent in the streets around the White House. The Secret Service and U.S. Park Police, backed up by a small number of D.C. National Guard troops, were outnumbered by protesters, including some who looted stores, defaced buildings, and lit fires, including in the basement of the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church across Lafayette Square from the White House.

“That Sunday evening, our soldiers and airmen, they were in the park with the second row behind law enforcement,” said McCarthy. “We had five soldiers hit in the head with bricks. One of which has a severe concussion.”

“There was a lot of confusion and not knowing just what we were dealing with,” he said.

One of the protesters tried to jump the White House fence, said Maj. Gen. William Walker, who commands the guard in D.C. “On a couple of occasions, they penetrated the line, and our guardsmen held the line and kept people from advancing on to the White House proper.”

“Sunday evening, security elements were almost overwhelmed,” said McCarthy. “We needed to put additional support down there to ensure we could enable peaceful demonstration and prevent another evening like we had Sunday night.”

MONDAY: By the next day, President Trump was telling the Pentagon that he was prepared to deploy active-duty troops to restore order, a drastic measure that would require invoking the 200-year-old Insurrection Act. Some units from Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, and Ft. Drum, New York, were already on the move to be staged outside the city.

Both Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley opposed the move, advocating that the mission be restricted to guard troops, who are trained to assist in times of civil unrest.

“The decision was made to have at the ready, and on hand in the vicinity, some regular troops,” said Attorney General William Barr on CBS. “But everyone agreed that the use of regular troops was a last resort and that as long as matters can be controlled with other resources, they should be.”

That set off a scramble to locate guard troops from other states that could be quickly moved to D.C.

But Barr denied reports on CBS and AP that in a stormy White House meeting, Trump said he wanted 10,000 federal troops on the streets ASAP. “That’s completely false,” he told CBS’s Margaret Brennan. “The president never asked or suggested that we needed to deploy regular troops at that point.”

MONDAY NIGHT: The facts of what happened Monday night in Lafayette Square remain in dispute, including when protesters began throwing frozen water bottles and what kind of riot-control agents were employed by police as they moved to clear the park in advance of a 7 p.m. curfew and President Trump’s visit to the fire-damaged church to hold up a Bible.

In Sunday’s conference call with reporters, Walker at first said the actions by protesters began before Park Police began the aggressive clearing action, but after being challenged by a reporter who was at the scene, he conceded the violence may have been after police began pushing the crowd back.

“Your summarization of what happened Monday night, having been there, was entirely — from my own eyes — was completely incorrect,” said Thomas Gibbons-Neff of the New York Times. He reported that Park Police initiated the attack into the crowd and that everything that happened afterward was a result of that.

“I don’t know what ultimately triggered the Park Police to make the clearing,” said McCarthy. “So I’m sorry if there was confusion about that.”

TRUMP DECLARES VICTORY: After a week of mostly peaceful demonstrations and a lifting of curfews, the Pentagon is now sending all the active-duty troops back to their bases and out-of-state guard troops back to their home states.

“I have just given an order for our National Guard to start the process of withdrawing from Washington, D.C., now that everything is under perfect control,” Trump tweeted Sunday, the day after an estimated 45,000 demonstrators filled the streets of downtown Washington. “They will be going home, but can quickly return, if needed. Far fewer protesters showed up last night than anticipated!”

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INSTITUTIONAL RACISM: In his Sunday appearance on Face the Nation, Attorney General William Barr said he does not believe that America’s law enforcement system is “systemically racist.”

“I think we’ve been in a phase of reforming our institutions,” he said, and “reform is a difficult task. … I think one of the best examples is the military. The military used to be an explicitly racist institution. And now, I think it’s in the vanguard of bringing the races together and providing equal opportunity.”

BLACK GENERALS MATTER: In recent days, three black generals, one current, two retired, have spoken passionately about the racism they experienced coming up through the ranks.

Gen. Charles Brown, who is poised to be the first black Air Force chief of staff, posted a powerful video on Friday titled “What I am Thinking About.”

“I’m thinking about how full I am with emotion, not just for George Floyd, but the many African Americans who have suffered the same fate as George Floyd. I’m thinking about protests in my country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty. The equality expressed in our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution that I’ve sworn my adult life to protect and defend,” Brown says as he appears to struggle to keep his emotions in check.

“I’m thinking about a history of racial issues and my own experiences that didn’t always sing of liberty and equality,” he continues. “I’m thinking about wearing the same flight suit with the same wings on my chest as my peers and then being questioned by another military member, ‘Are you a pilot?’ I’m thinking about some of the incidents and comments made without awareness by others,” he said. “I’m thinking about being a captain at the O club with my squadron and being told by other African Americans that I wasn’t black enough since I was spending more time with my squadron than with them.”

