Trump's 'me' monument to serve as domestic military staging ground

A "Triumphal Arch" to be built at the entrance of sacred ground — Arlington Memorial Cemetery, where generations of U.S. military servicemen, women and veterans are buried — is going to serve the dual purpose of staging snipers and drones for "national security," according to President Donald Trump.

At the strong request of the United States Military, and for National Security purposes, I have agreed to convert the magnificent Triumphal Arch, planned since the Civil War Era many years ago, at the Receptive Circle adjoining the Arlington Memorial Bridge, into a top grade Military Complex/Triumphal Arch, to house, store, and have the rapid ability to use large numbers of drones, plus Snipers, on both the roof and plaza areas, and additionally have and hold large quantities of sniper ammunition in storage. There will be no facility like this anywhere in the World.

The arch was already controversial. The renderings and name conjure the ill-fated “Arch of Triumph” in Hitler’s Welthauptstadt (“World Capital”) Germania, which was never built. Its construction would adversely affect the cemetery and historic preservation. Vietnam veterans who say it flouts the law have sued to stop it. When asked by a reporter who the arch is supposed to honor, Trump said “me.” The idea that a command center filled with snipers, drones and stored ammunition might be unleashed on Washington for domestic security purposes is already landing like a bunker buster bomb. Is he trolling? What is he signaling now? Is this a joke? He already tore down the East Wing of the White House to start construction on the ballroom. After removing a massive outdoor sculpture from the premises, he closed the Kennedy Center (and is fueling rumors he is set to demolish the entire landmark), so it is not entirely unreasonable to think he is not telling “Truth” about the Triumphal Arch.

“The Arch itself, even before making it a weaponized military outpost in one of the most secure areas of the country, disrupts the initial intent of the view between the Lincoln Memorial and Lee Mansion, that being peace and reconciliation following America's bloodiest war,” Iraq War veteran and podcaster Jim Webb told RS, noting the planned location of the arch is literally a mile from the Pentagon.

For a president who has already hinted he might seek a third term and declare the elections a national security emergency, his latest announcement about militarizing a national monument is sure to stir an already boiling pot. Add that to an increasingly desperate tone when it comes to Americans' support (or lack thereof) for Trump's war in the Middle East. (Seb Gorka, senior director for counterterrorism on the National Security Council, claimed yesterday that it is un-American not to accept higher gas prices in exchange for defeating Iran).

“(Trump's) placing his ego in the middle of the country's most important symbols, and shows me how he truly feels about Americans, generally,” Webb added. “At best it's a waste of money and resources for a project to promote the ego of one man, at worst, it's an attempt to visibly intimidate an American public whose opinion of his presidency has sunk to a historic low.”