The Al Qaeda Factor: Plots Against the West

Acknowledgments

A c k n o w l e d g m e n t s there are a number of individuals and institutions that I feel it is important to acknowledge, who inspired, facilitated, and supported this project. First, there are my current and former students from my Modern Urban Terrorism course at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs whose enthusiasm, questions, and interest in this subject inspired me to take on this project. Through their inquiry I came to realize that there was no compendium of all of the most important al Qaeda plots, that analyzed them critically. I need to acknowledge the institution of the New York City Police Department and Police Commissioner Kelly in particular. Without the unique creative and innovative environment of the NYPD, I would never have had the opportunity to grow professionally and reach the point where I could even consider and complete a work like this. Moreover, working this issue from the trenches has provided me with fantastic and unique insight that could not be obtained anywhere else. This platform is the product of Police Commissioner Kelly, who created the department’s counterterrorism and intelligence programs and sent me to various locations around the world to learn about past plots, get the ground truth, and bring those findings back to New York in order to better inform our efforts to protect the city from another terrorist attack. The findings from those trips informed the NYPD’s 2007 report, “Radicalization in the West: The Homegrown Threat,” and in many ways this project builds from the research that my colleagues and I conducted for that monograph. Issues and findings that were considered and concluded in that 360 Acknowledgments report have a direct linear relationship to the genesis of The Al Qaeda Factor. However, I should state clearly that the findings in this independent project are my own and do not represent the opinions of the New York City Police Department. Dr. Marc Sageman has had a fundamental influence on my work ever since I read his groundbreaking work Understanding Terror Networks. He has been someone I have considered one of the pre-eminent experts on al Qaeda associated terrorism and its genesis. Over the years, Marc has been a mentor to me, as well as a coworker (serving as the NYPD’s Scholar in Residence ), a coprofessor at Columbia’s School for International and Public Affairs , and, probably most importantly, my toughest critic, challenging and pushing me to search more deeply and evolve my thinking on this subject. Marc has also become a friend in the process. I am also indebted to Brian Michael Jenkins, a true luminary in the world of terrorism analysis. Based on his relationship with the NYPD, Brian has served as a mentor, guide, and sounding board for me since 2006 and helped evolve and broaden my thinking on this subject through his review and discussion of emerging issues in the field. Another individual consistently encouraging my efforts has been Alain Bauer, Criminologist at the Sorbonne University in Paris. Lastly, and probably most importantly, I need to acknowledge my wife Beth because without her support this project would have been impossible. She encouraged my work on this project when I was not at my day job—on weekends, on vacation, and while I sat on the floor in the kids’ bedrooms as they went to sleep most nights. I am totally indebted to her for her support and wise counsel along the way. Finally, as I have mentioned, although I am employed at the NYPD, writing this book was an extracurricular activity. I take complete responsibility for this project and its findings. ...