The Al Qaeda Factor
Plots Against The West

New York Police Department terrorism expert Mitchell D. Silber examines sixteen Al Qaeda associated plots and attacks against the West, from the 1993 World Trade Center bombing through to today, applying a series of questions to determine the involvement of Al Qaeda's core in each.

What connects radicalized groups in the West to the core Al Qaeda organization in the borderlands of Afghanistan and Pakistan? Does one of the plotters have to attend an Al Qaeda training camp or meet with an Al Qaeda trainer, or can they simply be inspired by Al Qaeda ideology? Further analysis examines the specifics of Al Qaeda's role in the inspiration, formation, membership, and organization of terrorist groups. Silber also identifies potential points of vulnerability, which may raise the odds of thwarting future terrorist attacks in the West. The Al Qaeda Factor demonstrates that the role of Al Qaeda is very limited even in plots with direct involvement. Silber finds that in the majority of cases, individuals went to Al Qaeda seeking aid or training, but even then there was limited direct command and control of the terrorists' activities-a sobering conclusion that demonstrates that even the destruction of Al Qaeda's core would not stop Al Qaeda plots.