Economy and Environment are National Security Threats

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on threats to the United States. In his written statement, he said that, “the primary near-term security concern of the United States is the global economic crisis and its geopolitical implications.” Blair said that time was of the essence, because “statistical modeling shows that economic crises increase the risk of regime-threatening instability if they persist over a one to two year period.” The threat to nations both politically and economically could affect regional stability, and could prevent America’s allies from fully meeting their defense and humanitarian responsibilities.

Blair highlighted a number of nations which have specific security concerns to the United States, including Iran and Afghanistan, but Blair brought up broader security concerns. Among these broader concerns were resource scarcity, overpopulation, and climate change. Blair said that by 2025 more than one billion people will be added to the world population, which will exacerbate the food and water shortages in some areas. Blair continued that this larger world population will use more energy, which would fuel climate change. This could lead to a quicker rise in sea-levels, as well as widespread health problems and agricultural losses. He said, “such a complex and unprecedented syndrome of problems could cause outright state failure, or weaken the important pivotal states counted on to act as anchors of regional stability.”