Its an old saw that distant wars come home, but the ACLU, in a new report is actually documenting just how its happening. Police forces are wielding proliferating SWAT teams (often consisting of vets from the Iraq and Afghan battlefields) armed to the teeth with castoff military equipment from those war zones and using combat tactics to break into American homes with deaths in such raids on the rise. Its a grim vision of a country being militarized at the most nitty-gritty level. -TomDispatch In the 1980s there were as few as 3,000 Swat raids a year, but by around 2005 that number had leapt to 45,000. Such a rapid proliferation has been actively encouraged by the federal government, particularly by the Department of Homeland Security after 9/11, and by the Defense Department. The Pentagon channels military equipment used in Iraq and Afghanistan to domestic police forces under its 1033 programme, which the ACLU found had transmitted 15,000 items of battle uniforms and personal protective gear during the survey period.
Posted on: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 17:13:12 +0000