Editor's note: Peter Bergen is CNN's national security analyst, a director at the New America Foundation and the author of "Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for bin Laden -- From 9/11 to Abbottabad."
(CNN) -- Seconds before he detonated the massive truck bomb that killed him and a number of Syrian soldiers two months ago, Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha radioed other fighters in al Qaeda to say, "I see paradise and I can smell paradise."
That in itself may not be unusual. But what should focus our attention is the identity of the bomber -- he was an American.
The son of a Palestinian father and an Italian-American mother, Abu-Salha grew up in Vero Beach, Florida, where he played high school football.
Abu-Salha, who was 22, is the first American suicide bomber known to have died in Syria.
On Monday, an al Qaeda-affiliated group in Syria released a half-hour videotape in which Abu-Salha explained his rationale for the impending suicide mission.
The video is an important window into the worldview of a Western recruit to al Qaeda drawn to the Syrian civil war, which is now in its fourth year. And the video also helps illuminate the recruitment techniques that the group has used to draw Westerners to the conflict, estimated to now number around 2,000.
A wounded child walks at a makeshift hospital in the rebel-held town of Douma after being injured in a reported airstrike by government forces on Tuesday, December 23. Douma, located near Damascus, has been under government siege for more than a year, with residents facing dwindling food and medical supplies.The United Nations estimates nearly 200,000 people have been killed in Syria since an uprising in March 2011 spiraled into civil war.
Photos: Syrian civil war in 2014
In the video, Abu-Salha is shown tearing up his American passport and then the passport is set on fire. Next he is shown wearing a green camouflage vest and holding an AK-47 rifle delivering a diatribe to the camera directly.
Speaking in a strong American accent, Abu-Salha explicitly appeals to fellow militants in the States and the United Kingdom, saying that coming to fight with al Qaeda was so simple that he arrived in Syria "with only $20 in my pocket." Abu-Salha explained that "Allah made it easy for me" as he traveled from the States to Turkey and from there crossed over into neighboring Syria.
Abu-Salha paints a grim picture of life in the United States compared with the supposed joys of his life as a holy warrior: "Just sitting down five minutes drinking a cup of tea with mujahedeen (holy warriors) is better than anything I've ever experienced in my whole life. I lived in America! I know how it is. You have all the fancy amusement parks, and the restaurants, and the food, and all this crap and the cars and you think you're happy. You're not happy, you're never happy. I was never happy. I was always sad and depressed. Life sucked. ... All you do is work 40, 50, 60 hours a week."
Over footage of a woman in an all-enveloping black burqa who is shooting an automatic rifle, Abu-Salha tells the story of a Russian woman working for al Qaeda who conducted a suicide operation in Pakistan. Abu-Salha says, "She's a thousand men. Not like you men who sit at home." In other words, you are not a real Muslim man if you don't travel to come join the jihad.
Abu-Salha also paints a vision of what life in paradise will be for those who are killed fighting in Syria. In paradise, he says, "A tree will pick the fruit off of itself and hand it to you," while you will find a woman so beautiful that "you would die from her beauty."
Abu-Salha's videotape establishes some key recruiting themes for Westerners whom al Qaeda wants to draw into the Syrian war: That it is purportedly easy to come and fight in Syria; that life in the West is nothing compared with life you will lead as a holy warrior; that real men do jihad; and if you do end up getting "martyred" in the war, "paradise" will welcome you with beautiful women.
Toward the end of the tape, Abu-Salha contemplates his own impending suicidal attack and death. Fighting back tears, Abu-Salha addresses his family back in the Florida, saying, "I love you Mom." He also addresses his oldest brother: "I love you bro. ... Look after our sister and our little brother."
At the end of the tape, a truck that is decorated with the distinctive al Qaeda black flag with white writing is driven off, and then in the distance there is a massive explosion.
Abu-Salha is one of about 100 Americans who have traveled to Syria or have tried to do so as the civil war there grinds on. Not all of these U.S. citizens have joined al Qaeda or its splinter groups, but a number have done so. The New York Times reported Thursday that Abu-Salha had returned to the States for several months after he had received militant training in Syria and before he returned there to conduct his final mission.
So far nine Americans have been charged with traveling, attempting to travel or facilitating the travel of others to fight in Syria with militant jihadist groups, according to a count by the New America Foundation.
