Climate change excuse for US military intervention?

PRESS TV Climate change excuse for US military intervention?

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 02:07:10 GMT

Future climate change may force US military involvement abroad with Washington saying it has to intervene to defend power structures hardest hit by climate change. The aftereffects of the changes like wholesale population movements and pandemics would trigger conflicts that could dent local governments thus necessitating US military intervention, said the New York Times on Saturday quoting military and intelligence pundits. The interviewees raised concerns about ensuing 'terrorist movements' and regional destabilization. The daily said the changes could turn "sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and South and Southeast Asia" to actual flashpoints. "The sense that climate change poses security and geopolitical challenges is central to the thinking of the State Department and the climate office," said Peter Ogden, Chief of staff to Todd Stern, the State Department's top climate negotiator. "I've been making this argument for a number of years ... , but it has not been a focus because a lot of people had not connected the dots," said Sen. John Kerry [D-MA], a mainstream proponent of the US government's attention on climate issues. He said the southern Sudan clashes had come about as a result of drought in Darfur saying, "That is going to be repeated many times over and on a much larger scale." The issue began assuming center stage last year, when the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the New York senator at the time, and other congressmen underlined the strategic implications of climate change. At the same time, the National Intelligence Council, which produces the National Intelligence Estimate listing the reported threats to the US, assessed the supposed national security effects of the likely changes. "The demands of these potential humanitarian responses may significantly tax US military transportation and support force structures, resulting in a strained readiness posture and decreased strategic depth for combat operations," the body said. Accordingly, the Defense Department envisioned a contingency plan including "sophisticated Navy and Air Force weather programs and other government climate research programs at NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration." http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=102913&sectionid=3510203 HN/SME/MMA