Troops shouldn't be fighting America's culture wars

In little more than six months, the White House has sent uniformed troops into the streets of US cities more frequently and on thinner pretexts than any of its modern predecessors; it's even proposing to create standing units available for the president to deploy domestically on short notice. Administration officials say they're restoring law and order. What seems clearer is that they're undermining the world’s finest military and endangering its sacred bond with American citizens.

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At the president's direction, more than 2,200 National Guard troops from DC and six Republican-run states, some carrying arms and driving mine-resistant armoured vehicles, have taken up positions across Washington, according to the Tribune News Service.

The Pentagon has reportedly begun planning for a similar show of force in Chicago. In early June, the White House ordered thousands of other soldiers, including active-duty Marines, to deploy in Los Angeles amid protests against widespread immigration raids. Whether those orders violated laws against using the military as a domestic police force is being contested in federal court.

Even if such deployments are judged legal, though, they’re still irresponsible. Past presidents have maintained an extremely high bar for federalising Guard troops. By contrast, the LA and DC cases risk being perceived as political stunts, meant to embarrass local Democratic officials and highlight the administration's mass immigration crackdown.