[dragonwriter]

> Also, military coups are a problem in many countries, but not the US

Standing armies’ threat to liberty isn't exclusively, or even mostly, via military coup, it's through acting without effective oversight against citizens when employed in a domestic security role, heightened by the separate culture and us-vs- them attitude standing forces create.

And, since the mid-19th century, it's mostly been realized in the US through standing paramilitary police forces rather than an normal standing military, as the former were established as permanent entities before regular standing armies in the US, and displaced regular standing armies from the dangerous domestic role that is the main underpinning of them being in Jefferson’s statement.