Nixon Withdraws Troops, To Begin Peace Negotiations With Kansas

Good news, y'all! Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon's secret plan to win the peace in Ferguson worked -- we guess because on Wednesday night, there were no mass arrests of Holocaust survivors and reporters, and no cops threatening to kill people -- so it's time to Bring Them Home .

Gov. Jay Nixon today ordered the Missouri National Guard to begin a systematic process of withdrawing from the City of Ferguson. The Missouri National Guard will coordinate with the Missouri State Highway Patrol in carrying out this order.

“I greatly appreciate the men and women of the Missouri National Guard for successfully carrying out the specific, limited mission of protecting the Unified Command Center so that law enforcement officers could focus on the important work of increasing communication within the community, restoring trust, and protecting the people and property of Ferguson,” Gov. Nixon said. “As we continue to see improvement, I have ordered the Missouri National Guard to begin a systematic process of withdrawing from the City of Ferguson.”

We are also glad that carpet-bombing St. Louis County with a military-style presence enabled law enforcement officers to mostly tolerate protesters who are still demanding answers. Like, why did Officer Darren Wilson kill Michael Brown? And why has the police department refused to release its report on the incident? And why has it taken nearly two weeks of protests -- not to mention some quite pointed WTF?-ing from the governor, the president, and international media -- for the St. Louis County prosecutor to get around to maybe looking into that?

And we certainly find this reassuring:

Meanwhile, the unified command, which includes officers from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, St. Louis County, St. Louis City and other jurisdictions, will continue its mission to respond appropriately to incidents of lawlessness while protecting the rights of all peaceful citizens.

Guess that means Nixon is leaving some of his special advisers, like Captain Ron Johnson, behind just in case. Good thinking. You never know when a war you've won might become un-won .

[ Gov. Nixon's office ]