Dec 2, 2014 By David Singer 6 min read

Much has changed in the fight against terrorism and also how Islamic terrorists are recruiting new members. Terrorists are now trawling the Internet with videos that can appeal to young people all over the world. In a talk filled with humor over his decades-long career in law enforcement and journalism, NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Counter-terrorism, John Miller, told a packed audience in Upper St. Clair High School’s theater about the ongoing fight against extremists as part of the Town Hall South speaker series.

“There I was, sitting across from Osama bin Laden in 1998, before he was a household name, and when I tell people this, they often ask, ‘how was it being in front a person who could kill you in the blink of an eye?,’ and I say, you must be confusing someone with Barbara Walters,” said Miller, a former ABC and CBS news reporter and anchor.

Miller pitched the idea to track down and interview bin Laden to his ABC bosses after his investigations would prove right his hunch that he was the money man behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombings.

“Only under the World Trader Center could a 1,300 pound bomb only kill six people and injure a thousand. They could have done Times Square, anywhere else, but no, their intent was different. It was terrorism.”

Terrorism, Miller explained, is creating drama that forces change through fear, not democratic processes. And al-Qaeda’s public relations personnel knew they had to keep up an image of crazy despite their meticulous plans to use the strategy. When Miller was in “closer mode” sealing a deal to interview bin Laden, his pitch to Dr. Sa’ad al-Faqih, a London-based professor and “PR agent” for al-Qaeda, was to have bin Laden show the American people he’s not totally insane and has some credibility. “Well, we can’t have him appearing too reasonable.”

Miller’s trek into Pakistan to interview the man whose family was the richest next to his home country’s Saudi royal family was a scary one.

“We flew into Bashaoor, Pakistan, and this was like your Casablanca: smugglers, dealers – not a place you’d want to stay long. And then we drove to Quetta, getting farther away from civilization and moving through history of the land. By now, we had no contact (with the U.S.), and ABC didn’t know how or where we were,” Miller said.

Given the strategies of moving along main roads disguised as women in burkas or hiking through the mountains under cover of darkness, the guides insisted on the latter because “they were men, and they were to act like men.”

“We eventually met with Ayman al-Zawahiri, who is now head of al-Qaeda, but was then the number two guy. He insisted we give questions ahead of time and I pushed back, ‘Listen, this is American TV journalism, this is serious stuff.’ But negotiating that on their end helped when you saw guns and grenade launchers. And their group made the practical case that their translator wouldn’t be able to work on the fly, so we agreed to 16 questions given ahead of time.”

Those questions pulled no punches. “Did you orchestrate the World Trade Center Bombings? Are you trying to kill others? Why are you trying to kill Americans?”

Fast-forward to May 1, 2011, when President Obama made a prime-time announcement that Navy Seals had killed the most wanted terrorist in the world.

“At the time, I was part of the team that gave the president his daily briefings, and Emily (his wife) told me every phone in the house and every cell phone we had was ringing off the hook. Something was up. And once I got word there was going to be an announcement, I knew what it was going to be. So it’s going to be an hour – what am I going to do for an hour? I grab a Stella Artois out of the fridge and then thought, ‘no, this needs more,’ and I grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniels and went out on the porch. Then I paused and thought, ‘No. This is what separates us from them: we don’t celebrate the violent killings of our enemies.’ Well, I said, hell with it. This was going to be a party, even if it was a one-man party with me and CNN. And it was a fun one.”

Miller doesn’t make a habit of solitude, but that is what is making the fight against terrorism a challenging one, with “lone wolf” recruits the primary base for the Islamic State, a more contemporary and immediate threat over al-Qaeda at the moment.

Miller played a video of a masked terrorist laying out the case to join ISIS.

“If you are isolated, not doing well, failing at everything – then that anonymous video is going make a big case for your life to have new meaning,” he said, “but what if you’re unsure, or are a young, impressionable type who may be doing okay but aren’t quite convinced by a man with a mask, then you may be convinced by this.”

Miller then plays a video of Canadian Andre Poulin, who goes by Abu Muslim in the video, who was killed in Syria.

“I was making $2,000 a month as a janitor, had family, colleagues. I was leading a normal life until I realized I needed to heed the call of Allah,” Poulin says in the video. The video then shows him highlighted on a battlefield in slow-motion, with dramatic music and his narration continuing over the footage.

“We need professionals, engineers, doctors; people like you,” he continues.

“This is the new tool in their (recruitment) arsenal. The videos have high production values, an emotional narrative, no anonymity – the level of sophistication and potential appeal is like nothing we’ve ever seen before,” Miller said.

“And the Internet is a buyer’s market. People viewing this are the exact audience terrorists seek because they are looking to be recruited, a reason to be pulled away from home and join a cause.”

But Miller closed with some optimism.

“There have been over 200 terrorism cases since September 11, 2001. Of those, only a handful have succeeded. Most have been stopped by intelligence officers, along with the public speaking up when they see something.”