shaking Middle Eastern states. These issues demand
attention and political capital. Pressing environmen-
tal issues receive less attention. In fact, strong divi-
sions in Washington make the adoption of new en-
vironmental programs very difficult to approve and
execute. Elements in an extremely divided Congress
challenge many environmental programs, and thus
require the administration to defend existing policies
and raise the political cost and risk of environmental
initiatives. Further, strong congressional pressure to
balance the budget has focused on proposals to slash
domestic programs, including environmental protec-
tion, rather than on costs associated with multiple
wars and anti-terrorism programs. Energy policy, a
key to addressing climate change, has not moved for-
ward. Related environmental initiatives are typically
couched in terms of job creation and developing new
technologies. In this very constrained policy context,
with many politically conservative, small-government
advocates in Congress, national security thinking con-
tinues to stress military might. But there are some in-
dications of an opening to seek new directions in both
domestic and defense policy.
U.S. Domestic Policy
In domestic policy terms, President Obama has
consistently indicated that he sees climate change
as a serious threat, and wants to forge a new energy
policy. Reinstalling solar panels on the While House,
removed by President Reagan, provided a symbolic
gesture of commitment. Similarly, the administra-
tion has given support to green business ventures to
stimulate economic growth and protect the environ-
ment, such as the America Competes Act, passed in