The most recent case was that of Michael Todd Wolfe, 23, who pleaded guilty to attempting to join an al Qaeda splinter group in Syria. Wolfe was arrested June 17 as he tried to fly out of George Bush International Airport in Houston.
Syria is attracting a lot more Westerners than the Iraq War ever did because it's the perfect Sunni jihad. Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad belongs to the small Alawite sect and is therefore considered a heretic by many Sunnis; al-Assad runs a secular regime, and therefore he is considered by Sunni militants to be an apostate, and he is inflicting a total war on his Sunni population.
As a result, there are many hundreds of "foreign fighters" who have traveled to Syria from European "visa waiver" countries who do not need visas to travel to the United States, including 700 from France, 450 from the United Kingdom, 270 from Germany and dozens from each of the Scandinavian countries.
U.S. officials assert that jihadist groups in Syria are already shifting their focus to conducting attacks on the United States and Europe. Speaking at a security conference last week in Aspen, Colorado, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said some Syrian jihadists "are actively trying to recruit Westerners, indoctrinate them and see them return to their home countries with an extremist mission."
The problem in Syria is compounded by the fact that, according to both British counterterrorism officials and U.S. intelligence officials, senior al Qaeda members based in Pakistan have traveled to Syria to direct operations there. They are known as the Khorasan group. Khorasan is an ancient term for an Islamic empire that once incorporated what is now Afghanistan.
What can be done? Western governments are keenly aware of the problem of Syrian veterans coming home both radicalized and trained. The problem is that in some European countries with hundreds of returnees it is just not possible to monitor all of them. That was vividly illustrated by the case of Mehdi Nemmouche, who traveled to Syria last year and is accused in the May 24 shooting at the Jewish Museum in Brussels, Belgium, that left four people dead.
Information sharing between Western governments about the identities of those who have traveled to Syria and have received militant training is the key to preventing more incidents such as the one at the Jewish Museum in Brussels.
Read CNNOpinion's new Flipboard magazine.
Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.
Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion.
A Christmas tree and a crèche made out of rubble are set up on a square in the, predominantly Christian, government-held Hamidiyeh neighborhood of Homs on Monday, December 22.
Syrian children await medical treatment at a makeshift clinic in the besieged rebel town of Douma, on Sunday, December 21, near Damascus.
A Syrian rebel fighter keeps an eye on government troops in Aleppo, Syria, on Wednesday, December 17.
A man drives his motorcycle through a puddle in Aleppo on Wednesday, November 26.
A Syrian opposition fighter fires at Bashar al-Assad Regime forces in the Handarat district of Aleppo on Thursday, November 20.
Syrian boys play in the ruins of a destroyed building in Aleppo on Tuesday, November 18.
A wounded man is treated at a makeshift hospital in Damascus, Syria, following a reported air strike by government forces on Tuesday, November 11.
Members of the Syrian Civil Defense carry an injured man after an alleged air strike in Aleppo on November 11.
A member of the Syrian Civil Defense walks through a cloud of dust after an alleged air strike by government forces in Aleppo on November 11.
A father cries over his son at a physical therapy center in Eastern al-Ghouta outside Damascus on Thursday, November 6. The boy had his leg tendons cut after he was injured in an airstrike four months before.
A blindfolded man suspected of passing military information to the Syrian government waits to be interrogated by Free Syrian Army fighters Monday, October 6, in Aleppo.
Medics at a field hospital in Douma, Syria, attend to a man who was injured in what activists said were two airstrikes carried out by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday, September 20.
Free Syrian Army fighters rest inside a damaged room in Aleppo on Tuesday, September 16, during what activists said were clashes with forces loyal to al-Assad.
Syrian government forces walk down a street in Halfaya, Syria, after taking the city from rebel forces on Friday, September 12.
Al-Qaeda-linked rebels from Syria gather around vehicles carrying U.N. peacekeepers from Fiji before releasing them Thursday, September 11, in the Golan Heights. The 45 peacekeepers were captured in the Golan Heights after rebels seized control of a border crossing between Syria and the Israeli-occupied territory.
Syrian opposition fighters take position behind sandbags in Aleppo on Thursday, September 11.
Syrians fleeing the violence stand next to their belongings as they attempt to cross into Turkey on Sunday, September 7.
