From Al-Qaeda to Hamas: Jesse Petrilla on Defeating Islamist Extremism

Former Army Captain and interrogator Jesse Petrilla joins The Brief: Insights From The Inside to unpack the jihadist long game—from recruiting child suicide bombers and weaponizing Western campuses to why phrases like “You have the watches, we have the time” matter. Drawing on 400+ detainee interrogations, Petrilla explains how Islamist extremists think, how they use deception, madrassas, and generational planning, and what free societies can do to defend Western values without apology.