In my opinion, someone has needed to write this book for a long time. I have spent decades working for the oil industry, with companies that would fly me in with a jet and spend two million dollars to resolve a crisis situation. I've had many opportunities to get to know the issues of interdependence, oil manipulation, and the differences in perspective between the Western world and the rest of the globe. I knew the time would come when our oil dependence would be considered a critical target for attack.

Osama bin Laden, his followers, and other fundamentalist terrorism factions have nothing to lose and (in their view) everything to gain by planning and mounting future attacks. Much of bin Laden's wealth came from oil-related construction he is now too rich to be touched. All he needs at this point is a couple of knowledgeable engineers and enough money to put the plan in action, and he can create a life-altering experience for much of the Western world.

My fear is that we have already forgotten the implications of 9/11 and will not understand the need for change until that life-altering experience has already occurred. The U. S. has become a "fat and lazy" society, accustomed to the idea of endless energy supplies far into future generations. But we don't understand how other parts of the world are viewing the situation.

As a world champion black-belt holder in karate, I've had the opportunity to train five young men for world championships.