Most Americans, most media, have no idea that the National Guard, under these circumstances are under the control of the governor. They keep blaming the President for not sending in the National Guard.
Then there's the posse comitatus issue, which I'm not 100 percent clear on in a national emergency, but I believe this is why the Army has not been sent in en masse to restore order (there is an Insurrection Act which I think the Governor can request.)
Anyway, my point is, the American people believe what the media tells them and the media don't even know the basics of civics or laws about state versus federal responsibilities and rights.
That being said, I really think that in the case of snipers, the LA Governor does not want to be the one to have to deal with the snipers/thugs through the NG or State Police, nor does the mayor want to deal with the snipers through his police force.
I think they'll wait till things are so bad that the Army does have to go in and take out the snipers so that they can't be blamed for the killings of these thugs...I think they're afraid of racial implications.
Just my 2 cents.
we will find out soon - if these 40,000 national guard don't start blowing them away tomorrow, we'll know.
#1 I hope to God they are assigned to a NG unit. Despite the horrific conditions posse comitatus is an important principal in assuring our freedom. (Yes, even under conditions of martial law I prefer that units assigned to direct security operations be NG units attached even in name only to a state.)
#2 I hope that they can back them up quickly with a significant presence of visible ground units providing a secure corridor for evacuating refugees.
And that's my two cents on the use of troops.