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           Wars on Drugs, Terror Fostered Police Militarization in US

   by Mark Snowiss

   With little public awareness, the U.S. government has equipped state
   and local police agencies with surplus military equipment worth
   billions of dollars and conducted tactical military training programs
   with police for the past two decades.
   These efforts initially were designed to counter increased crime in
   American cities in the 1990s as part of the war on drugs. They have
   been significantly ramped up since the September 11, 2001 terror
   attacks, critics say.
   The police department in Ferguson, Missouri, which confronted
   protesters angered by Saturday's shooting death of unarmed 18-year-old
   Michael Brown by a local officer, is one of  8,000 law enforcement
   agencies currently receiving surplus military equipment through the
   government program.

   The congressionally-mandated 1033 Program has been run by the
   Pentagon's [1]Defense Logistics Agency Law Enforcement Support Office
   (LESO) since 1995.

   St. Louis County police have received twelve 5.56-millimeter rifles,
   six .45 caliber pistols, multiple cargo trailers and other vehicles, as
   well as night vision equipment through the program, a Missouri public
   safety official said Thursday. Ferguson is in St. Louis County.

   In the past 19 years, the 1033 Program has provided $5.1 billion worth
   of equipment to more than 17,000 law enforcement agencies. Five percent
   were weapons transfers, according to data shared with VOA by LESO and
   .35 percent were tactical vehicles.

   The transferred military equipment includes small arms, such as pistols
   and automatic rifles, along with heavy armored vehicles known as MRAPs,
   used by American forces in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

   "The federal government requires agencies that receive 1033 equipment
   to use it within one year of receipt, so there can be no doubt that
   participation in this program creates an incentive for law enforcement
   agencies to use military equipment," the [2]American Civil Liberties
   Union wrote in a June 2014 report on police militarization.

   Since the September 11 attacks, two Department of Homeland Security
   (DHS) grant programs have expanded money available for police
   militarization to combat terrorism.

   Officials acknowledge, though, that terror attacks are rare on U.S.
   soil, and equipment bought with DHS funds is used mostly for civil
   unrest.

   Justice Department programs also can be used to fund law enforcement
   activities, and grantees have used awards to purchase items, such as
   rubber bullets, tear gas and body armor, according to the ACLU report.

   Reaction Mounts

   In the past five days, senior U.S. officials have condemned how this
   equipment is being used on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri. "At a
   time when we must seek to rebuild trust between law enforcement and the
   local community, I am deeply concerned that the deployment of military
   equipment and vehicles sends a conflicting message," U.S. Attorney
   General Eric Holder said Thursday.

   Four nights of confrontation between demonstrators and law enforcement
   agencies under the loose coordination of St. Louis County police made
   Ferguson appear like a war zone.

   'Images of exploding tear gas, armored vehicles cruising the streets
   and police in full riot gear pointing military-style assault weapons at
   unarmed protesters flashed across television screens, shocking
   audiences worldwide.

   ''Internet activists from the Middle East even tweeted practical advice
   to Ferguson protesters about how to deal with tear gas. "Solidarity
   with [3]#Ferguson. Remember to not touch your face when teargased or
   put water on it. Instead use milk or coke!" read one.

   "I saw what everybody else saw. And I didn't like it," Missouri
   Governor Jay Nixon told CNN Friday, a day after criticizing the
   heavy-handed police reaction and putting the Missouri State Highway
   Patrol in charge of security.

   "We need to de-militarize this situation - this kind of response by the
   police has become the problem instead of the solution," said U.S.
   Senator Claire McCaskill. "I obviously respect law enforcement's work
   to provide public safety, but my constituents are allowed to have
   peaceful protests, and the police need to respect that right and
   protect that right," she said.

   But Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson defended the use of force
   against protesters, nine of whom have been charged with looting and
   vandalizing stores on Sunday night.

   "If firebombs are being thrown, property gets destroyed, shots get
   fired ... we have to respond to deadly force," he said.

   ''
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   [4]http://www.voanews.com/content/wars-on-drugs-terror-fostered-police-
   militarization-in-us/2415243.html

References

   1. http://www.dispositionservices.dla.mil/leso/Pages/default.aspx
   2. https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/assets/jus14-warcomeshome-report-web-rel1.pdf
   3. https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ferguson?src=hash
   4. http://www.voanews.com/content/wars-on-drugs-terror-fostered-police-militarization-in-us/2415243.html