Climate Change and Osama bin Laden’s Appeal

I thought I should let the hype behind climate change take its course. After all, it is just that – a fad, courtesy of environmentalists and tree-huggers who, for lack of a cause to rally around, have decided to take on the cause of Mother Nature. In time, I thought it would fade away. For it is absurd, all around. Scientific evidence seems insufficient, or confusing, at best. If there is a body of evidence about global warming out there, it gets refuted the following day. Meanwhile, the UN is poised to punish rich industrialized countries for emitting too much carbon dioxide for being, well, productive by asking them to give money to poor non-industrialized countries, and, hopefully, prevent them from becoming gas emitters themselves. Where is the sense in all this?

But when Osama bin Laden raised this issue and added it to his list of grievances against the US, in a tape released by al Jazeera last week that is yet to be verified, that’s another matter. It’s time we take it seriously. Not in the way you think it should be taken seriously, however. We should view it as a sinister plot in the making, involving nothing less than an attempted shift in thinking and strategy on the part of jihadists and communists. In climate change, these extremists find common cause against the West, a way to hurt its economy. By pitting rich nations against poor nations, they have found an issue to exploit. Consider what this article has to say:

Mr. bin Laden veered away from his traditional vows to inflict death and destruction on the United States, and instead discussed climate change, globalization and monetary policy in a message that he said was directed to "the whole world."

He called for a worldwide boycott of American goods and the dollar. He faulted the United States for failing to sign the Kyoto Protocol, which sought to curb global warming by restricting greenhouse gas emissions. And he offered a word of praise for Noam Chomsky, the American linguist and liberal political activist.

“Noam Chomsky was correct when he compared the U.S. policies to those of the Mafia,” Al Jazeera quoted Mr. bin Laden as saying. “They are the true terrorists, and therefore we should refrain from dealing in the U.S. dollar and should try to get rid of this currency as early as possible.”

By directing his message to “the whole world,” bin Laden is adopting the strategy of the communists, which is to go mainstream in order to appear legitimate in the eyes of the world. In the Philippines and in other European countries, communists have become convinced that the goals of communism are best achieved not by underground efforts but by becoming mainstream. That is, by forming political parties and participating in elections, communists seek to legitimize their existence acquiring political power the traditional way. They now call themselves “mainstream parliamentarians.”

Bin Laden is seeking to do the same. By transcending his radical Islamist agenda and capitalizing on issues that can appeal to wider audiences, he is seeking to win worldwide approval and legitimacy.

Climate change is a victory for the Left, in all its stripes.