Militarization

Who Supplied The Weapons Used Against #BLM Protesters?

June 12, 2020 War Resisters International. Educate! Chemical Weapons, Militarization, Police violence

In response to the murder of George Floyd by a member of the Minneapolis police department on 25th May, thousands of people across the United States joined protests demanding justice for his killing, radical reform of police forces, and driving home the message that Black Lives Matter. Many of these protests face militarised police responses, including the use of rubber bullets, sting balls, stun grenades, battons, police charges, and chemical weapons like tear gas and pepper spray. Twitter users have photographed a large number of canisters that were fired during the protest. Many appear to have been produced by a company called Defense Technology, a subsidiary of a company called The Safariland Group (click here for our profile on this company), which owns a number of companies producing a wide range of equipment and weapons used by law enforcement. Weapons from other companies appear to be produced by Combined Tactical Systems (our profile on CTS is available here) and FN Herstal USA.

The Roots Of Violent Protest: Violent Cops

June 10, 2020 Erik Loomis, Lawyers Guns Money Blog. Educate! Militarization, Police violence, Protests, Rebellion2020

You will be shocked, simply SHOCKED, to learn that after decades of researching effective methods for police response to large crowd actions, researchers have found — and you’re never going to believe this — that when cops show up in military gear and get aggressive, they actually make protest violence worse! That’s one of the findings in “New Directions in Protest Policing,” a 2015 paper that reviews decades upon decades of police history and the conclusions of multiple separate commissions. Police that dress like they’re going to war, who try to control First Amendment expression rather than facilitate it, and who act in arbitrary ways can inflame violence and jeopardize their own safety and that of the public. The paper was written by Edward R. Maguire, an Arizona State University professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, and it dives all the way back to the nation’s founding and the civil unrest that led to the creation of the United States.

How Endless War Contributes To Police Brutality

June 7, 2020 Bonnie Kristian, Responsible Statecraft. Educate! 1033 program, Militarization, Police violence, Wars and Militarism

The indefensible death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers and the indiscriminate police violence in subsequent protests have returned police misconduct to the center of our national conversation. It is not a conversation we may quickly or easily conclude. The problems in American policing are multitude and systemic, matters of both policy and culture. Much of this can only be corrected at the state or local level, and as there are around 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States, this is a monumental task. In very few cases could sweeping federal action affect any substantive reform But one way in which Washington is directly implicated in police brutality is its contribution to the militarization of local police departments through the Pentagon’s 1033 Program and the so-called “war on terror” more broadly.

Unmarked Security Forces In DC Spark Fear

June 5, 2020 By Katie Bo Williams, Defense One. Educate! Militarization, Police abuse, Transparency, Washington DC

The presence of unmarked federal law enforcement officers, dressed in paramilitary uniforms and wearing no identifying insignia, quickly spread among protesters marching through Washington, D.C.’s streets on Tuesday and Wednesday, causing concerned protesters and officials to ask: Who are they? In some locations, security personnel refused to identify themselves to journalists and protesters who asked which agency sent them, answering only that they worked for the federal government. In other places, they identified themselves as working for the Department of Justice. Some carried rifles, or were equipped with body armor, riot shields, and pepper spray canisters. Two such clad security members in Washington on Tuesday night identified themselves to Defense One as part of a specialized emergency response force run by the Bureau of Prisons — part of the Justice Department — to help maintain security at correctional facilities. They and others are part of what’s known as the bureau’s Special Operations Response Teams, or SORTs.

Black Alliance For Peace – Baltimore Demand End To Policing “Surge”

January 21, 2020 Staff, Blackallianceforpeace.com Resist! Baltimore, Militarization, Police

JANUARY 7, 2020—Baltimore City is one of 7 cities, including Detroit, Albuquerque, Cleveland, Kansas City, Memphis and Milwaukee, selected for the Trump Administration’s “Operation Relentless Pursuit” which is intended to “surge” federal, state and local resources into cities where violent [horizontal] crime rates remain high. This newest version of the so-called war on crime must be seen for what it is – the latest incantation of the State’s relentless war on Baltimore’s Black working class and poor and should be categorically rejected by Baltimore’s public officials,” according to BAP organizer Vanessa Beck.

The New ‘Black Codes’

December 5, 2019 Chris Hedges, Truthdig.com Educate! Militarization, Racism

The police forces in impoverished urban communities, equipped with military-grade weapons and empowered to harass and kill largely at will, along with mass incarceration, are the principal tools for the social control of the poor. There is little pretense of justice and even less of protection and safety. The corporate state and our oligarchic rulers fear a backlash from those they abandoned in deindustrialized enclaves across the country, what Malcolm X called our “internal colonies.” The daily brutality and terror keep the poor, especially poor people of color, in bondage.

Neoliberalism And Evangelicalism Is Teaming Up To Remilitarize Latin America

November 30, 2019 By Paul Antonopoulos, Ahtribune.com Educate! China, Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, Latin America, Militarization, Russia

Latin America appears to be in a state of chaos with a struggle emerging between the so-called independent socialist Pink Tide countries and the neoliberal conservative Blue Tide countries. Revolts against neoliberal policies have been seen in Chile and Ecuador and a coup has recently taken place in Bolivia. Latin America is certainly remilitarizing. However, there is also a Great Power element to this, with the U.S. desperately holding onto its unilateral hegemony over what it considers its Latin American “backyard” in the face of growing Chinese and Russian economic and military interests in the Western Hemisphere.

