[Sciutto:] Breaking news. Some dramatic pictures from Missouri. The National Guard is headed to Ferguson after every other step to contain rowdy demonstrations after Michael Brown's shooting have failed. This follows another volatile night with gunshots, Molotov cocktails and looting on the streets. So how can the guard help get the situation under control? We're now joined by Lieutenant General Russel Honore, He's the author of "Leadership in the New Normal." He also coordinated military relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina. Very good to have you here, General Honore. Thank you for joining us.
[Lt. Gen. Russel Honore:] Good morning.
[Sciutto:] So we're watching a number of steps, just in the last 24 hours. You have 200 National Guard troops deployed, you have the curfew reinstated. Also, just seeing those pictures, I think our viewers back home certainly noticed this. The police again in what looked like military uniforms, the gas masks back on. As you see developments there, the violence overnight. Do you think these are the right moves by Governor Nixon?
[Honore:] It's a logical sequence. The governor by constitution has a responsibility to maintain civil control inside the state of Missouri. This is one of the measures and that is why we have the National Guard in each state who do a mission. First to the governor, then to the president of the United States as required. The good news is that inside the state of Missouri, you have two military police battalions. As I recall from my four years mobilizing and training the national guard between 2004 and 2008, most of those units have trained, localized and deployed even to Afghanistan, Iraq or to Kosovo. So they're a well-trained, well-equipped unit. Missouri also has the 35th infantry division headquarters that they have an option to use to provide cop cover as required. But, yes, these troops are MPs by and large. I would assume that's the unit they're sending. I have not seen the details yet. This thing has two battalions of MPs.
[Sciutto:] I'm glad you brought that up. First of all, I'm glad you brought up your connection because you helped train these National Guard troops, but also their military experience here. I don't mean to minimize at all the danger. We saw that danger, we heard it from our reporters on the ground. Molotov cocktails, people shot, mind you not by police, but by others. But you also know the potential to further inflame the situation with military-like tactics. Is it your concern, can it be a concern that military experience among the law enforcement responders could conceivably make the situation worse rather than better?
[Honore:] Well, I think the law enforcement, if you're talking about the militarization or the type of tactics they used, I was somewhat surprised they didn't use more of a riot control posture. It appeared to be more of an assault posture. Hopefully these MPs will pick up the their control kit. We had several of these kits throughout the United States available to the National Guard. And knowing Gerald Dan and his troops there, the [inaudible] general. The other thing is Missouri is the home of our military police school. I would imagine these troops that are coming in will be well equipped with riot control equipment which is basically a lot of shields and face guards, as well as body protection to protect them from any debris. That's what I'm hoping to see, but I haven't had the opportunity to collaborate with them and get any information yet. They certainly have the training and they should come with the right equipment which is riot control equipment.
[Sciutto:] It sounds like you're saying more defensive than an offensive posture. You rightfully got great praise during the Katrina situation. You brought in the 82nd Airborne division so you brought in military troops to help respond, but you were lauded for keeping them under control, famously cursing a soldier that had his gun pointed at people saying this is a rescue mission, not an assault mission. How do you, as a commander, instill in the law enforcement people who are responding here that kind of emphasis? How do you make that happen so it doesn't get out of control?
[Honore:] Leadership at the point of the incident. You can't be sitting back inside St. Louis someplace and managing this from a TV screen. Senior leadership is going to have to be on the ground down there with the captain of the state police, Captain Ron Johnson, and his crew as well as collaborating with the police department. You might have 200 National Guard troops working with the police at the direction of where the police, where the governor wants them to go, but they'll be higher headquarters command dealing with support and collaboration to make sure that those troops have the intelligence they need and working with the police. They will have to be integrated there with the police. You talk about 200-plus National Guard. That state has the capacity to put 9,000 National Guard in there immediately. So they've got the capacity and they have the right kind of troops which are MPs, to get this mission done.
[Sciutto:] MPs on the streets of an American city. Thanks very much Lieutenant General Russel Honore. Kate, you know you get a real sense from that interview just the difficult balance that law enforcement has on the ground there, letting people demonstrate, express themselves, but obviously keeping the violence under control.
[Bolduan:] Yes, exactly right and we've seen how difficult that balance is because we've been seeing it play out every night. Jim, thank you so much. We've got a lot of news we're following on the ground in Ferguson and beyond, so let's get right to it.
[Unidentified Female:] This is unacceptable. Until we get justice we will not stop.