The world is a dangerous place, and there is no shortage of dangerous people whose actions threaten to have deadly repercussions. Here are 10 of the most dangerous people who wield power around the globe:
1. Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaida’s
top leader and the successor to Osama bin Laden, reportedly ordered the attacks in Paris in January which killed 17 people and were carried out by the organization’s affiliate al-Qaida of the Arabian Peninsula. Al-Zawahiri is believed to have been involved in several foiled attacks on the U.S. since 9/11 as well as numerous deadly attacks in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. He’s so dangerous the U.S. has offered $25 million for his capture.
2. Kim Jong-un, 32, the Swiss-educated, whisky-loving leader of impoverished North Korea, heads the world’s most militarized and some say unstable society, with an active army of 1.21 million and nearly 10 million active, reserve, and paramilitary personnel.
Kim is said to be obsessed with American
basketball and has played host to former NBA star Dennis Rodman on several widely-publicized occasions.
Recently North Korea was suspected of launching a cyber attack on Sony Pictures over its movie “The Interview,” which lampooned Kim and North Korea. The studio’s emails were hacked and confidential information including its executives’ compensation was made public. The studio was forced to delay the movie’s release. The FBI says it believes the attack was inspired from North Korea.
North Korea is developing advanced missile capability and has threatened several nations with their use. The country is technically still at war with South Korea and an armed outbreak could threaten the thousands of U.S. troops stationed on the Korean peninsula. Until now North Korea’s main patron has been China, which feared a huge influx of refugees if Kim’s regime collapsed. But there are signs Beijing is tiring of propping him up. The question is will this force Kim to be more conciliatory — or will he become even more isolated an even more dangerous menace?
