Threats Posed by Climate Change and Other Attacks

American National Security: Threats Posed by Climate Change and Other Attacks
Author's Name
The Institutional Affiliation
Course Number and Name
Instructor Name
Assignment Due Date
American National Security: Threats Posed by Climate Change and Other Attacks
The discussion on the threats and challenges that Americans will face in the 21st century constitutes the bulk of American national security management. National security management entails a beforehand assessment of national security threats and assessment. In the wake of the increasing menace of climate change, a significant part of national security assessment involves the assessment of threats attributed to climate change. This paper discusses the mechanism and dynamics of the national security assessment process necessary to estimate the extent and magnitude of the effect of climate change on national security. The discussion centers around issues like water-flood energy nexus and potential threats posed by the rising sea level on defense. Besides, the negative impacts of electromagnetic pulse and pre and post-infection measures against various microbial pandemics are also included in the discussion. Ultimately, the paper aims to project a crystal-clear picture of the threats to American national security in the 21st century and provide a priority list essential to tackle these threats systematically.
Identification and proper understanding of the risk associated with national security make up half of the risk management process at the national level. These processes are the preliminary requirement for formulating a sound and comprehensive risk management policy to safeguard America's national and international interests. As defined in U.S. Homeland Security Risk Management Doctrine, threats could be natural or anthropogenic events, or they could be individuals and groups with the potential to jeopardize life, property, and other aspects of human life (2011). In this regard, identification of the context of risk assessment is the aspect that provides a foundation to the whole risk assessment process; in consequence, based on the desired aims and objectives in the view of the context of risk assessment, risks specific to the context are identified.
In addition to apparent risks, unusual, less likely, and emerging risks are also considered based on multifarious hypothetical scenarios to assess the probable and less likely harms associated with them (U.S. Dept of Homeland Security, 2011). In the wake of grave challenges that climate change poses to U.S. national security, it is vital to estimate the type, nature, and extent of various climate change threats to American national security. One of the most significant security threats associated with climate change is domestic and international social and economic instability and conflicts that will lead to security challenges for the U.S. government. As evident by the social and economic turmoil occurring in several African, Asian, and Middle East countries, ramifications of climate change in the form of excessive floods, droughts, and extreme and unusual weather patterns, the United States must step up the process of putting up stiff resilience to these threats (CNA Military Advisory Board, 2014).
Addi...