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by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
(NaturalNews) For the past decade, alternative news websites like Natural News, Info Wars, SHTFplan.com and many others have repeatedly warned about the alarming militarization of domestic police forces across the United States. The response from the mostly liberal mainstream media was raucous laughter and denial. “Government is good!” we were told. “We need strong police forces to fight the…” (fill in the blank with your favorite fictional enemy such as “domestic terrorists” or “the war on drugs” or “protesters.”)
But today, the exact scenario the alternative media has been warning you about for ten years is here. The Ferguson (St. Louis) riots have erased all denials and delusions. Police are now soldiers of war rigged up with bomb-proof armored vehicles made for military assaults, automatic weapons, desert camouflage uniforms, Darth Vader-like masks, grenades, laser sniper sights and more.
Even Newsweek magazine, an unbridled cheerleader for statist agendas, had to admit the obvious, saying: (1)
As many have noted, Ferguson, Missouri, currently looks like a war zone. And its police — kitted out with Marine-issue camouflage and military-grade body armor, toting short-barreled assault rifles, and rolling around in armored vehicles — are indistinguishable from soldiers.
This is all by design. The National Defense Authorization Act of 1990 allowed the federal government to “transfer to Federal and State agencies personal property of the Department of Defense, including small arms and ammunition, that the Secretary determines is – (A) suitable for use by such agencies in counter-drug activities; and (B) excess to the needs of the Department of Defense.”
This program set off a wave of police departments across the country acquiring military machinery and soldier-of-war weapons that have no business in the hands of a domestic police force tasked with “keeping the peace.” Under the program, a total of 400 armored vehicles, 500 aircraft and 93,000 automatic weapons were transferred to local police, reports the National Journal. (4) The transfers continue to this day.
All of these weapons and vehicles were designed to be used on the battlefield: a place where the primary mission is to kill as many enemies as possible. Their very engineering prioritizes the achievement of mass casualties. Nothing in this weaponry was ever designed to “keep the peace.” So what happens when domestic police forces get their hands on this gear? They enter the realm of “soldier role playing.”
Cops playing soldier
I know cops. I was a board member of a city police force volunteer organization for two years in Arizona. I’ve trained at their facilities and even spent some time teaching cops Defensive Tactics (D.T.) against edged weapons. Cops are great people, by the way. They also love beer. And the only thing cops love more than beer is TOYS.