Trump goes into warfighting mode

Every US president has faced the same temptation to turn to the military to sort out a problem, be it at home or overseas. Donald Trump has now gone into full military warfighting mode with his call for the regular infantry to be brought into Washington and elsewhere to stem the rioters and cower the protesters into submission. As president he has legal powers to do that if all else has failed. But obviously it's a highly controversial, risky and potentially dangerous move to make. The Pentagon and its chiefs believe in freedom of expression as much as anyone, perhaps more so right now after their commander-in-chief suddenly became so bellicose. The last thing General Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, wants is for troops to go heavy-handed on to the streets of the capital and start shooting armed protesters. Joe Biden, Democratic hopeful for the White House in the November election, has today accused Trump of fanning the flames by calling in the military. It's such a difficult balancing act, needing to stop the violence and looting but not wanting to add to it by responding to it too harshly. Trump wants to go all the way and let active-duty soldiers line the streets. As it is, there are already seem military helicopters flying low over Washington, kicking up dirt and dust where they go. For peaceful protesters that must be frightening. General Milley is the president's main military adviser and he, surely, must be anxious about doing as his commander-in-chief is bidding. But active-duty military units HAVE been put on short-notice and if the rioting in Washington gets worse I have no doubt these units will be rushed into the capital. US troops on the streets of the capital! What a field day China will have if that happens, telling the world of the depths to which the US has sunk. But after the Tiananman Square horror story of 1989 when Chinese army tanks crushed protesters, I don't think most Americans will care what China thinks. But for Trump who has declared himself to be a president of law and order, the decision whether to bring in the troops tonight or tomorrow or at any time will probably be the most politically risky moment of his presidency. Perhaps the presence of troops lining the streets and guarding key buildings will do the trick, and the looters and violent protesters will take note and go home. Trump would then have made his point and the troops will disperse and leave town. But the image of armed regular infantry soldiers in Washington will go around the world. And that image will survive all the way to the November presidential election.