Retired Gen. Vincent Brooks, the former U.S. Korea commander, shared his experience as an African American man in the U.S. Army in a post on the website of the Harvard University Belfer Center, where he is a senior fellow.

“On my journey, there have been many episodes, painful to remember. In my youth as a military child, in my time at West Point, and in my military career, even during my time as an Army general, I was personally impacted by explicit and implicit bias, as was my father, as were my grandfathers and their fathers.”

Brooks writes that he feels both dismay and disappointment by recent events. “Dismay, because I remember too many personal encounters with issues of racism, explicit and implicit, that I hoped I would never see again” and “disappointment, because a sacred trust has been breached,” which he said “puts at risk our national security if Americans believe their military has become a domestic political instrument.”

“The recent actions by the President of the United States, in threatening the commitment of active duty troops for law enforcement if governors were not tough and did not ‘dominate the streets,’ and in maneuvering the two most senior leaders of the U.S. military — the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — into a position that politicized them by their presence during a time of active demonstrating and contested crowd control, breached this sacred trust.”

Retired Gen. Colin Powell, the first black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaking on CNN, said he was proud that retired officers are speaking out, even though traditionally, many avoid commenting on political issues.

“We have a Constitution, and we have to follow that Constitution,” he said. “And the president has drifted away from it. I’m so proud of what these generals and admirals have done and others have done.”

Powell opposed Trump in 2016 and said he will vote for Joe Biden this year.

“I was deeply troubled by the way in which he was going around insulting everybody, insulting gold star mothers, insulting John McCain, insulting immigrants — and I’m the son of immigrants — insulting anybody who dared to speak against him,” Powell said.

“And that is dangerous for our democracy. It is dangerous for our country. And I think what we’re seeing now, the most massive protest movement I have ever seen in my life, I think this suggests that the country is getting wise to this, and we’re not going to put up with it anymore.”

TRUMP’S RETORT: “Colin Powell was a pathetic interview today on Fake News CNN,” Trump tweeted after Powell’s appearance. “In his time, he was weak & gave away everything to everybody – so bad for the USA. Also got the ‘weapons of mass destruction’ totally wrong, and you know what that mistake cost us? Sad! Only negative questions asked.”

TROOPS REDUCTIONS IN GERMANY: Powell also criticized Trump for his decision to withdraw 9,500 troops from bases in Germany, apparently without asking for or heeding the advice of the Pentagon and without consulting U.S. allies in Europe.

Trump’s plan would cut the 34,000 U.S. troops in Germany by about one-third and cap the number at 25,000.

“It seems to all come out of the White House, without consultation with our Joint Chiefs of Staff. This is not the way the system is supposed to work.” Powell said.

“The president,” Powell said, “needs to understand the Constitution, understand the restraints on him and his authority, and talk openly with his military authorities about what is the right thing to do — and not fire them when he doesn’t get the answer he likes.”

ON THE OTHER HAND: “This reduction appropriately rebalances away from Europe, which is prosperous and relatively secure, and shifts the burden of joint security responsibilities to allies who can afford it,” said Enea Gjoza, a senior fellow at Defense Priorities.

“Those who lament this decision as a dangerous signal of weakening U.S. commitment to Europe fail to point to any concrete problem that it will cause. That is because the current U.S. military presence in Germany is a relic of the Cold War, when the Soviet Union posed an existential threat to Western democracies weakened by World War II. Today, the EU’s GDP is 11 times greater than Russia’s, and EU nations collectively outspend Russia 5-to-1 on their militaries. There is no threat to Europe meriting a large U.S. ground presence on the continent.”

INDUSTRY WATCH: Northrop Grumman has been awarded a contract by NASA to execute the preliminary design and development of “HALO,” the Habitation and Logistics Outpost.

“The HALO module represents a critical component of NASA’s Gateway serving as both a crew habitat and docking hub for cislunar spacecraft, or spacecraft that navigate between the Earth and the moon,” the company said in a statement. “HALO will feature three docking ports for visiting spacecraft, including the Orion spacecraft and other lunar support vehicles.”

HALO is to be deployed in lunar orbit as the first crew module of the NASA Gateway, a space station orbiting the moon providing vital support for long-term human exploration of the lunar surface and deep space.

The Rundown

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Washington Examiner: Ohio National Guardsman removed for alleged white supremacism activity online

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Washington Examiner: ‘The Greatest Generation’: Pence honors ‘selfless heroism’ of WWII veterans on 76th anniversary of D-Day

Washington Post: Pentagon’s Coronavirus Plan Includes Millions For Missile Tubes And Body Armor

New York Times: U.S. Marine Corps Issues Ban on Confederate Battle Flags

Defense One: Russia Puts Defensive Face On Its Nuclear Doctrine Ahead Of Arms-Control Negotiations

Reuters: Russian Hiring Of Syrians To Fight In Libya Accelerated In May

Washington Post: Russia’s Ally In Libya Is Battered By Defeats. But Moscow Has Wider Goals To Expand Its Influence.

