Critics warn National Guard lacks exit strategy for presidential inauguration

“We have no metric for what success looks like,” said one high ranking officer.

By Paul J. O’Leary

WASHINGTON — More than 20,000 national guardsmen are expected to deploy to the nation’s capital to provide additional security during President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20, but critics warn the National Guard appears to lack an exit strategy.

“We have no metric for what success looks like,” said one high ranking officer. “Is it an hour after the man is sworn in? Is it when the protesters have all left? We just don’t know.”

The ongoing military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq have left many questioning if this deployment to Washington has a defined objective or could be instead a so-called “Forever Civil War.”

Pentagon officials assured members of the public on Thursday the activation would be strictly limited to the events surrounding the presidential inauguration, but military watchdog groups are skeptical after observing a newly constructed Green Beans Coffee shop inside the Capitol visitors center. Green Beans Coffee is a popular cafe typically found…