Secretary of State John Kerry took a sidestep from dealing with terrorist uprisings in Iraq to host a Tuesday morning conference on “Our Ocean” and reiterate to the 80 countries that participated how America has a “shared responsibility” to keep seas clear and clean.
He also pressed other global leaders to get aboard the same Obama administration climate change bandwagon, and push ocean-related regulations in their respective countries that are aimed at saving the world’s waters, Breitbart reported.
Mr. Kerry also took a preemptive strike at critics who might wonder why the United States under President Obama’s leadership was hosting a climate change summit in the face of rising world dangers — and especially as Iraq is being overrun with Islamic State of Iraq and Syria terrorists.
“For anyone who questions why are we here when there are so many areas of conflict and so many issues of vital concern as there are … no one should mistake that the protection of our oceans is a vital international security issue,” he said, Breitbart reported.
He also suggested that climate change was worthy of immediate address — even more than the ISIS jihad that’s nearing Baghdad, where U.S. troops fought and died to oust dictator Saddam Hussein.
Mr. Obama, meanwhile, delivered his own climate change speech over the weekend at the University of California, where he pressed for the creation of an extreme weather fund to help states that were impacted by disasters that he said were tied to climate change, Breitbart said.
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Energy & Environment
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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