Martin O'Malley
Related: About this forumJuan Cole: O'Malley was right about ISIL and climate change
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027011582elleng
(135,803 posts)by saying that the conditions for the rise of ISIL (ISIS, Daesh) were set by the impact on Syria of climate change, which drove farmers from their land into slums around cities and created extreme poverty. OMalleys assertion was immediately ridiculed on Fox News Channel and by Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum, who called the allegation a disconnect from reality. Who is right in this debate?
It should not come as a surprise that OMalley is indeed correct, especially since he chose his words very carefully. He said, One of the things that preceded the failure of the nation-state of Syria and the rise of ISIS, was the effects of climate change and the mega-drought that effected that region, which wiped out farmers, drove people to cities, created a humanitarian crisis
. It created the symptoms, or rather the conditions of extreme poverty that has led now to the rise of ISIL and this extreme violence. OMalley did not attribute the radical extremism in northeast Syria only to climate change and drought, underlining that it was only one of the causes of the weakening of the Syrian state and the immiseration of the population, which made them so desperate that they even turned to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and his hateful beheaders for salvation. It was, however, one cause among others, he said.
Beowulf42
(231 posts)Is it logical to assume then that as the effects of drought expand, especially outward from the equator, that the pressure on nearby areas, such as Africa and the Middle East, on areas such as Europe, southern Asia, the U.S., will increase the influx of people looking for food and employment? Our short-sighted politicians who have trouble with the "Vision Thing," had better get their jockstraps on and lace up their sneakers. We Ain"t Seen Nothin'" Yet.
raouldukelives
(5,178 posts)That desire to leave behind a better world. And there are those with investments in Wall St.
Who gladly help bribe elected officials to continue to ignore reality and assure the gravy train for themselves at the expense of everything, for everyone, forever.
Bernardo de La Paz
(50,840 posts)Or is it saying the only short-sighted ones are men? That would be equally sexist.
pscot
(21,037 posts)Koinos
(2,798 posts)He is a professor at the University of Michigan and an esteemed expert on Middle Eastern affairs. His ongoing account of the lies surrounding the Iraq war was legendary. If anyone knows what he is talking about, it is Juan Cole.
His site: http://www.juancole.com/
The final paragraph of his article in The Nation:
BlueMTexpat
(15,493 posts)Juan Cole admirer.
Koinos
(2,798 posts)druidity33
(6,554 posts)Koinos
(2,798 posts)Martin O'Malley's plan is to get us off fossil fuels for electricity by 2050:
https://martinomalley.com/climate/agenda/
We need to treat this issue with the urgency it deserves.
Juan Cole underlines that fact.