The Arc de Triomphe, under construction in Washington, will become a “top grade” military facility, US President Donald Trump said on the Truth Social social network. According to him, this transformation of the project was adopted “at the urgent request” of the US armed forces and for national security purposes.
As Trump wrote, the arch will be used for the storage and operational use of a large number of unmanned aerial vehicles, and snipers will be located at the top of the structure and on the adjacent ground area. Ammunition for them will also be stored in the Arc de Triomphe.
“There will be no such structure anywhere in the world. Of the 59 major cities and capitals, Washington, D.C. is the only city in the world that does not have a triumphal arch, but now it will appear and will be, without a doubt, the greatest of all!” – wrote the US President.
Trump proposed the idea of the arch as part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of US independence. It is planned to be located on the opposite side of the Arlington Bridge from the Lincoln Memorial. The US National Park Service previously warned that the construction of the arch would have a negative impact on the historical center of the American capital.
Let us recall that in February, several veterans of the Vietnam War, including former US Ambassador to Armenia Michael Lemmon, filed a lawsuit demanding that the Trump administration be prohibited from building a triumphal arch next to the Arlington Memorial Bridge. They noted that the facility would disrupt historic views of Washington. In addition, the plaintiffs drew attention to the possible interference with air traffic and transport in the area.
The Arc de Triomphe is not the only military installation that Trump is planning to place in Washington. So, on the site of the demolished East Wing of the White House, a ballroom will be built, on the roof of which there will also be a drone port from which drones can be launched.
The building will have a six-story underground complex that will house a hospital, research center, meeting and military rooms, and a bunker. At the same time, as sources told the Washington Post, there is already a bunker protected from a nuclear attack under the White House – it was built after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Also, the head of the White House began the reconstruction of the Mirror Pond at the Lincoln Memorial and intended to create a “National Park of American Heroes.”
