war on drugs

Afghanistan has become the world's top producer of opium. According to the United Nations, the Southern Asian nation supplies more than 90 percent of the world market in opiates. And while the drug trade is not new to Afghanistan, it's beginning to leave its mark on society.

Northrop Grumman said Wednesday it has won a new U.S. Defense Department contract to help fight the war on drugs. The company said it had been "awarded an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity -- IDIQ -- contract by the U.S. Department of Defense to provide technology development application for new products and services to defense and federal civilian agencies, state and local authorities, and partner nations engaged in counter-drug and counter-narco-terrorism -- CNT -- operations." Northrop Grumman said it was "one of five companies that will compete for task orders under this IDIQ contract. The contract, administered by the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Huntsville, Ala., has a total program ceiling of $15 billion over five years."

Mr. Chairman, distinguished members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to speak today. I’m here to talk about police militarization, a troubling trend that’s been on the rise in America’s police departments over the last 25 years. Militarization is a broad term that refers to using military-style weapons, tactics, training, uniforms, and even heavy equipment by civilian police departments.