Washington Insight

MISSION L.A.: Gen. Colin L. Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other Pentagon brass had mixed feelings about sending troops to help keep a lid on L.A. after the riots. “Nobody likes the idea of using U.S. troops for this purpose,” one official said. It’s like involving troops in the drug war: The operations are expensive, are aimed at symptoms instead of causes and distract soldiers from training to fight real wars. . . . Powell and others also worried that the presence of troops could only inspire mistrust and resentment of the military among blacks.