By AFP 31 December 2021 | 1:10 pm Nearly a year after the deadly attack on the US Capitol, the Pentagon said Thursday it would streamline the process for approving the use of National Guard forces in Washington. (FILES) In this file photo taken on October 30, 2018 the Pentagon is seen from an airplane over Washington, DC. – The Pentagon is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on masks, tests and pharmaceutical products as it seeks to revive an industrial sector lost over the years to China. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) Nearly a year after the deadly attack on the US Capitol, the Pentagon said Thursday it would streamline the process for approving the use of National Guard forces in Washington. The Pentagon had been criticized for its slow response during the January 6 attack on Congress by supporters of then-president Donald Trump, which left five people dead and dozens injured. It took military officials more than three hours to get the National Guard deployed to Congress as it was being besieged by rioters because of a chain of bureaucratic requirements. The Secretary of Defense will from now on be “the single approval authority for all requests” for emergency use of District of Columbia National Guard personnel inside Washington, the Pentagon said. “By clarifying and refining the request process… the Department will be able to respond to requests efficiently, quickly, and effectively,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. The US capital, which is separate from the bordering states of Maryland and Virginia and is not a state in its own right, has a special status, preventing local officials from sending military, police or National Guard forces to the US Capitol, which is a federal building. Asked to provide help when Capitol police were being overwhelmed by rioters, Pentagon officials later said that they were reluctant to send uniformed and armed reservists to Congress for fear of exacerbating tensions. Hundreds of National Guard reservists stationed in Washington over the previous summer during huge anti-racism protests had been criticized for violence toward demonstrators. Latest 10 mins ago Nearly 4,000 Mozambicans have fled their villages in a month due to intensifying jihadist attacks in Niassa, a province neighbouring insurgency hotbed Cabo Delgado, a government official said Friday. 15 mins ago Mac P’s untitled extended play is expected to arrive mid 2022. Mac P, born Oghenekome Prosper, will be coming back like he never left. Having released a series of singles this year, including “Shine” featuring Oladips, “Kamalita” featuring Lyta, “Sense” featuring Erigga and his most recent release “On Guard” featuring Moh Bad, the Delta State… 16 mins ago A powerful storm system bringing heavy snowfall was blowing into Colorado on Friday, a day after devastating wildfires fueled by hurricane-force winds destroyed hundreds of homes and forced tens of thousands to flee. 1 hour ago The number of Covid-19 cases spiralled by more than a half across the world this week, while pandemic-linked deaths dropped nine percent. 2 hours ago Iconic singer, Dolly Parton has said that it won’t ‘kill anybody to wear their mask’ as she supports safety policies during the COVID-19 pandemic affirming that “it won’t ‘kill anybody to wear their mask.” The 75-year-old music legend has been vocal in her advocacy for mask-wearing, social distancing, and vaccines amid the COVID-19 pandemic. To…
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