LIONZMAN.

Figure  1 .  Ayman al-Zawahiri photo from Dabiq.  ‘Virtue, without which terror is destructive; terror, without which virtue is impotent. Terror is only justice prompt, severe and inflexible; it is then an emanation of virtue…’ Maximilien Robespierre, On the Principles of Political Morality (1794). Though advanced in age Zawahiri is as elusive as ever, he has outlived Osama bin Laden, and is now the paramount leader of al-Qaeda. Engaged in Islamist activism , since 15, frequently imprisoned and tortured. Zawahiri has endured, survived and he still thrives, secreted away either in Afghanistan or Pakistan. The following quote is from an article in Foreign Policy by Harold Doornbos and Jennan Moussa, on August 16, 2016: “ Zawahiri was perhaps the most difficult person in the world to contact — he had not been seen in public in years, and is still in hiding, most probably somewhere in Pakistan or Afghanistan. Here then is a look at Dr Ayman al-...

  The Eurasian Balkans are infinitely more important as a potential economic prize: an enormous concentration of natural gas and oil reserves is located in the region, in addition to important minerals, including gold.  The world’s energy consumption is bound to vastly increase over the next two or three decades. Estimates by the U.S. Department of Energy anticipate that world demand will rise by more than 50 percent between 1993 and 2015, with the most significant increase in consumption occurring in the Far East. Authors Note: The map shown above was prepared by Lieutenant-Colonel Ralph Peters. It was published in the Armed Forces Journal in June 2006, Peters is a retired colonel of the U.S. National War Academy. (Map Copyright Lieutenant-Colonel Ralph Peters 2006).   This map of a  “New Middle East”  was, named  “ Blood Borders: How a better Middle East would look” , and was published in the U.S. military’s Armed Forces Journal with comment...