As ISIS Marches, Obama To Cite Global Warming As National Security Threat During Coast Guard Commencement

Katie Pavlich | May 20, 2015 7:50 AM

In case you missed it over the weekend, the Islamic State took over another Iraqi city. This time it was Ramadi, a city in which Americans died to capture in the first place years ago and comes after the fall of Mosul. The next major city on the conquer list for ISIS is Baghdad, not to mention the fact Christians have been essentially eliminated from the country. Despite these developments, the White House is calling its strategy against "jayvee" ISIS an overall "success" and touting minimal airstrikes in the region.

Meanwhile, President Obama is focused on the national security threat of...global warming. What's worse? He'll be warning about global warming during a speech for the Coast Guard Academy's commencement ceremony today.

President Barack Obama is framing the challenges of climate change as a matter of national security that threatens to aggravate poverty and political instability around the globe and jeopardize the readiness of U.S. forces.

"Make no mistake, it will impact how our military defends our country," the president says in excerpts of a commencement address prepared for delivery Wednesday at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. "And so we need to act and we need to act now."

His speech to the cadets, by contrast, is focused on what the Obama administration says are immediate risks to national security, including contributing to more natural disasters that result in humanitarian crises and potential new flows of refugees. Further, the president sees climate change aggravating poverty and social tensions that can fuel instability and foster terrorist activity and other violence.