7/10/2023

JRB,

Did you have fun meeting up with King Charles this AM? Did you bond over the challenges of fathering alienated sons? Did you strategize about redefining what it means to be an elder statesmen in today’s world? Did combatting climate change in developing nations come up?

            “Consensus!” My co-housing group is grappling with it & NATO is, too. While majority rule is not appropriate, neither is allowing one-member complete veto power. What about a consent process where everyone has multiple opportunities to express their views & folks who are opposed to a proposal articulate the ways our principles will be violated should we proceed with the plan? When it comes to approving the plan, the opposing individual can “step aside” by saying, “my reservations have been noted.” Their conscience can be clear should the plan not work out. They won’t say, “I told you so,” but they can rest easy knowing that they did their best to alert the community of the flaws in the proposal.

            Were Erdogan given the opportunity to explain that Sweden is harboring enemies of Turkey, he can save face with his voters. He might convince other nations that Sweden will not be a good ally. Perhaps enough opposition would emerge to stop the process. This is all just a thought experiment because NATO’s consensus process won’t be changing anytime soon.

            On your way over to Vilnius, look at Chatham House’s report, Preparing NATO for Climate-related Security Challenges. They claim, “The (Ukraine) invasion has laid bare the interconnected nature of conflict, geopolitics, climate change & the environment …Climate change is a transnational threat & a collective discussion with military officials, strategic planners & policy staff would help to build trust & create a learning-based cooperation network across the political landscape of NATO” Please endorse the idea of the Climate Change & Security Centre of Excellence (CCASCOE).

            Don’t forget Burma.

            BYBS,