Mike Breen served in Iraq and Afghanistan as an Army Captain.

The UN Climate Conference is in its final week, and the streets of Copenhagen are packed with government officials, scientists, engineers and non-profit leaders. Operation Free joined their ranks yesterday, when a dozen combat veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan touched down to spread a crucial message: the stability of our climate and the security of our globalized world are inextricably linked. As veterans, we’ve learned the hard way that the drought, famine and scarcity climate change will bring produces a breeding ground for insurgency and terrorism. More than glaciers and polar bears are at risk – preventing climate change is a struggle for the security and prosperity of every human being on the planet.

Even with the vast array of organizations and agendas present at the conference, our message is catching on. Waiting to enter the convention hall this morning, I talked with botanists and engineers with a plan to restore trees to the Sahara desert, delegates representing a series of small islands existentially threatened by rising sea levels, and a vegan activist in a chicken suit. When I mentioned that I was an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran here to discuss the link between climate change and global security, even the chicken stood up and took notice.

Each of them understood that while Operation Free is a coalition of American veterans, the security threat posed by climate change is equally real for nations around the globe. The scientific consensus is overwhelming. If we continue to burn dirty fuels at our current rate, increasing carbon levels in the atmosphere will cause significant shifts in the earth’s climate. According to analysis by the Pentagon and the CIA, the resulting drought, famine and flooding will lead to a dramatic increase in global conflict.

As veterans of a global fight against insurgency and terrorism, we’ve seen the link between scarce resources and violence at eye level. In Afghanistan, my small Forward Operating Base took rocket fire on a weekly basis. As we struggled to defend ourselves, we gradually realized that our attackers weren’t hardened insurgents – they were local tribesmen who had lost their livelihoods to deforestation and drought. Knowing that the local people were struggling to feed their families, the Taliban was quick to move in. They offered these former farmers and loggers a simple deal: ten dollars for every rocket they fired at the American camp.

Unless we take immediate action to prevent climate change, the same deadly dynamic will become a global fact of life. This week in Copenhagen, Operation Free is committed to helping secure the future.

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