Yes, and the two are interrelated. Scarcity breeds insecurity, insecurity breeds conflict, and conflict destroys physical and societal infrastructure of production that leads to further scarcity. It becomes a vicious cycle. And indeed I believe you are entirely correct that a long legacy of U.S. neocolonial interventionism has contributed to the instability.

Technically not. The article makes the point that it’s more about mismanagement of existing water resources. Particularly for underground water, the affect of climate change is indirect and delayed

And it’s the same with Southern California and Arizona: reality is there’s a finite amount of water available and they’re using it faster than it’s replenished. While climate change affects replenishment and makes it worse, it’s still using water unsustainably