Mitch Silber from the New York Police Department’s Intelligence Division explains how his new book, “The al-Qaeda Factor: Plots Against The West,” analyzes 16 different al-Qaeda plots in both Europe and North America since 1993. By looking into past attacks, units such as the NYPD might be able to thwart future terrorist attacks on the homeland. Al-Qaeda core influence has diminished over the years and they could not achieve their goals without people coming to them from Western nations instead of them going out and recruiting. Conspirators come from the West and policymakers need to understand that, they also need to understand the two main factors that lead a person to violence. Mitch explains that these two factors are political grievances or a literalist interpretation of Islam that calls for violence to combat non-believers. The Obama Administration desires to find that ideology plays no role in extremism, but rather just political grievances, which is a fallacy. A literalist interpretation of Islamic doctrine is at the forefront of violent extremism. Does the Obama Administration properly recognize the threat that America faces? Is the president taking the proper steps to ensure American security?