Energy Cold War

Michael G. Frodl writing in this month's National Defense Magazine calls it what it is: an "Energy Cold War" that crosses many fronts. His is a fairly comprehensive listing of the many battlefields (some hot, some not) where energy resources are being contested today. One of them is no surprise:

Fuel supplies intended for U.S. troops in Afghanistan ... are creating a security risk. More than 90 percent of the fuel and materiel destined to U.S. and NATO operations in Afghanistan go through Pakistan. The Taliban and other Islamist forces in Pakistan have been attacking supply convoys in transit. 

IMHO, whether by land, sea or air, the opportunities for disrupting fuel supply lines are always greater than or equal to the number of supply lines. Someday maybe Star Trek-like transporter tech will allow us to bypass these modes and we'll have moved on to dilithium crystals. You don't even want to ask what that supply route looks like!