SUPPORTING, NOT ENFORCING: As the third day of protests over the death of George Floyd turned violent across the nation, governors in 24 states and the mayor of the District of Columbia activated tens of thousands of National Guard troops to assist law enforcement in controlling crowds and protecting property from vandalism and arson.
But for now, the more than 62,000 military reinforcements have largely been kept away from direct contact with demonstrators, instead protecting facilities, providing traffic control, and providing other backup support so local police can concentrate on confronting the angry mobs.
“The National Guard personnel assigned to these missions are trained, equipped, and prepared to assist law enforcement authorities with protecting lives and property of citizens in their state,” said a statement issued by the National Guard Bureau Sunday. “Guardsmen live in the communities they serve and are there to protect their neighbor’s right to protest peacefully.”
‘WE NEED TO DO BETTER’: Guard commanders are acutely aware that Americans are not accustomed to seeing military forces conducting domestic law enforcement, even though the posse comitatus prohibitions do not apply to forces under control of state governors.
“Although we do have the authority under the governor’s executive order to do law enforcement, we were not in a position and didn’t have to,” said Maj. Gen. Thomas Carden, adjutant general of the Georgia National Guard, in a conference call for reporters Sunday afternoon.
But Carden said calling on Guard troops to quell civil unrest should be a last resort. “I believe that we in America should not get used to or accept uniformed service members of any variety having to be put in a position where they are having to secure people inside the United States of America,” he said. “While we’re glad to do it and honored to do it, this is a sign of the times that we need to do better as a country.”
ARMED AND READY: While the National Guard troops are trying to leave the policing to the police, troops are armed with either lethal or nonlethal weapons depending on the local threat level.
In Minnesota, where the FBI relayed intelligence of a specific threat against the Guard, Gov. Tim Walz approved arming the guardsmen, although they were carrying ammunition separate from their guns.
“The FBI contacted the Minnesota National Guard on 28 May and described a credible lethal threat,” said Army Maj. Gen. Jon Jensen, the adjutant general of the Minnesota National Guard. “It was not a general threat against governmental agencies. It specifically said the Minnesota National Guard.”
In Denver, Guard troops are carrying nonlethal weapons, including batons, tasers, and pepper spray. “They were fully embedded with Denver PD,” said Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael Loh, Colorado’s adjutant general. “The Denver police chief Paul Pazen said if we have to use deadly force and I want my police officers to do it, and I want you to be in support.”
TRUMP’S SHOUTOUT: In a series of tweets, President Trump credited the Guard troops for restoring order. “Other Democrat run Cities and States should look at the total shutdown of Radical Left Anarchists in Minneapolis last night. The National Guard did a great job, and should be used in other States before it is too late!” he tweeted midday Sunday.
The Guard commanders, though, were quick to point out that it was local law enforcement who were on the front lines, not the Guard. “We’re in support of public safety, the Minneapolis Police depart. So it’s a team effort,” said Jensen. “The Minnesota National Guard has done nothing on its own … so any credit that the president would like to give the Minnesota National Guard, I would share it with my teammates.”
NO NEED FOR ACTIVE-DUTY TROOPS: Last Thursday, as the unrest first began to spread, Trump asked Defense Secretary Mark Esper to prepare options for the quick deployment of active-duty military police under federal authority to Minnesota if needed.
The Associated Press reported that soldiers from Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Drum in New York were given “get ready” orders. But by Saturday, the Pentagon was saying there were no plans to deploy the troops.
“At this time, there is no request by the governor of Minnesota for Title 10 forces to support the Minnesota National Guard or state law enforcement,” said spokesman Jonathan Hoffman. “As a prudent planning measure, the department has directed U.S. Northern Command to increase the alert status of several units should they be requested by the governor to support Minnesota authorities. These are units that normally maintain a 48-hour recall to support state civil authorities for several contingencies (like natural disasters) and are now on 4-hour status.”
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The markup sessions will be done in person but “in accordance to the latest health and safety guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of the Attending Physician, and Senate Sergeant-At-Arms,” the committee said.
ANTIFA RIOTS CONSIDERED DOMESTIC TERRORISM: President Trump is blaming much of the violence on the anti-fascist street movement known as antifa and on Sunday tweeted, “The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.”
“The violence instigated and carried out by Antifa and other similar groups in connection with the rioting is domestic terrorism and will be treated accordingly,” said Attorney General William Barr in a statement issued shortly after the president’s tweet.
“Federal law enforcement actions will be directed at apprehending and charging the violent radical agitators who have hijacked peaceful protest and are engaged in violations of federal law,” Barr said. “It is time to stop watching the violence and to confront and stop it. The continued violence and destruction of property endangers the lives and livelihoods of others, and interferes with the rights of peaceful protestors, as well as all other citizens.”
