.
The group "held climate war games looking at what might happen in
extreme scenarios."...
11/19/12, "Amid budget scrutiny, CIA shutters climate center," Greenwire, A. Snider, E&E reporter
"With the U.S. intelligence budget shrinking, the CIA has quietly shut
down its Center on Climate Change and National Security -- a project
that was launched with the support of Leon Panetta when he led the
agency, but that drew sharp criticism from some Republicans in Congress.
Multiple sources with knowledge of the center said it closed its
doors earlier this year
, with its staff and analysis continuing under
other auspices. CIA spokesman Todd Ebitz confirmed the change.
"The CIA for several years has studied the national security implications of climate change," Ebitz said in a statement to Greenwire.
"This work is now performed by a dedicated team in an office that looks
at a variety of economic and energy security issues affecting the
United States."
The CIA launched the climate change center in September 2009 after a
spate of reports linking climate change and national security that drew
interest from some members of Congress seeking political action on
climate change.
The center was designed as a small unit of senior specialists
focused on the impact that environmental changes could have on
political, economic and social factors in countries of concern to the
United States. The analysts probed questions such as, under what
scenarios might a massive drought cause large-scale migration, and when
might a government's failure to respond to a devastating flood open the
door for terrorist groups to win over the local populace?
Analysts at the center worked to develop warning software that
combined regional climate projections with political and demographic
information, and held climate war games looking at what might happen in
extreme scenarios, such as if rapid glacial melt caused the ocean's
major currents to shut down.
The center didn't focus on the science behind climate change but
instead relied on data from other government agencies as well as
recommendations -- including ones in a report released just over a week
ago -- from the National Academy of Sciences (Greenwire, Nov. 9)....
Under his (Panetta's) successor, David Petraeus,
the agency was highly focused on terrorism, specifically targeted
killings using armed drones.
"Especially since Panetta left, there wasn't a lot of love for this
at the CIA," a former defense official said of the climate center's
work.
The exact timing of the closure and the reasons behind it are not
clear. Those close to the center speculate that the move may have been
intended to pre-empt cuts from Congress. The total U.S. intelligence
budget has declined for the past two years, dipping to $75.4 billion for
fiscal 2012 after peaking at $80.1 billion in fiscal 2010.
"It could be that they're just not looking to throw red meat in front of the House," the former defense official said. Indeed, at least one congressional Republican is celebrating the center's demise.
"Closing the Climate Change Center at the CIA was the right
decision," said Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), who led efforts to block
the center's funding, in a statement to Greenwire. "It's critically important for the CIA to focus its resources on preventing terrorism and keeping Americans safe."
Sources say, however, that the closure of the center has had little impact on the agency's climate analysis. "Frankly, I haven't noticed any change in the work," a second former defense official said....
Much information and expertise that
the center needed in
order to do its analyses is based in the academic world and involves
non-U.S. nationals, whom the intelligence community tends to eye with
suspicion.
The CIA climate center was launched with a mandate to "be aggressive
in outreach to academics and think tanks working the issue," according
to a release from the time. But aside from an exclusive interview
with this reporter in fall 2010 and a well-attended but vague briefing
at the Pew Charitable Trusts in January 2011, the center has kept a low
public profile.
The first former defense official said that while the analysis being
done by the CIA center was valuable, the work would be a better fit
within the Defense Department's policy office or at the State
Department. ...
In addition to the CIA's work, the National Intelligence Council --
the intelligence community's mid- and long-range forecasting arm -- has
also been analyzing the potential security impacts of climate change.
The council released a classified report on the topic in 2008, and this
year completed a report assessing potential tensions related to access
to water (Greenwire, March 22).
Whether and from where the issue may get support going forward
remains an open question. The top job at the CIA now sits open,
following Petraeus' recent departure amid a sex scandal. The State
Department's top slot will also come open, as Hillary Rodham Clinton has
signaled her intention to step down at the end of the term. And while
Panetta has announced no plans to leave DOD, rumors are circulating in
Washington that Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) is being considered by the
Obama administration as his successor....
The inclusion of climate change in top-level national security
documents in recent years has signaled that the Defense Department takes
the issue seriously, said Francesco Femia, founding director of the
Center for Climate & Security.
"Now there's a sense that climate
as a security issue is part of the
norm," Femia said. "We don't think that's going to be going away."" via Lucianne
==============================
Sept. 2009, "CIA Opens Center on Climate Change and National Security," cia.gov
"The Central Intelligence Agency is launching The Center on Climate
Change and National Security as the focal point for its work on the
subject. The Center is a small unit led by senior specialists from the
Directorate of Intelligence and the Directorate of Science and
Technology.
Its charter is not the science of climate change, but the national
security impact of phenomena such as desertification, rising sea levels,
population shifts, and heightened competition for natural resources.
The Center will provide support to American policymakers as they
negotiate, implement, and verify international agreements on
environmental issues. That is something the CIA has done for years.
“Decision makers need information and analysis on the effects climate
change can have on security. The CIA is well positioned to deliver that
intelligence,” said Director Leon Panetta."...
====================================
Ed. note: The CIA memo above said it wasn't about science but it was by virtue of diverting billions of tax dollars based on unproven if not disproven science. Dire predictions have already flopped. In 2005 the UN predicted 50 million would migrate due to climate by 2010 which obviously didn't happen. But they made a lot of money selling the scare:
4/13/11, "The Climate Refugee Hoax," IBD, Editorial
"Junk Science: Five years ago, the U.N. predicted that by 2010 some 50 million people would be fleeing climate change, rising seas, mega-hurricanes and so on. Instead, no islands have sunk and their populations are booming."...
--------------------------------------------
4/16/11, "The UN 'disappears' 50 million climate refugees, then botches the cover-up" Anthony Watts, Daily Caller
==========================
June 2009, "Climate Change War Game: Major Findings and Background, Center for a new American Security.
Report on the Climate Change War Game meeting in Washington, DC, July 27-30, 2008.
========================
(If the US cared about starvation, they would stop ethanol mandates).
.
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