Abe’s Mission Unaccomplished: Pushing To Revise Japan’s Pacifist Charter

November 16, 2019 Linda Sieg, Reuters.com Educate! Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, Japan, Militarization

TOKYO (Reuters) - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe surged back to power seven years ago, pledging to bolster Japan’s defenses in response to a growing threat from China and aiming to amend the pacifist constitution. Now on track to become Japan’s longest serving premier, Abe has kept his first promise. The second remains elusive. That means Japan, which U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized over what he called an “unfair” security alliance, still faces limits on acting as a full-fledged American ally.

Trump Shifts From Ending “Forever Wars” To Sending Tanks Into Syria’s Oil Fields

October 31, 2019 Bill Van Auken, Wsws.org Educate! Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, Middle East, Militarization, Oil, Syria, US Imperialism

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper Friday confirmed that Washington would leave military forces in Syria to maintain control of the country’s principal oil and gas fields. The Pentagon is “considering how we might reposition forces in the area in order to make sure that we secure the oil fields,” Esper said. His remarks came at the close of a meeting of NATO defense ministers that expressed bitter resentment within Europe over US President Donald Trump’s green lighting of a Turkish invasion of northeast Syria earlier this month along with his announcement that US troops would be pulled out of the region.

Democracy Shouldn’t Be About Celebrating Military Overlords

October 25, 2019 William J. Astore, Truthout.org Educate! Democracy, Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, Militarization

When Americans think of militarism, they may imagine jackbooted soldiers goose-stepping through the streets as flag-waving crowds exult; or, like our president, they may think of enormous parades featuring troops and missiles and tanks, with warplanes soaring overhead. Or nationalist dictators wearing military uniforms encrusted with medals, ribbons, and badges like so many barnacles on a sinking ship of state. (Was Donald Trump only joking recently when he said he’d like to award himself a Medal of Honor?) And what they may also think is: that’s not us.

Oakland Activists Pushing Efforts To Block Federal Militarization Of Local Police

October 2, 2019 By Mike Maharrey, Blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com Resist! Militarization, Militarized police, Oakland, Police

OAKLAND, Calif. (Sept. 30, 2019) – Activists in Oakland have ramped up efforts to take a first step toward limiting the impact of federal programs that militarize local police. American Friends Service Committee (AFCS) will host a community town hall on policing and military equipment in support of efforts to pass a city ordinance requiring approval by the Oakland City Council for the acquisition of military equipment, and use policies and reporting for military equipment that the Oakland Police Department has or obtains in the future. As AFCS points out, “Oakland has no policy for the acquisition or use of militarized equipment.

More Than A Wall

September 19, 2019 Todd Miller, Tni.org Educate! Borders, Immigration, Militarization, Military Budget, Profit, Undocumented

This report examines the role of the world’s largest arms (as well as a number of other security and IT) firms in shaping and profiting from the militarization of US borders. Through their campaign contributions, lobbying, constant engagement with government officials, and the revolving door between industry and government, these border security corporations and their government allies have formed powerful border–industrial complex that is a major impediment to a humane response to migration.

Trouble At The Border, American Concentration Camps

July 6, 2019 Robert C. Koehler, Common Wonders. Educate! Border Patrol, Immigration, Militarization, Racism

Yes, we have a serious problem at the border — indeed, at every border we create and defend with force of arms and bureaucratic indifference. “‘If you want water, just drink from a toilet.’ That’s what border patrol told one thirsty woman we met on today’s #DemsAtTheBorder trip. These are the same CBP personnel who threatened to throw burritos at members of Congress. Changes must be made.” So tweeted U.S. Rep. Judy Chu in the wake of a visit by congressmen and women to Texas border facilities last week, stirring even further incredulity and disgust about the nature of these American concentration camps for immigrants. The problem we have is ourselves.

Park Service Directed To Shift $2.5 Million In Fees To Help Pay For July 4 Parade

July 4, 2019 Nick Visser, Huff Post. Educate! Fourth of July, Militarization, National Park Service, Trump

The National Park Service will divert about $2.5 million in fees gathered from park-goers to help pay for the hefty costs of President Donald Trump’s Fourth of July celebration, The Washington Post reported Tuesday. The White House has been preparing for the president’s “Salute to America” on Thursday, a grand parade meant to showcase what Trump has called the “strongest and most advanced” military on the planet. Tanks have been shipped from Georgia, and a flyover by Air Force One is scheduled, as well as a promised “biggest ever” fireworks display, according to Trump. But such plans have reportedly stretched the event’s budget far past normal. The Post noted that the entire Independence Day celebration usually costs the National Park Service about $2 million, but the NPS was directed to divert park entrance and recreation fees to help cover some of the additional costs of this year’s event, according to two anonymous sources familiar with the planning.

AMLO In Office: From Megaprojects To Militarization

June 18, 2019 Caitlin Manning, Roarmag.org Educate! AMLO, Electoral Politics, Mexico, Militarization

Many on the left, both in Mexico and abroad, welcomed the new president of Mexico, hoping that his progressive rhetoric of a “fourth transformation” augured a new era of positive change in Mexico. Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) even convinced a number of Indigenous resistance groups that his administration would be favorable to their struggles against the neoliberal extractivist megaprojects that are devastating their lands. Indigenous rights supporter Richard Gere recently met with AMLO in the National Palace, and even Noam Chomsky spoke up favorably after a meeting with AMLO during his campaign last year.

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