Retired Navy Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn likens the effect of climate change on current conflicts to a magnifying glass, saying that it intensifies everything (0:35).
By Sam Wechsler – Talk Radio News Service
Climate change is a real and imminent threat to national security, said a group of senators Thursday during a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing.
During a discussion regarding the value of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (Waxman-Markey bill), the senators agreed that it is important to decrease dependence on foreign oil.
“We’re not going to say no to importing all foreign oil, but when we look at some of the countries where we rely on for energy, [they are] countries that we would rather not be dealing with, that put us at risk when they cut off our supply,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).
In addition to foreign oil, climate change may also affect the U.S.’s national security by heightening the intensity of conflicts abroad.
Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn, a witness at the hearing, likened climate change to a magnifying glass on global conflicts. He argued that climate change would create water shortages in some regions, crop failure, and cause environmentally displaced people to cross borders. “[Climate change] will place an avoidable and unacceptable burden on our young men and women in uniform now, and in generations to come,” said McGinn.
“I believe we must heed these warnings to protect our nation’s security,” added Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).
The United States needs a dramatic increase in defense spending as well as a massive overhaul of its national security decision-making process in order to avoid a catastrophe, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said Monday.
“[We need] a national security budget and a homeland security budget driven by meeting the capabilities of our opponents, not by meeting their intentions. We are today running very big risks in the name of saving a few billion dollars that may end up killing several million Americans. The time to fix that is before the disaster happens,” said Gingrich.
He described several threats to national security such as nuclear, biological, and cyber attacks, as well as electromagnetic pulse attacks that could wipe out most of the country’s electrical structure. Gingrich stated that the U.S., like Japan, should start militarizing outer space in order to protect the massive amounts of communication technology orbiting the Earth.
Gingrich also criticized the federal government’s inability to act decisively and quickly, explaining that bureaucracy hinders the country’s ability to move at the speed of the modern world or sustain its defense system.
“We have been the most fortunate generation in history…We are still today the richest, freest, and safest people in the history of the world. That will only remain true if we have the courage, the discipline, and the foresight to insist on the kind of changes we need in order to maintain safety as the highest single value of the American people, a base on which you can then build prosperity and freedom,” said Gingrich.
T. Boone Pickens asserts the need to become energy independent the American way (0:39).
Shortly after the release of a report detailing U.S. vulnerability to cyber attack, President Obama outlined how the administration will confront the security of the country’s digital infrastructure as a national security concern (0:28)
By Courtney Costello- Talk Radio News Service
A report released by the CNA’s Military Advisory Board this past week details how climate change poses an imminent threat to U.S. national security.
Some negative factors that were outlined in the report include the oil trade and consumption policies of the past U.S. presidential administrations and providing oil to the opposite side of the Iraqi conflict by the United States.
“The military is the nations single largest user of energy in this country,” said Sherri Goodman, Executive Director of the MAB report.
According to the report, if the United States triumphs in the frontier of green technologies, U.S. military use of these green services will be more cost efficient, while having a positive impact on the environment.
Retired U.S. Air Force General Charles Wald said: “This situation can be exploited as a threat by those who wish to do us harm.”
That threat, Wald said, entails a reduction in combat effectiveness due to a wasteful use of oil. Many attacks are targeted toward conveys carrying fuel on
the battlefield, he said.
A more innovative recommendation was the creation of an engine capable of using algae as fuel in the U.S. Navy.
Additionally, the report recommended adding an electric fleet of convoys for the military. It also urged the implementation of efficiency standards across the entire Defense Department.
General Charles Wald, USAF (Ret.) speaks on the national security threat due to the climate changes. Stating that the issue lies with the United States dependance on foreign oil. (0:32)
President Obama delivers remarks on national security. (47:00)
By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service
>House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) called congressional voting cards “the most dangerous credit card in the history of the world”, because then enable Congress and the president to engage in reckless spending. This was not Boehner’s first criticism of Obama, but his statement came on the 101st day of the Obama Administration, a time which Boehner has criticized as being pock marked with excessive borrowing, reckless spending and a massive growth in government.
Boehner said that Democrat’s “record on spending and debt is staggering, but our economy is growing weaker, and it’s not going to get any better by growing the size of the government here in Washington.”
Boehner believes that the Democratically controlled Congress has enabled and contributed to the recklessness, and thinks it is up to the Republicans to put a stop to it. Republicans must be “the party of better solutions” if they are going to stand up to the Democrats in Congress, Boehner said, adding that he hopes Democrats will be committed to a bipartisan policy approach..
Citing the elections of 2008, Boehner said “out brand has been tarnished”, but to help the party serve the American people, Republicans must stand up to the Obama Administration when disagreements arise, and to offer alternative solutions.
Leader Boehner applauded President Obama on his strategy towards Afghanistan and Iraq, but showed concern at Obama’s greater national security policy.
“The big question continues to be: what is the Administration’s overarching plan to fight terrorism? Judging from their recent decision to release 30 terrorist detainees with no plan on where to put them, it continues to beg the question,” referring to Obama’s closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention center without knowing where the detainees will be sent.
by Christina Lovato, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service
This morning U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations and stated that the $7.1 billion requested in supplemental funds for State Department operations and foreign assistance is a significant sum but expressed that it is only a fraction of what the U.S. spends each year on national security. (00:35)
