Esper says no military for protests as standby troops leave

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Mark Esper is breaking with President Donald Trump, saying he opposes using active-duty  military forces for law enforcement in the U.S. Trump has raised that possibility, though the White House has cooled on the idea as protests have calmed in the past two days. In fact, defense officials said some troops who had been brought to bases near Washington were beginning to return to their home bases on Wednesday. Esper said active-duty troops in a law enforcement role should be used in the United States “only in the most urgent and dire of situations,” adding, “We are not in one of those situations now.”