Secretary of State John Kerry declared the scientific debate surrounding climate change “over” today, claiming the mantle of religious authority for his stance on the issue.
“The scientific debate may have had legitimacy once upon a time, but it is over,” Kerry told students at Indiana University. “And let me tell you, there is nothing uniquely liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat, American or foreign about wanting to preserve the health of our planet. And all you have to do is read the scriptures to understand that. We are all affected because we all share the same fragile home.”
Kerry cited the “mounting science” on climate change as a counter-argument to anyone — “even some running for president,” he said — who believes that the world is “increasingly chaotic and even falling into disorder.”
“I disagree,” he told the students. “Despite the many challenges that we face, as I travel the world and as I talk to foreign ministers, prime ministers, presidents, people all across this planet, I don’t sense an unraveling of the global fabric; I see a world that in critical areas is actually increasingly coming together.”
#share#Kerry also pointed to the nuclear deal recently negotiated with Iran, the coalition assembled to fight ISIS terrorist in Iraq and Syria, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement as evidence of how the world is “increasingly coming together.”
The comments came just after President Obama announced that 5,500 U.S. troops would remain in Afghanistan beyond 2016 in order to prevent the country from being destabilized by the Taliban, ISIS, or al-Qaeda.
“Afghan forces are still not as strong as they need to be,” Obama said Thursday morning. “The bottom line is, in key areas of the country, the security situation is still very fragile, and in some places there is risk of deterioration.”
— Joel Gehrke is a political reporter for National Review.