Militarizing The Police
An unprecedented Act of War has been unleashed upon the American people. Literally, an Act of War, in the sense that a tactical technique that has only previously seen deployment on battlefields has now been deployed against a citizen on the streets of America.
Let's explore how we got to this point.
On July 5th and 6th, 2016, two separate incidents involving the fatal shootings of black civilians by white police officers were captured on video in Baton Rouge and Minneapolis-St. Paul. Preliminary information and video footage of these events evoked civilian protests throughout cities across the nation where, on July 7th, six Dallas Police Officers were fatally shot by a black sniper who voiced anger over the mounting police shootings of black men.
The events that unfolded on the streets of Baton Rouge, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Dallas culminated in a singular crucial event that has been overlooked by some and which may have grave consequences for our future. Witness the emergence of the UGV Drone Strike.
The UGV Drone (Unmanned Ground Vehicle) is a remotely controlled robotic ground vehicle that can serve purposes such as reconnaissance or as a lethal delivery system. These devices have seen extensive use in the Iraqi and Afghan arenas. It differs from the UAV Drones (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) that we are most familiar with in that it's restricted to ground-based operations. The adoption of tactical devices such as this follows course with the increasing militarization of police departments across the country.
The militarization of police departments can, in many regards, be traced back to nearly three quarters of a century of meddling in the Middle-East, with pronounced effects coming from the Iraq and Afghanistan invasions. The events of 9/11, global terrorism and the rise of the Islamic State Army are all effects of this meddling. The War On Terror has done more to promote the creation of terrorists than any other measure. The War On Terror "Policy" dictates that we annihilate terrorists, and in doing so, civilian collateral damage occurs which, in turn, conceives more resentment and hate from new generations who then become fervent terrorists (or freedom fighters, in their perspective). This "policy" is then doubled-down and the vicious cycle continues. The cycle of violence continues to the point where it threatens the homeland, whereby heavy-handed legislation produces the likes of the Patriot Act, and the Department of Homeland Security.
And, the war machine continues to churn, creating more turmoil and most importantly, the spoils of war --- profit in the form of advantageous mineral-land-grabs, military base installations and lucrative contracts for big corporations within the military-industrial complex.
Through all of this, our nation has witnessed a paradigm shift where militaristic approaches from the battlefields are projected upon the police departments of our cities. We are seeing federal military surpluses being made available to domestic police departments, which increasingly resemble that of National Guard forces rather than that of a civil policing departments. We see camouflage tactical gear being donned, tricked-out assault rifles, signals intelligence (SIGINT), surveillance equipment, directed-energy-crowd-control equipment and militaristic personnel carriers emerging from our local precincts. And, on a cerebral note, one has to ask whether this increasing militaristic atmosphere is having any psychological effect on police by lending a sense of emboldening or bravado which could potentially influence the way they interact with citizens or suspects on the streets ?
A profound, watershed moment was witnessed in Dallas, one which may have opened the gate to a future where many more lives and civil liberties may hang in the balance. This pivotal event involved the use of a UGV Drone ( similar to a PackBot ) that was used to deliver and detonate a C4 explosive at the combatant's location. Boom ! Wow, the government uses suicide bombers too, albeit mechanical in form ! This is unprecedented. Reports of similar tactics have been stated to have occurred in Iraq and Afghanistan, but those were war zones.
This poses the question of just how far the government can escalate force against an American citizen on American soil.
The US has been producing frag grenades since WWII, but have our laws ever allowed police to lob a lethal frag grenade through the window of a building where an armed standoff has occurred? No ! So, is a UVG Drone any different ? No ! Just because it is a non-human robotic device does not detract from the fact that a life is being taken by means of an escalated offensive tactic which has historically been reserved for the battlefield.
This brazen use of a UGV Drone is mind boggling. You would think that authorities would have learned from the perils of the 1993 Waco incident, where armored Tanks (not their munitions) and incendiary devices were utilized, and the lives of many women and children were lost while the wrath of Timothy McVeigh was spawned.
My simple understanding has always been, that the use of lethal force is only viable if opposing deadly force is either exhibited or attempted. If an antagonist exhibits deadly force and then drops their weapon, then there are no longer grounds for use of deadly force against the actor, unless repossession of the weapon is attempted. Thus far, the preliminary evidence from Dallas doesn't exhibit such a scenario and it more closely resembles that of an intent to kill. We can't allow the gravity of this incident to be down-played simply because it was a non-human device that delivered the death blow. Nor can we allow the combatant's gross carnage to be used in justifying his murder, for this would exhibit extrajudicial prejudice of which has no place in our constitution. We have to adhere to the law for without it, chaos ensues. Remote-controlled lethality is no less a killing. And, is there video data from the drone? What if footage showed a civilian combatant with his hands in the air just before detonation? What if it showed a combatant in a wounded and semi-responsive state ? Would that be murder by proxy ? The Dallas Police Department has experienced devastating losses and it should be given some respect. But, while I'm not trying to beat a dead horse here, I can't help but feel like the old adage, "two wrongs don't make a right," applies.
I've heard the excuse, "times are changing and authorities have to keep-up with the bad guys." That's simply nonsense and any statistical inquiry will show that the "bad guys" are still primarily using the same weapons they've been using for the past Century --- blades, clubs, guns and explosives --- they're not running around nowadays with phasers, gravity-cannons and A-bombs or even fully automatic rifles, for that matter ! The fact is, authorities are creating such a disparity in capabilities between those in power and the common citizen that should there ever be an instance when the American people feel justified in exercising their constitutional rights to assemble, create militias and bear arms, it would be a totally fruitless endeavor, for they would be no match for those in power.
Many have warned of a day when heavy-handed tactics used on military battlefields would find application on the domestic streets of America. Well, my fellow Americans, we have just witnessed such an event. The UGV Drone has been unleashed with lethality, which sets precedent and opens the door for a day when unmanned UAV Aerial Drones are dropping their payloads above American soil.
What will these escalated tactics bring upon our society? They will not bring us a safer America, as you will be told by the talking-head pundits. No, it will bring more backlash, bloodshed and criminal innovation and improvisation.
The vicious cycle will never cease until authorities deescalate and allow time for the people to gain a restored faith that they are not being subjugated and assaulted by those appointed authorities who are supposed to be serving in their best interests.
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