National Guard in US cities

[kan...@aol.com]

So, a quick Google search shows that Chicago has about 12.000 police officers. Los Angeles has about 9000.

Given those numbers, what does one imagine that 3-400 federal troops can do change things? This crossed my mind the other day. 

It's another reason to assume that Trump's sending National Guard troops to those cities is nothing more than performative. It serves no real purpose other than to announce his intent get the military into US cities. And those cities are picked for their "blueness". There's more crime/murder per capita in several cities, all red and Southern. No NG folks going there. 

Aside from the obvious political strategy involved here, this targeted use of a relatively small number of troops doesn't appear to serve any real  policing purpose. 

That said, Portland (balanced reporting here) has less than 1000 police. So a few hundred troops here could actually make a difference. IMO, and the opinion of those on the ground in Portland, they aren't necessary. But that's an opinion, supported by some really decent video documentation. ICE people aren't in real danger; there's no genuine reason to establish a federal presence here either. 

This is all Trump doing political theater. The end game? Hard to know. But one that makes sense is that he's trying to inure us to the idea of federal troops roaming US cities. Their purpose? Whatever lame excuse he chooses. Maybe he wants us used to their presence so that they can be around doing who-knows-what during the 2026/28 elections. A notion not without merit.