Some few months ago, I had dinner with a State official who tried to convince me that George Bush was a ‘thought leader’ on climate change – yes really. Time will tell what the Decider thinks we should do about the problem. But in the meantime, Steve Clemons has a useful briefing on what the US President hopes to get out of his climate change summit…
Gideon Rachman’s amusing piece in the FT today about conspiracy theories brings to mind the little visited but nevertheless glorious section of the US State Department website given over entirely to conspiracy theories and misinformation.
Our friends at Foggy Bottom have graciously spent hours diligently rebutting a veritable galaxy of theories, ranging from old favourites (President Bush was behind 9/11!) to various newer theories that may come as a shock to you (the US created AIDS as a bioweapon!).
Top marks for innovative public diplomacy. But it does rather overlook the obvious point: if you think that the US is behind an evil global conspiracy, why on earth are you going to change your mind on the basis of a press release from the State Department?
(Conversely, anyone who’s read Bob Woodward or Ron Suskind’s books lately would find it completely incredible that the US could muster sufficient inter-agency cooperation to conspire to make a cup of tea, never mind take over the world.)
PS. Note that there’s no rebuttal on the site of the CIA bumping off JFK. Or any denial that aliens landed at Roswell. Coincidence? You decide…
Quote of the day so far: Mutsuyoshi Nishimura, Japan’s Ambassador for Global Environment, who opines that:
“If [UNFCCC Conferences of Parties] were televised live, people would be aghast!”
Amen to that. And it raises the interesting question, so far not really explored at today’s conference: where will the real deal-making be done? Of course, we all agree that the deal will be signed at a UNFCCC summit; even President Bush said so, at Heiligendamm.
Yet even some environment ministers are increasingly wondering privately whether the real deal-making needs to be done in some other forum, probably at head of state level.
But where?
It’s been many years coming, but there are signs that, at last, George Bush is getting serious about climate change:
In a nationally televised address reminiscent of President Kennedy’s historic 1961 speech pledging to put a man on the moon, President Bush responded to the global warming crisis Monday by calling for the construction of a giant national air conditioner by the year 2015.
“Climate change is real and it demands a real solution,” Bush said. “Therefore, I am committed to dedicating all of the technology, all of the brainpower, and all of the resources we need in order to keep America cool and comfortable well into the 21st century.”
Martin van Creveld, author of the outstanding The Transformation of War, has a new book out. Below, William Lind extracts from it van Creveld’s key lessons on what the Brits did right in Northern Ireland.
Before that, while we’re on the subject of new books, be sure to check out Global Guerrillas author John Robb’s new book Brave New War – which, if his blog is anything to go by, is certain to be one of the most cogent expositions of fourth generation warfare out there.