In 2009, Bryant Neal Viñas, an American born in New York to a family of Catholic Hispanic immigrants, pleaded guilty on charges of conspiracy to murder U.S. citizens, and for providing material support to Al-Qaeda. The media referred to him as ‘American Al-Qaeda’ and reported his intriguing journey from the New York suburbs to Pakistan to attack U.S. military forces in Afghanistan. Viñas proceeded to cooperate with law enforcement and intelligence officials, in what has been described as a “treasure trove” of valuable information about the inner-workings of the Al-Qaeda network. What was the nature of Viñas’s radicalization? How does a Western-born jihadist get through terrorist training in Pakistan?

PARTICIPANTS:

Bryant Neal Viñas

Former American Al-Qaeda member

Mitchell Silber
Former Director of Intelligence Analysis, NYPD

Christopher Costa, COL, USA (Ret.)

Executive Director, International Spy Museum

Former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counter-terrorism – NSC

MODERATOR:

Peter Bergen

Vice President, Global Studies & Fellows, New America