War on Terror Rhetoric: Now Available for Domestic Use
The piece highlights Trump's alarming use of federal forces in US cities, correctly labeling it as the 'empire coming home.' Yet Al Jazeera, perhaps unintentionally, overlooks the fact that this 'empire' has been perfecting its domestic policing tactics on marginalized communities for decades, long before the 'War on Terror.' What the Pentagon calls 'counter-insurgency' overseas, American police
forces practiced in Watts in '65, in Chicago's Black and Brown neighborhoods for generations, and against Standing Rock protestors in 2016. The militarization of domestic policing, significantly accelerated by programs like the 1033 Program following 9/11, funnelled billions in surplus military equipment to local departments, turning beat cops into battlefield-ready units. This isn't just America
importing tactics from abroad; it’s an intensification of tactics refined domestically and then exported. We are told this is a 'collapse' of empire, but it reads more like a grim expansion, where every 'other' becomes a potential 'insurgent.' The only surprise here is that some are only now noticing the uniforms on their own street corners, after years of cheering their deployment elsewhere. How
many 'wars on terror' does it take for us to notice the terror at home?