Actually, if you think about it, this should hardly be a surprise.
In my very cynical mind, this is a matter of Obama realizing that this equipment is being used against the wrong people. If he even bothered to think it through, I think he was more expecting it to be used to control or intimidate the general public. More important, I think he realized that he doesn’t have as much control over how this gear is used than he thought. The police here didn’t ask permission, or even notify, the government that this gear was rolling out.
Being here in St. Louis, I’ve had an opportunity to watch the practical results of police “militarization.” Though my Libertarian leanings oppose it, the reality is that it is likely irrelevant. I’m going to have to devote a separate editorial to that.