AP: Iran doctor freed in swap for Navy veteran returns to Tehran

The Economist: The Belt And Road Initiative: Break Time. The Pandemic Is Hurting Xi Jinping’s Global Infrastructure Project

Forbes: Fog Of War: How Clever Technology Enables Military Pilots To See Through Smoke, Dust, Mist & Smog

Calendar

MONDAY | JUNE 8

9 a.m. — Atlantic Council and the German Marshall Fund transatlantic conversation with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on strengthening the alliance in an increasingly competitive world. Streamed live on the NATO website.

12 p.m. — Hudson Institute webcast: “Is Britain Still a Global Intelligence Power?” with former British Secret Intelligence Service Chief John Sawers and Ben Judah, research fellow at the Hudson Institute. https://www.hudson.org/events

3 p.m. — Jewish Institute for National Security of America conference call: “Space Force: Competition for Higher Ground,“ with retired Gen. William Shelton, former commander, Air Force Space Command; retired Air Force Gen. Kevin Chilton, former commander, U.S. Strategic Command; and Jeb Nadaner, JINSA vice president and senior fellow. https://jinsa.org/events

TUESDAY | JUNE 9

10 a.m. — Mitchell Institute Aerospace Nation webcast: “A Conversation with Will Roper,” who is the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology, and logistics. Invitation only. After the event, a recording will be posted at https://www.mitchellaerospacepower.org/aerospace-nation.

1 p.m. — Atlantic Council webinar on the future presence of U.S. forces and how the United States can support an independent and sovereign Iraq, with former Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali Alhakim; and Abbas Kadhim, director of the Atlantic Council’s Iraq Initiative. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event

2 p.m. G50 Dirksen — Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel markup of National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2021. https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings

2 p.m. — Woodrow Wilson Center Kissinger Institute on China and the United States book discussion via webcast on Superpower Showdown: How the Battle Between Trump and Xi Threatens a New Cold War, with co-author Bob Davis, senior editor at the Wall Street Journal; co-author Lingling Wei, reporter for the Wall Street Journal; and former Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., director, president and CEO of WWC. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/webcast

3:30 p.m. — Heritage Foundation webinar: “Keeping Pressure on Iran Through the UN Security Council,” with State Department Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook; and Brett Schaefer, senior research fellow for international regulatory affairs at Heritage. https://www.heritage.org/middle-east/event

WEDNESDAY | JUNE 10

10:30 a.m. — Heritage Foundation webinar: “Army Aviation – The Future of Vertical Lift,” with Brig. Gen. Walter Rugen, director, Future Vertical Lift Cross Functional Team., U.S. Army Futures Command; Patrick Mason, program. executive officer, aviation, U.S. Army; retired Army Lt. Gen. Thomas Spoehr, director, Heritage Foundation Center for National Defense. https://www.heritage.org/defense/event/webinar

11 a.m. — Middle East Institute webinar: “CENTCOM and the Shifting Sands of the Middle East,” with Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command; and Bilal Saab, senior fellow at MEI. https://www.mei.edu/events/centcom

11 a.m. — Heritage Foundation webinar: “Immigration and Border Security: Where Are We Now and What’s Next?” with Acting Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli; Lora Ries, senior research fellow for homeland security at Heritage; Hans von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow at Heritage; and James Jay Carafano, vice president of the Heritage Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute. https://www.heritage.org/homeland-security/event

11:30 a.m. — Mitchell Institute Aerospace Nation webcast: “A Conversation with Lt. Gen. L. Scott Rice,” who is the director of the Air National Guard. Invitation only. After the event, the recording will be posted at https://www.mitchellaerospacepower.org/aerospace-nation.

2 p.m. — House Armed Services Committee hearing: “Department of Defense COVID-19 Response to Defense Industrial Base Challenges,” with Ellen Lord, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings

2 p.m. — Nuclear Threat Initiative webinar: “The Military Case for Extending the New START Agreement,” with former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, co-chair and CEO of NTI; and retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, former director of the National Nuclear Security Administration. https://zoom.us/webinar/register

2 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies webcast: “The Military and Pandemics: Early Lessons and Future Actions,” with retired Army Lt. Gen. David Barno, visiting professor of strategic studies at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies; and Nora Bensahel, visiting professor of strategic studies at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. https://www.csis.org/events

THURSDAY | JUNE 11

10 a.m. — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security Defense Writers Group conference call conversation with Thomas McCaffery, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. https://nationalsecuritymedia.gwu.edu/

5 p.m. — George Mason University National Security Institute “NatSec Nightcap,” with former Sen. Saxby Chambliss, former vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence; and Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director, NSI. https://nationalsecurity.gmu.edu/natsec-nightcap