On the “Face the Nation” Sunday on CBS, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders expressed his opinion that global warming is the greatest threat to America’s national security, confirming the fact that Democrats believe that carbon dioxide emissions are more dangerous than terrorists, says The Daily Caller.
Opinions about the threat, expressed during the Democratic debate
Bernie Sanders’ tells on “Face the Nation” on Sunday came just after the Democratic debate that took place on Saturday. Then, all three candidates expressed their concern about global warming, claiming that it contributed to the Syrian Civil War, and therefore to the rise of ISIS, according to the same source.
“If there is not enough water, if there is not enough land to grow your crops, then you’re going to see migrations of people fighting over land that will sustain them. And that will lead to international conflict”, stated Sanders. Even President Barack Obama strongly believes that these two threats are connected. “It is not a coincidence that immediately prior to the civil war in Syria, the country experienced the worst drought on record”, said Secretary of State John Kerry in an October speech.
It’s related to terrorism, says Bernie Sanders
Sanders pointed out that he understands that terrorism is a big threat to humanity, but resolving global warming could mean you can kill two birds with one stone.
“In fact, climate change is directly related to the growth of terrorism. And if we do not get our act together and listen to what the scientists say you’re gonna see countries all over the world– this is what the C.I.A. says, they’re gonna be struggling over limited amounts of water, limited amounts of land to grow their crops. And you’re gonna see all kinds of international conflict.”, stated Sanders during Saturday’s debate, quoted by the Daily Caller.
And solutions could be proposed at the next U.N. global warming summit that will be held in Paris. Despite recent terrorist attacks in Paris, French officials are determined for things to go on as planned, as it’s likely for countries to back an international agreement to cut carbon dioxide emissions. “Nations will be more likely to work closely with France to produce a constructive outcome,” former U.S. diplomat Nigel Purvis told Politico.
Global warming is a real issue
While most Americans won’t probably understand the Democrats’ analogy, Time’s Justin Worland come to their help, arguing that “many academics and national security experts agree that climate change contributes to an uncertain world where terrorism can thrive”. “The worst drought on record in the Middle Eastern country has created instability for farmers and threatened the food supply. At the same time, the government has struggled to hold on to power across the country in the face of militant groups and millions of Syrians have fled their homeland.”, Worland wrote.
While Syria has a long history of drought, contributing to rising tensions, is more logical to make a parallel between politics and terrorism, not terrorism and global warming. “[P]olitical and economic factors prove to be much better and more compelling explanations for men to fight other men.”, wrote National security expert Jeff Kueter with the George C. Marshall Institute in a 2014 paper.
