Bernie Sanders’ tells on “Face the Nation” on Sunday came just after the Democratic debate that took place on Saturday. Bernie Sanders during Saturday night’s Democratic debate was whether he still believes climate change is the No. 1 national security threat to the United States – and Twitter users had a lot to say about his answer.
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“Absolutely. In fact, climate change is directly related to the growth of terrorism”, Sanders said on November 14. In July, the Pentagon released a report to Congress that cited climate change as a major factor that will exacerbate national security threats and risks. “And if we do not get our act together and listen to what the scientists say, you’re going to see countries all over the world-this is what the C.I.A. says-they’re going to be struggling over limited amounts of water, limited amounts of land to grow their crops ask you’re going to see all kinds of worldwide conflict”.
World leaders, from more than 190 nations, will gather in Paris for COP21 to discuss a possible new global agreement on climate change that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the catastrophic consequences of global warming.
Dickerson: “But how does drought connect with attacks by [the Islamic State] in the middle of Paris?”
“I don’t think climate change ranks in the top ten list when you consider that we have these asymmetric threats of Islamic terrorism, organized to destroy western civilization”. “This isn’t about climate change and deserts and people migrating because it’s hot”, said Ms. Noonan.
But it’s unclear if global warming actually had an detectable impact on Syria’s climate in the run-up to the start of the civil war in 2011.
Sanders called for “an worldwide coalition that includes very significantly the Muslim nations in that region who are going to have to fight and defend their way of life”. “And when people migrate into cities and they don’t have jobs, there’s going to be a lot more instability, a lot more unemployment, and people will be subject to the types of propaganda that al Qaeda and ISIS [spread]”.
Sanders, who’s in the running for the democratic nomination, isn’t the only liberal politician to make the connection between conflict and climate. Sanders said it had not.
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“Climate change and water shortages may have triggered the drought that cause farmers to relocate to Syrian cities and triggered situations where youth were more susceptible to joining extremist groups”. Those critics are also wrong to downplay the impact that climate change is already having-and will have in the future when it comes to sparking or worsening global conflicts.
