In the mid-2000s, in response to IED threats in Iraq, the US military sought an armored, bomb-resistant truck, more protected than an HMMWV.
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The result was a surplus of vehicles. Many got shipped to Iraq and left there. But contracts had to be filled, and the trucks got built.
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Many of these surplus vehicles ended up being sent to police forces for next to nothing. We had nowhere else to send them.
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So yes. This militarization of the police is a direct result of the war in Iraq. Think about that. This is literally warfighting gear.
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This is the current Google maps image of where Camp Liberty in Baghdad used to be. Those trucks? Yeah.pic.twitter.com/qy89ZmL6sP
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The vehicles rolling up the streets of Baton Rouge are very much the same as what's there.
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Look at this press release. "This $237,000 weapon will be unleashed on the streets of East Baton Rouge Parish" http://www.lencoarmor.com/east-baton-rouge-gets-new-armored-vehicle/ …
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Like they don't even pretend. That press release is oozing with violence. THIS WEAPON WILL BE UNLEASHED ON THE STREETS
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I'm not claiming wokeness or anything here. I am complicit in creating this. A small part. But a part.
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This is why I my work now focuses on the ethics of tech. It was just about the algorithms then. And now a weapon is unleasehd on the street
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(to be clear, I do not and have never worked for Lenco)
End of conversation
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