The Factor welcomed Jesse Morton, a Pennsylvania-born former Al Qaeda recruiter who has been hired by George Washington University as a homeland security expert. "My radicalization and my affinity for Al Qaeda's ideology started at a very young age," he recalled. "I had a traumatic upbringing, which made me open up to alternative ideologies. Criminal behavior was also an underpinning of my youth, and I was radicalized by a preacher in jail just before 9/11. I expressed my rage and frustration through a counter-cultural movement, albeit a violent one." Morton also explained his remarkable transformation, which began when he was arrested and imprisoned. "I was given the opportunity to cooperate with law enforcement and ultimately I was released. I determined that the ideology I had was completely false, and I decided to find an avenue where I could educate the public and policy makers about radicalism. I was also able to realize the value of the American system."
More from this show
|
|
