Why Trump called in the troops

Let’s all take a step back
and think about the “vertiginous
absurdity” of this
moment, said David Roberts
in Vox .com. President
Trump has deployed more
than 5,000 U.S. troops on
American soil at the Mexican
border, in an attempt to drum
up hysteria over a caravan
of 4,000 Central American
migrants who are fleeing druggang
violence and poverty. U.S. troops can’t be
used for domestic law enforcement, so they will
have no contact with the migrants; instead, the
Pentagon says, they’ll be providing logistical “support”
for the U.S. Border Patrol, such as maintenance
work. Nevertheless, Trump says that he
could ultimately send as many as 15,000 troops,
which would be more than the number of Americans
stationed in Afghanistan. The caravan, still
weeks away from reaching the border, has shrunk
from 7,000 to 4,000 people, and continues to
dwindle. Those who make it here plan to legally
apply for asylum. “Where is the emergency?”
Why is it “suddenly cynical” for a president to
take a major immigration action before a big
election? asked Eddie Scarry in Washington
Examiner.com. In the summer of 2012, President
Obama issued an executive order to protect more
than a million young illegal immigrants known
as “Dreamers” from being
deported. Obama clearly
hoped his order would
improve his standing with
Latino voters, but the media
didn’t react with the “hysteria
that Trump faces.”
The caravan presents a real
challenge to our immigration
policy, said Noah Rothman
in CommentaryMagazine
.com. But even so, “there is
no strategic justification for these deployments.”
When a similar caravan reached the U.S. in April,
only a few hundred migrants were left, and they
peacefully applied for asylum at a checkpoint.
Trump has “wildly exaggerated the threat.”
This may be “reality television for Trump,” said
Rex Huppke in the Chicago Tribune. “But it’s
real life for the soldiers.” Every military operation
entails hardship and risk. “Vehicles crash.
Soldiers get injured operating heavy machinery.
There’s psychological distress, illness, and heat
exhaustion.” Over a recent 12-year period,
nearly 4,600 active-duty personnel were killed
in accidents. Soldiers and their families bravely
accept these risks, but the commander in chief
should not to ask them to sacrifice for no reason.
Instead, Trump is “treating men and women who
have volunteered to fight and die for this country
like toy soldiers.”