Defend the Guard
Deploying the military in defence of the constitution
[Image: former sergeant Dan McKnight speaks of his background and role in the Defend the Guard movement.]
Published 2023-03-26
Updated 2023-04-22: Added a new source (Dan McKnight on The Jimmy Dore Show)
Defend the Constitution
If one wishes to prevent war in a nation which constantly constructs them one needs allies. Your best allies to protest war are your soldiers.
The Defend the Guard movement is a group of USA citizens, often current or former members of the USA military seeking to use their supreme law, the constitution, to limit the nation's ability to wage foreign wars.
Each national guard is under the control of its own state. National guard members have been called upon during the 20+ years of the "War of Terror" to fight, suffer and die abroad during the litany of wars the USA has prosecuted. Often, a guard member’s own state has been deprived of their service during emergencies. Dan McKnight cites the case of Hurricane Katrina and being summonded to assist another state when its own national guard was depleted by overseas deployments.
The movement targets each state. The mission is to pass state law which prevents the use of members of it’s guard participating in any foreign conflict unless, and this is the important part, the national congress has declared war. This may seem like quibbling. It is not.
When was the last time the USA congress declared war?
The answer is the 1941 declaration against Japan and allied Germany in response to the attacks at Pearl Harbor. There are reasons to suspect that these attacks were allowed, to create a motivation for the USA's entry into WWII, but that is another topic.
Since then, can you count the wars, the number of guards killed?
The foundation of Defend the Guard is that congress must declare war before the guard may be depolyed outside of USA territory. The states’ national guards are the USA’s embodiment of their 2nd amendment, a state controlled militia. They are national defense organisations.
The movement is allied by their constitution. Only congress can declare war. There is no legal doubt about this. The president is the "commander in chief" and can direct the miltary anywhere within the borders of the USA, but not externally without congressional approval. Thus, soldiers and other members of the armed services can be legally required to put their lives at risk only after congress has made this most serious declaration.
The movement's attempts to apply political pressure on congress began unsuccessfully. They have devolved their strategy to the state level. If a state passes a statute which prevents their national guard from joining foreign conflict unless the congress has declared war, then piss off! This paradoxically pushes the political pressure back up to the congress. Ralph Nader would love this clever political strategy.
As Dan McKnight notes in the audio interview linked below political discussion railed into 'areas of responsibility', 'what does this cost' etc. are derailed when one has soldiers testifying before a state legislature. It becomes personal. Add thousands of people from their state applying pressure via phone lines or signed petitions and representatives feel the people.
I wish the veterans and supporters every success.
More power to them!
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Sources
3/24/23 Dan McKnight on Defend the Guard’s Victory in Arizona and How You Can Help Keep the Momentum Going This Monday, Scott Horton interviews Dan McKnight, Scott Horton Show, 2023-03-24
Audio ←
4/14/23 Michael Maharrey on The Best Arguments Against Defend The Guard and Why They’re Wrong, Scott Horton interviews Michael Maharrey, The Scott Horton Show, 2023-04-14
One of the things I like about Horton is that he is very interested in examining argument. Here he explores the best counter-arguments to the Defend the Guard movement which he has been supporting.
Dan McKnight - Rage Against The War Machine, Dan McKnight speaks at the rally, Rage Against the War Machine, uploaded 2023-02-20
Dave Smith of Part of the Problem Interviews Dan McKnight on "Defend the Guard", Dave Smith interviews Dan McKnight, 2021-04-21
Veterans’ New Plan To Stop Endless Wars!, Jimmy Door interview Dan McKnight, The Jimmy Dore Show, 2023-04-19
Culture
The Black Eyed Peas - Where Is The Love? (Official Music Video), from their 2003 album Elephunk, their youtube channel, uploaded 2009-06-17
Searching for a cultural reference comes from memory, inspiration or digging. When it hits, you just know. Enjoy!
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