Center for Strategic Communication

An op-ed on the security implications of COP21 signed by four members of American Security Project’s Consensus for American Security was published by Stars and Stripes online and in their Saturday, December 19th print edition.

Lieutenant General John Castellaw, USMC (Ret.), Lieutenant General Bob Gard, USA (Ret.), Vice Admiral Lee Gunn, USN (Ret.), and Lieutenant General Norm Seip, USAF (Ret.) wrote:

The agreement is a clear sign the world recognizes climate change as a real and growing threat to global security, and that we are already seeing its effects. In Paris, delegates often called for a strong agreement on climate change because of the threats that they perceived to their country’s national security. An American Security Project report from 2013 found that over 70 percent of the world’s governments viewed climate change as a security threat — and that number has only gone up since.

The piece goes on to say:

Ultimately, we know that meeting the challenge of climate change will not come from a signature on an international agreement. It will not come from any single nations. It will come from concerted action by individuals, companies and nations over many years. The Paris Agreement may be the time when the world’s leaders finally realized that the costs of inaction are greater than the costs of action. They overcame national differences in an effort to make a risk-management plan that could eventually meet the challenge. The Paris Agreement deserves support.

 

Read the full Op-Ed here.

 

Lieutenant General John Castellaw, USMC (Ret.) served with the UN during the Siege of Sarajevo, commanded the American force in the multi-national security and stability operation in East Timor, and as the chief of staff for the U.S. Central Command at the height of the war in Iraq.  His last tours were in the Pentagon where he oversaw Marine Aviation and then the Marine Corps budget.

Lieutenant General Bob Gard, USA (Ret.) is a 31-year veteran of the U.S. Army and served in combat in Korea and Vietnam. He served as executive assistant to two secretaries of defense, was the first Director of Human Resources Development for the U.S. Army and served as President of the National Defense University

Vice Admiral Lee Gunn, USN (Ret.) served in the U.S. Navy for thirty-five years prior to his retirement in 2000.  His last active duty assignment was Inspector General of the Department of the Navy where, together with his Marine Deputy, he was responsible for the Department’s overall inspection program and its assessments of readiness, training, and quality of service.

Lieutenant General Norm Seip, USAF (Ret.) served in the Air Force for 35 years. His last assignment was Commander of 12th Air Force, comprised of seven active-duty wings and two direct-reporting units in the Western and Midwestern United States. He was a command pilot with more than 4,500 flying hours, primarily in fighter aircraft and has flown in support of numerous military operations and contingencies around the world.

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