Numerous studies and task forces have noted that projected climate disruption poses a serious threat to America's national security as it creates and amplifies instability in some of the most volatile regions of the world. The big question is, how to transfer the knowledge about climate change into an assessment of impacts, so that decision makers can properly manage risk. This is a problem suited for a system engineering approach and is being implemented through the GAIA (Global Assimilation of Information for Action) project. Here we will discuss elements of the GAIA approach and how it could be used, giving examples for a range of issues. In particular, the GAIA project can use strategic simulations and analysis as unique tools to help decision makers get a deeper understanding of the problem space and how risk can be better managed using different approaches.