Issue #324
Not just Ferguson: 11 eye-opening facts about America’s militarized police forces
The “war on terror” has come home—and it’s wreaking havoc on innocent American lives. The culprit is the militarization of the police. The weapons that destroyed Afghanistan and Iraq have made their way to local law enforcement. While police forces across the country began a process of militarization—complete with SWAT teams and flash-bang grenades—when President Reagan intensified the “war on drugs,” the post-9/11 “war on terror” has added fuel to the fire. Through laws and regulations like a provision in defense budgets that authorizes the Pentagon to transfer surplus military gear to police forces, local law enforcement agencies are using weapons found on the battlefields of South Asia and the Middle East. Alex Kane, Alternet, on Moyers and Company, 8-13-14.