The chief of bureau of the country’s National Guard has formally requested troops be withdrawn from Washington, D.C. But he has apparently been overruled by the Biden administration.
Biden’s nominated Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin says roughly 2,300 troops are to remain in Washington until late May. Additionally, the Department of Defense is considering placing the troops under mandatory activation orders. The troops’ mission was set to end this weekend but was extended by Austin after a request from the Capitol Police.
National Guard Chief of Bureau Pete Hokanson’s concerns stem from what he believes is an overstretch of the force amid competing demands on troop missions. He said finding other options for security was “highly preferable to requesting involuntary mobilizations under the present circumstances.”
Hokanson, a four-star general and member of the Joint Chiefs, made his recommendations known in a memo earlier this month. A copy of that memo, after reportedly circulating in the Biden White House this week, was obtained and released by Fox News.
Not only are there not enough troops for the initial planned deployment of 2,280 soldiers Hokanson says, there aren’t enough for an “Option B” which called for the deployment of only 1,000 soldiers.
Troops were brought into Washington after unrest took place at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6. The troops’ mission has been extended gradually ever since.
Local police authorities have said they are in possession of intelligence that says militia groups supportive of President Trump plan to lay siege to the Capitol Building and blow it up, with an eye toward killing as many members of Congress as possible. Those plans had a “direct nexus to the State of the Union” address to be given by Joe Biden, according to the acting chief of the Capitol Police, Yogananda D. Pittman.
No date had been set for a State of the Union address, however.
ITN has reached out to members of Congress and relevant federal agencies to obtain confirmation the underlying intelligence is being shared with Congress, the entity responsible for practicing oversight of such matters. We have received no confirmation. We also reached out to the White House yesterday for comment on General Hokanson’s recommendation for troop withdrawal being overruled. We received no response on that issue either.
Washington, D.C., watchers say, has come to resemble a fortified “green zone” similar to the four-mile wide perimeter set up around the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad at the height of the Iraq war. Concrete barricades and fencing complete with razor wire currently enclose the U.S. Capitol Building, the White House and other areas of the nation’s capital.
Scenes from Washington, D.C. tonight. pic.twitter.com/eRICzT0Yy6
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) March 4, 2021
Mr. Biden, tear down this wall! pic.twitter.com/QmsKfNs6DY
— Cassandra (@CassyWearsHeels) March 4, 2021
Questions surround the intelligence used to justify such measures as supporters of President Trump have warned each other for weeks to stay as far as away as possible not just from the nation’s capital but even from their own state capitals. The fear is that any presence can be used as an excuse for additional security lockdowns.
Candace Owens SLAMS the Democrat military occupation of Washington DC. @RealCandaceO @IngrahamAngle pic.twitter.com/aK3LdT7Dbi
— 🇺🇸Maggie VandenBerghe🇺🇸 (@FogCityMidge) March 5, 2021
The removal of the fortifications has become a bi-partisan issue however, now that even some Democrats are calling for their removal.
“We cannot have the Capitol complex closed off from the people permanently,” said D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton earlier this month. “There are state-of-the-art ways to protect the complex without fencing, which makes the United States look like a totalitarian regime trying to keep its own people out.”
We cannot have the Capitol complex closed off from the people permanently. There are state-of-the-art ways to protect the complex without fencing, which makes the United States look like a totalitarian regime trying to keep its own people out. pic.twitter.com/N2Yg1D0mwa
— Eleanor #DCStatehood Holmes Norton (@EleanorNorton) March 1, 2021
Leadership of the House Armed Services Committee issued a statement on troop presence challenging Austin’s decision as well. “The present security posture is not warranted at this time,” it reads in part.
ITN along with other outlets has been reporting for weeks on the mission-creep and how the foundation was being laid for troops never being withdrawn. That theory that was not laid to rest by Pentagon press secretary John Kirby this week. Kirby was asked if troops could remain in D.C. permanently. “I don’t’ think anyone can answer that question right now,” he replied.
General Hokanson’s memo is reproduced in its entirety below:
Policy Coordination Sheet
Subject: Extention of NG Support to U.S. capitol Police
Control number: OSD000469-21
NGB – Daniel R. Hokanson
Coordination Requested – 2 Mar
Coordination Received – 4 Mar
CNGB Recommendation: Non-concur W/Comments
Efforts to date have not secured enough volunteers among supporting states to meet the USCP request of 2,280 Soldiers, nor Option B of 1000 Soldiers.
Over the past 12 months, States have experienced unprecedented demand for National Guard utilization related to COVID-19, Civil Disturbance, wildfire, hurricane and flood response, all while meeting every combatant command deployment requirement. In addition, the states are currently increasing their internal requirements to support COVID-19 vaccination efforts and posturing for seasonal natural disasters as well as training for future deployments. This significantly increased operational tempo directly impacts our ability to continue to man the mission with volunteers. To date, only 500 have volunteered to extend through the draft RFA end date despite our best efforts to marshal more volunteers
Additionally, faced with pressing needs within their states, numerous Adjutants General and Governors have expressed their unwillingness to order the involuntary mobilization of NG personnel to man the mission. Moreover, I am concerned that the continued indefinite nature of this requirement may also impede our ability to man future missions as both Adjutants General and Guardsmen alike may be skeptical about committing to similar endeavors. Pursuit of other inter-agency law enforcement options seems highly preferable to requesting involuntary mobilizations under the current circumstances.
1. This is all theater. The National Guard were not deployed at the request of Congress or Biden’s puppeteers. They were deployed at the request of four law enforcement agencies: the Capitol Police, the Park Police, the Metropolitan Police Dept. and the Secret Service. This request was approved by Trump loyalists, Acting Secretary of the Army, John Whitley, and the Secretary of Defense, Christopher Miller. (https://www.c-span.org/video/?508316-1/pentagon-briefing-national-guard-stationed-washington-dc)
2. Congress has from the beginning understood that the Guard were there to arrest traitors, the corrupt and the abusers of children, and the leadership, especially Democrats, feel threatened by their presence. Remember Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’s dramatic performance after Jan. 6? She said, “It didn’t feel right, because he [the police officer] was looking at me with a tremendous amount of anger and hostility.” Congress knows why the military has deployed soldiers in DC.
3. General Lloyd Austin has absolutely no authority over the military. Hokanson is pretending that he wants to withdraw the soldiers; maybe he has discouraged soldiers from volunteering for duty in DC to create a pretext. Austin has been instructed by the military to oppose the drawdown; it’s control over Austin lies in the fact that he stole millions of dollars of oil revenues from Iraq, which is deserving of a firing squad.
4. Why this theater? If you recall, President Trump recently said that, from the beginning he should have stated, “There will never be a border wall.” Had he done that, Congress would have insisted on building it. Trump has learned that to get Congress to do what he wants he has to say he wants the opposite. So, Hokanson pretends he wants to draw down the National Guard presence, citing a lack of manpower, and Congress is forced to go along with Lloyd Austin and allow them to stay. That leak to Fox was intentional. It’s all part of a well thought-out plan.