Retired Lt. Gen. Russel Honor says Capitol Hill fencing alone will not prevent another attack

[DonViejo]

By Adrienne Winston, CNN

Updated 9:54 AM ET, Sat March 13, 2021

(CNN) - Retired Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, who led a review of security at the US Capitol in the wake of the January 6 riot, said Friday that the fencing surrounding the compound "will do nothing to prevent another attack" and the threat to our democracy "lies within our borders."

"The four miles of fences that now ring the Capitol will do nothing to prevent another attack, or to help us understand the underlying failures that allowed the riot to happen," Honoré wrote in a Washington Post op-ed that criticized federal law enforcement's response before and during the assault on the US Capitol complex.

The razor wire and 7-foot fencing put in place after the pro-Trump mob attacked the Capitol have become a point of contention between the Capitol Police and lawmakers. Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have grown increasingly frustrated and swiftly pushed back on the Capitol Police's proposal in late January to build permanent fencing.

Honoré said in his piece that the Capitol fencing "provides a false sense of security" and compares it to the southern border wall, which he describes as an "expensive failure."

more
https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/13/politics/capitol-fencing-russel-honor/index.html

[spanone]

1. K&R

[niyad]

2. KNR

[soothsayer]

3. Better than nothing, at the moment

[dutch777]

4. He's right but probably makes the elected officials and staff feel better. I hate to see it.

The great thing about DC is that everything, normally, is so open and accessible...like a giant college campus. Be that monuments, the Capitol and so on. One can understand a stand off requirement for the WH, but beyond that I think the imagery of a fenced in Capitol just feels wrong. I certainly support the ability, under known threat to quickly erect secure barriers, but that can be done with concealed stanchion bases in the concrete and a trained crew that would insert posts and mount secured fence panels quickly. I think a better deterrent might be a quick reaction force that is on duty 24/7/365 that could respond anywhere in DC with overwhelming force and firepower. This isn't the Russian Spetsnaz we are dealing with and the issue presented on 1/6 became as bad as it did by presenting too few officers, under equipped and under supported.