Hi. It’s Al Letson, host of More To The Story.
The news coming out of Los Angeles over the last couple of weeks has been troubling, to say the least. The National Guard is patrolling the streets. The Marines have been deployed. And protesters—the vast majority of whom have peacefully exercised their First Amendment rights opposing the Trump administration’s immigration raids—have been detained and intimidated.
These last few weeks have felt like an inflection point—not just for those who oppose the administration’s policies and came out for the “No Kings” marches across the country, but also for the way the military is being wielded in the United States. That’s why I wanted to talk to someone like Greg Smith, a retired Army National Guard brigadier general. In his 35-year career, he’s seen riots and mass protests and even led the military’s response to the Boston Marathon bombing. Smith is worried about the direction of his beloved National Guard. He’s seeing the armed forces being asked to enforce a political agenda rather than defend the Constitution. And he’s not afraid to speak up about it.
“I'm watching the military becoming co-opted by politicians, and where that leads is some really troubling places,” Smith says. “If that happens, the roots of our democracy are in extreme danger.”
I spoke with Smith about that and much, much more on this week’s More To The Story. I hope you give it a listen.
—Al Letson
