Trending
President Trump's plans for a 250ft, triumphal Arch have recently expanded and taken on a more ominous tone. Now the President wants the Arch to house "a top-grade military complex." (NPR, 9/21) It will be "the greatest military complex in the world," the President boasts, with large numbers of drones and roof-top snipers. (CNN, 9/22)
This threatening arsenal would be in addition to the "drone port" he wants to install atop his 90,000 sq. ft. ballroom. Like the Arch, it will hold "missle-bearing unmanned aerial vehicles and armed troops." According to the AP, there are alsready surveillance drones on the Treasury Department building. (The Daily Item, 9/24)
As if this militarization were not enough, the President proposes to install 166 sq. ft. observation deck on the Arch. One veteran who oversaw funerals at Arlington Cemetery reports that military families are alarmed that the private, sacred burials could be on public display. (CNN, 9/26)
Why is all this even being considered without a word from Congress? Why would the seat of our democratic government be so extraordinarily militarized? This build-up of military weapons could be used domestically, possibly in a falsely claimed national emergency. The potential consequences of the President's plans go far beyond his obsession with remaking our Capital. They are too serious to be ignored.
PRISCILLA WAGGONER
Lewisburg
Submitted by email