SECNAV SWORN IN: Kenneth Braithwaite was sworn in Friday as 77th Secretary of the Navy at the Pentagon, in a ceremony officiated by Defense Secretary Mark Esper.
“Today marks the honor of my life, taking the oath of office to become the 77th, but more importantly, our sailor and Marine’s, Secretary of the Navy,” said Braithwaite. “I am privileged to stand with the greatest Navy and Marine Corps the world has ever known in service to the people of America. Full steam ahead.”
Braithwaite, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, was joined by his family, the chief of naval operations, and the commandant of the Marine Corps. Later he released this message to all hands.
RETRIBUTION? Virginia Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine are crying foul over reports that top FBI lawyer Dana Boente was asked to resign Friday.
“Press reports indicate that he was pushed out of his position at the FBI following pressure from the highest levels of the Trump Justice Department as retribution for his role in the investigation of the president’s former national security adviser,” the two Democrats said in a joint statement. “If this is accurate, Mr. Boente appears to be one more victim of the Attorney General’s disturbing crusade to turn the Department of Justice into another arm of the president’s political campaign.”
ISIS CELEBRATES ‘DIVINE RETRIBUTION’: On the messaging service Telegram, pro-ISIS channels have been “expressing their joy at the outbreak of violent protests,” according to the terrorist monitoring group Middle East Media Research Institute.
“Pro-ISIS channels have been covering the events in detail, dubbing them a ‘civil war’ and viewing the riots as divine retribution for U.S. treatment of Muslims.”
“A channel dedicated to news coverage shared several video clips with footage from across the U.S. One post used the hashtag #AmericaBurning and the text: ‘The anarchy in the U.S. is continuing. Many police vehicles are being burned in Philadelphia, Dallas, and Los Angeles,’” MEMRI reported.
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: Secret Service rushed Trump to underground White House bunker as protesters gathered outside
Washington Examiner: Hungary makes ‘symbolic’ US arms purchase amid precarious ties to Russia and China
Washington Examiner: Republican senator: 62 leaks threatened national security in early days of Trump administration
Washington Examiner: Declassified transcripts of Michael Flynn calls with Russian ambassador released
Washington Post: Trump Is Unlikely To Deploy Military In Minneapolis Unrest, But Has The Authority To Do So
Washington Examiner: Ted Cruz seeks criminal investigation into Twitter for ‘blatant and willful violation’ of US sanctions against Iran
Reuters: Two Iranian Tankers Sail Back After Delivering Fuel To Venezuela – Data
Agence France Presse: Iran’s New Parliament Speaker Says Talks With U.S. ‘Futile’
Virginian-Pilot: Navy Jet Fighter Squadron Pulled Off USS Gerald R. Ford After Sailor Tests Positive For Covid-19
Military Times: New Coronavirus Cases Decreasing Among Troops, But Deaths Are Up Across DoD
Military.com: Former SEAL Sues SecNav and NYT Reporter, Claiming Leaks and False Reporting
AP: China’s First Homegrown Aircraft Carrier Conducting Sea Trials
Politico: Pompeo Says China Poses An Ongoing Threat To The West
AP: China Says U.S. Action On Hong Kong ‘Doomed To Fail’
Business Insider: ‘It’s An Awesome Gun’: U.S. Snipers Are Pumped To Get The New Rifle Soldiers, Marines, And Special Operators All Want
Military Times: 2020 Warrior Games Scrubbed By Marine Corps Over COVID-19 Concerns
Honolulu Star-Advertiser: Retired Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Hank Stackpole, Decorated Vietnam Combat Veteran, Dies
Calendar
MONDAY | JUNE 1
9 a.m. — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace webinar: “Politicized Security on the Korean Peninsula,” with Jina Kim, chief of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses’ North Korea Military Division; Bryan Port, former director of strategy for United States Forces Korea; Shin Beomchul, director for strategic studies at the Korea Institute for National Strategy; Chung Min Lee, senior fellow in the CEIP Asia Program; and Kathryn Botto, research analyst in the CEIP Asia Program https://ceip.org/2020/06/01
9 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies webcast: “After China’s National People’s Congress: What’s New? What’s Next?” with Bonnie Glaser, director of the CSIS China Power Project; Jude Blanchette, chair in China studies at CSIS; and Scott Kennedy, chair in Chinese business and economics at CSIS https://www.csis.org/events
10 a.m. — Brookings Institution webinar: “How COVID-19 and the oil shock will reshape the Middle East,” with Jihad Azour, director of the International Monetary Fund Middle East and Central Asia Department; Rola Dashti, undersecretary general and executive secretary at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia; Samantha Gross, foreign policy fellow at the Cross-Brookings Energy Security and Climate Initiative; and Hady Amr, nonresident senior foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Center for Middle East Policy https://www.brookings.edu/events
2 p.m. — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace webinar: “Rejecting Defeat: A Nation in Peril, A Plan for Victory,” focusing on American defense strategy, with Christian Brose, senior fellow at CEIP and author of The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare https://ceip.org/2020/06/01/rejecting-defeat
TUESDAY | JUNE 2
