Sanders: Climate Change Is ‘Absolutely’ The Greatest Threat to National Security

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Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) argued that climate change is “absolutely” the greatest threat to national security during Saturday’s Democratic presidential debate on CBS.

Sanders was asked, “Senator Sanders, you said you want to rid the planet of ISIS. In the previous debate, you said the greatest threat to national security was climate change. Do you still believe that?”

He answered, “Absolutely. In fact, climate change is directly related to the growth of terrorism. 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 this is what the CIA says, they’re going to be struggling over limited amounts of water, limited amounts of land to grow their crops, and you’re going to see all kinds of international conflict. But, of course, international terrorism is a major issue that we have got to address today. And I agree with much of what the secretary and the governor have said. But let me have one area of disagreement with the secretary. I think she said something like, the bulk of the responsibility is not ours. Well, in fact, I would argue that the disastrous invasion of Iraq, something that I strongly opposed, has unraveled the region completely, and led to the rise of al Qaeda, and to ISIS. Now, in fact, what we have got to do, and I think there is widespread agreement here, is the United States cannot do it alone. What we need to do is lead an international coalition, which includes, very significantly, the Muslim nations in that region, who are going to have to fight and defend their way of life.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett

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