Ahead of the ceremony in which Biden will take office as president, the National Guard on high alert • For the first time since the Civil War: 20,000 soldiers deployed in the city • Special report from the United States
It's hard to believe that in 2021, the year when the world has shown how much it is possible to unite against a mysterious epidemic and launch a continental vaccination campaign at record speed, the American capital will find itself under almost curfew, ahead of the inauguration of the 46th President, Joe Biden.
The outbreak of Congress about two weeks ago // Photo: Reuters
20,000 National Guard troops have arrived in the capital, more than any other U.S. force in Iraq and Afghanistan, and as the hours leading up to the inauguration at 12 noon on January 20 increase, so do the draconian steps that residents will have to take.
The sense of siege begins even before arriving in the capital - already on the board of the plane, when agents of the Federal Security Authority (TSA) are stationed and conduct surprise checks on passengers just before boarding the plane, apparently against the warning that mass protesters will try to disrupt the swearing-in events. On Wednesday, and even before that.
I was also checked and searched in my handbag.
A person sitting next to me, a business administration student from India who is studying in the U.S. for a scholarship, said she had previously taken this short domestic flight from New York to the capital, and never saw federal agents standing in the doorway of the plane to conduct tests.
Disturbing signs
Indeed, the signs seem disturbing: Yesterday a man from Virginia was reported trying to cross a checkpoint near Capitol Hill with a range of weapons in his possession, including 500 different bullets.
The metro of the capital did not take any risks either - if you look at the map of the stations you see that dozens are closed, and in fact there is no practical way to get to the city center by public transport.
The taxi driver, Ahmed, who drove me from the airport to the city, came to the US from Afghanistan as a child. He did not think he would see such plays in the American capital, but like any American, he thinks mainly about his economic situation and is less worried about the long-term consequences. On Capitol Hill two weeks ago, which led to those steps. "Biden is bringing the entire Obama administration back to power," he says, "but as long as the economy improves and there is employment, that's what I care about.
I do not care about Democrats or Republicans. "
This is not how Biden hoped his oath would look.
He hoped that his inauguration would mark a new era as is customary when a new president is sworn in, all the more so when he is from a new party.
In recent days, it has been scattering promises - and future budgets - of astronomical sums that are expected to reach nearly $ 2 billion, to accelerate the rate of vaccinations against the corona in the US and ease the economically injured citizens. But not going to Biden.
It used to be the Corona that overshadowed the swearing-in event, and now, in addition to the Corona, America finds itself with tens of thousands of forces deployed inside federal government buildings for the first time since the Civil War.
The incident on Capitol Hill about two weeks ago ruined the rest of the festivities that remained in the Corona era, not necessarily because of the deaths - because there were more tragic cases in the US, but mainly because these were riots designed to disrupt the election results and prevent the announcement of a winner. It gave a sense - even to my driver from Afghanistan - that something was wrong in American democracy
