It is. Really. Not kidding. Bear with me. (Washington Times)
House Democrats yesterday were expected to block Republican efforts to strip a global-warming study from a bill setting intelligence policy, hours after top retired military officials lauded Democratic efforts to link climate change with national security.
House Republicans are gearing up for a floor showdown on the topic today after Democrats insisted that the intelligence bill keep a provision ordering a National Intelligence Estimate that would evaluate climate change as a security risk.
"This is an area that we may be vulnerable in terms of potential terrorists," said Rep. Silvestre Reyes, Texas Democrat and chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
"You mean a terrorist could impact global climate change?" asked Rep. David Dreier of California, the ranking Republican on the Rules Committee.
"We don’t know," Mr. Reyes responded, prompting Mr. Dreier to snap sarcastically: "Wow. That’s amazing."
The Web site of The Washington Times, washtimes.com, first reported last Thursday about the provision in the bill to draft a National Intelligence Estimate — a formal and authoritative report done by a broad section of the intelligence community — on the "anticipated geopolitical effects of global climate change."
I would highly recommend reading the whole story, a quick excerpt doesn’t do the trick.
Now, I mentioned this back on April 9th, and mostly poo poo’d it. In retrospect, let me reconsider the proposal.
Consider: first, as previously mentioned, it would be good for the intelligence and military communities to understand how climate can affect areas, and be prepared to fight in them. Climate change is happening in areas, though it is questionable how much, and whether it is global, or micro-climatic.
Second, an official study may backfire on the Democrats, as it shows that climate change is primarily caused by natural forces, not human actions.
If a study gives the military more information on how to fight under certain climate and weather conditions more effectively, great! I betcha George Washington and the Continental Army would have appreciated better ideas regarding the coming conditions prior to Valley Forge and fighting The Battle of Monmouth.
So, let them have their study. It may put to bed the idiocy of global warming as caused by Man once and for all. Just make sure it is one and done, otherwise, as Byron York writes
But soon (global warming) could be more than a ploy; it could be national policy. At the very least, it is now the position of the Democratic leadership in the House and Senate. (A similar National Intelligence Estimate measure is pending in the Senate.) And it comes just in time for coming campaigns: If global warming is a national security issue, then Democrats, contrary to their long-time image, can claim to be very, very tough on national security.
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