Defense Secretary James Mattis Breaks With Other Cabinet Members On Climate Change

[Quixote1818]

Mattis it the only sane one of the bunch it seems.


Mattis said that climate change is real and threatening global stability.

Secretary of Defense James Mattis has asserted that climate change is real, and a threat to American interests abroad and the Pentagon’s assets everywhere, a position that appears at odds with the views of the president who appointed him and many in the administration in which he serves.

In unpublished written testimony provided to the Senate Armed Services Committee after his confirmation hearing in January, Mattis said it was incumbent on the U.S. military to consider how changes like open-water routes in the thawing Arctic and drought in global trouble spots can pose challenges for troops and defense planners. He also stressed this is a real-time issue, not some distant what-if.

“Climate change is impacting stability in areas of the world where our troops are operating today,” Mattis said in written answers to questions posed after the public hearing by Democratic members of the committee. “It is appropriate for the Combatant Commands to incorporate drivers of instability that impact the security environment in their areas into their planning.”

Mattis has long espoused the position that the armed forces, for a host of reasons, need to cut dependence on fossil fuels and explore renewable energy where it makes sense. He had also, as commander of the U.S. Joint Forces Command in 2010, signed off on the Joint Operating Environment, which lists climate change as one of the security threats the military expected to confront over the next 25 years.

More:


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/james-mattis-climate-change_us_58c92f8ae4b01c029d77a713?oxiop5o2hoz3vunmi&

[JHB]

1. Apropos of nothing more than off-the cuff thoughts, but...

...a part of me loves that "Mad Dog" is the sane one in this kennel.

[Leghorn21]

2. And from earlier today, Mattis is - well, mad - about Trump loyalist not being removed from

his staff...dripity drip, man

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=8795675

[Laxman]

3. He Has To Recognize Climate Change.....

the military has no room for the denial of reality that politicians have the liberty to indulge in. The Navy is directly affected by sea level rise. Norfolk Naval Base regularly floods at high tide. The social disruption caused by food and water shortages will be the biggest driving force in global conflict. (and if you think we have refugee issues to deal with now, you haven't seen a thing yet). It is heartening to see some sanity in policy, but this recognition is born of necessity. I also agree that you know things are crazed when a guy named "Mad Dog" is the voice of reason.

[FSogol]

5. I was going to mention Norfolk. The Navy base's roads are frequently under water. n/t

[hatrack]

6. Yep, biggest naval base in the world, and it's in trouble . . .

I was at a presentation a few months back, which featured a guy named Chris King, a retired brigadier and Dean at the Command General Staff College in Leavenworth.

He's all over the issue, and so is the military generally. They know it's real, it's coming, and it's going to fuck some stuff up.

I asked him about Norfolk, in essence "What's the plan?" His answer was basically everything - abandoning the indefensible, moving inland where possible and hardening what's left. His take is that Norfolk is a project that will never end, and which will take billions and billions of dollars for decades to come.

[Hekate]

4. Back in the BushCheney admin, we found out the Pentagon had a well-researched plan...

...for how the US military would handle the known effects of global climate change, to wit: rising oceans, new swaths of desert, millions of climate refugees, and so an and so forth. It was obvious then that they knew and acknowledged that global climate change is a threat to national security, and inasmuch as they are tasked with researching, anticipating, and dealing with threats to national security, they had drawn up plans for dealing with it. The military is part of the reality based community, and as long as their leadership is not overtaken by Bannon's political commissars, that portion of our federal government remains in good hands.

I hope Mattis is not driven out of this administration, and if he must go, I hope he speaks out loud and often.

[Lotusflower70]

7. Bizarre

A rational person mixed in with the batshit group. That can't possibly end well.