9 a.m. — Intelligence and National Security Alliance webinar with John Sherman, CIO of the Intelligence Community and John Doyon, former chief data officer and director of the National Counterterrorism Center’s Office of Data Strategy and Innovation https://www.insaonline.org/event
12 p.m. — Hudson Institute Video event: “Emerging 5G Technology is Disrupting Huawei’s Hopes for Sector Dominance,” with Doug Brake, director, broadband and spectrum policy, ITIF; Tom Duesterberg, senior fellow, Hudson Institute; Bob Everson, senior director, 5G architecture, Cisco Systems; Stein Lundby, head of corporate technology strategy, Qualcomm https://www.hudson.org/events
2 p.m. G50 Dirksen — Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel markup of National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings
3:30 p.m. — Atlantic Council webinar: “War Stories From the Future,” with former Joint Chiefs Vice Chairman retired Marine Gen. James Cartwright; Max Brooks, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council; August Cole, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council; and Valerie Jackson, director of the Marine Corps University’s Brute Krulak Center for Innovation and Creativity https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/war-stories-from-the-future
6:30 p.m. — Smithsonian Associates book discussion webinar on Hell and Other Destinations: A 21st Century Memoir, with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright; and Bob Barnett, author representative and partner at Williams and Connolly LLP. https://smithsonianassociates.org
WEDNESDAY | JUNE 3
10 a.m. — Heritage Foundation webinar: “A Nuclear Anniversary: The U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Deal 15 Years Later,” with former U.S. Ambassador to India Richard Verma, vice chair and partner at the Asia Group; Ashley Tellis, chair for strategic affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Ted Jones, director for national security and international programs at the Nuclear Energy Institute; and Jeff Smith, research fellow for South Asia at Heritage https://www.heritage.org/asia/event
10 a.m. — Arms Control Association webinar: “The New Nuclear Arms Race and the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty,” with Maria Antonieta Jaquez, Mexican Foreign Ministry deputy director-general of disarmament, non-proliferation and General Assembly; Hans Kristensen, director of the Federation of Americans Scientists’ Nuclear Information Project; Zia Mian, co-director of the Princeton University Program on Science and Global Security; and Alicia Sanders-Zakre, policy and research coordinator at the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register
11:30 a.m. — Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association webcast: “Harnessing 5G for Military Operations,” with Joseph Evans, technical director for 5G at the Defense Department; and Frederick Moorefield, deputy chief information officer for command, control, and communications at the Defense Department. https://dcevents.afceachapters.org
THURSDAY | JUNE 4
9 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies webcast: “Enhancing Security in the High North,” with Norwegian Ministry of Defense State Secretary Tone Skogen and UK Defense Select Committee Chair Tobias Ellwood https://www.csis.org/events/online-event
10 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces hearing: “Future Force Structure Requirements for the United States Navy,” with retired Adm. Gary Roughead, former Chief of Naval Operations; and Bryan Clark, senior fellow, Hudson Institute https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
10 a.m. — Woodrow Wilson Center Polar Institute conference call briefing, on “A Stronger International Regime for the Arctic Ocean?” with former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and Fisheries David Balton, senior fellow in the WWC Polar Institute; Andrei Zagorski, head of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Department for Disarmament and Conflict Resolution Studies; and Michael Sfraga, director of the WWC Polar Institute https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event
11 a.m. — Center for a New American Security webinar: “Russian Advances in Military Automation and Artificial Intelligence,” with Samuel Bendett, adjunct senior fellow in the CNAS Technology and National Security Program; and Martijn Rasser, senior fellow in the CNAS Technology and National Security Program https://www.cnas.org/events
11 a.m. — Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments webinar: “Deterrence by Detection: A Key Role for Unmanned Systems in Great Power Competition,” with Thomas Mahnken, president and CEO of CSBA; Travis Sharp, research fellow at CSBA; and Grace Kim, senior analyst at CSBA https://csbaonline.org/about/events
1 p.m. — Cato Institute webinar: “Building a Modern Military: The Force Meets Geopolitical Realities,” with Wendy Jordan, senior policy analyst at Taxpayers for Common Sense; Thomas Hammes, research fellow in the National Defense University Center for Strategic Research; Eric Gomez, director of defense policy studies at Cato; Brandon Valeriano, senior fellow at Cato; Christopher Preble, vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at Cato; and Lauren Sander, external relations manager for defense and foreign policy studies at Cato https://www.cato.org/events/building-modern-military
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I believe that we in America should not get used to or accept uniformed service members of any variety having to be put in a position where they are having to secure people inside the United States of America.”
Army Maj. Gen. Thomas Carden, the adjutant general of the Georgia National Guard, speaking to reporters Sunday.