A boy looks at bodies lying outside a hospital after a barrel-bomb attack in Aleppo on Friday, September 5.
A U.N. convoy moves in the buffer zone near the Golan Heights as they are escorted by Syrian rebel fighters near the Syrian village of Jubata Al Khashab on Tuesday, September 2.
Residents of Aleppo remove a body from debris on Friday, August 29, after what activists claim was shelling by forces loyal to al-Assad.
Druze men watch from the Golan Heights side of the Quneitra border with Syria as smoke rises during fighting between rebels and forces loyal to al-Assad on Wednesday, August 27.
This image was taken during a government guided tour in Mleiha, Syria, one day after Syrian government forces retook the town after a months-long battle with rebels, according to a military source and state television on Friday, August 15.
Residents inspect the rubble of destroyed buildings in Aleppo after Syrian regime helicopters allegedly dropped barrel bombs there on Wednesday, August 13.
Smoke trails over Aleppo following barrel bombs that were allegedly dropped by the Syrian regime on an opposition-controlled area on Monday, August 11.
Photographs of victims of the Bashar al-Assad regime are displayed as a Syrian Army defector known as "Caesar," center, appears in disguise to speak before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in Washington. The briefing on Thursday, July 31, was called "Assad's Killing Machine Exposed: Implications for U.S. Policy." Caesar was apparently a witness to al-Assad's brutality and has smuggled more than 50,000 photographs depicting the torture and execution of more than 10,000 dissidents.
Syrian rebel fighters take up positions behind sandbags in Aleppo on Wednesday, July 30.
People carry an injured man away from the site of an airstrike, reportedly carried out by Syrian government forces, in Aleppo on Sunday, July 27.
Rebel fighters execute two men Friday, July 25, in Binnish, Syria. The men reportedly were charged by an Islamic religious court with detonating several car bombs.
A rebel fighter stands on a dust-covered street in Aleppo on Monday, July 21.
A man clears debris at the site of an alleged barrel-bomb attack in Aleppo on Tuesday, July 15.
A woman walks amid debris after an airstrike by government forces July 15 in Aleppo.
People walk on a dust-filled street after a reported barrel-bomb attack in Aleppo on Monday, July 7.
Apartments and other buildings lie in ruins on Tuesday, June 3, in Aleppo, a city that "has had the life bombed out of it," according to CNN's Nick Paton Walsh.
A man carries a girl injured in a reported barrel-bomb attack by government forces June 3 in Aleppo.
A rebel fighter loads an anti-tank cannon outside Latakia, Syria, on Sunday, June 1.
A rescue worker pulls a girl from rubble in Aleppo on June 1 after reported bombing by government forces.
A giant poster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen in Damascus, Syria, on Saturday, May 31, as the capital prepares for presidential elections.
Portraits of al-Assad dominate the cityscape in central Damascus on Tuesday, May 27. Al-Assad is firmly in power three years into the civil war, while the opposition remains weak and fragmented and extremists grow in numbers and influence.
The father of a 3-month-old girl weeps Monday, May 26, after she was pulled from rubble following a barrel-bomb strike in Aleppo.
A woman stands in a heavily damaged building in Aleppo on May 26.
An injured man lies in a hospital bed after alleged airstrikes by government forces in Aleppo on Sunday, May 18.
Buildings in Homs, Syria, lie in ruins Saturday, May 10, days after an evacuation truce went into effect. Thousands of displaced residents returned to the city.
Rescuers carry a man wounded by a mine in the Bustan al-Diwan neighborhood of Homs on May 10.
A Syrian woman carries a suitcase along a street in the Juret al-Shayah district of Homs on May 10.
Residents carry their belongings in the al-Hamidieh neighborhood of Homs on May 10.
A woman injured when a mine went off is carried in Homs on May 10.
Residents return to damaged dwellings in Homs on May 10.
Debris lies on a deserted street in Homs on Thursday, May 8.
A mosque is seen through shattered glass in Homs, where an evacuation truce went into effect on Wednesday, May 7.
A wounded man is treated at a makeshift hospital in Aleppo on Sunday, May 4.
Debris rises in what Free Syrian Army fighters said was an operation to strike a checkpoint and remove government forces in Maarat al-Numan, Syria, on Monday, May 5.
A man helps a woman through debris after reported airstrikes by government forces on Thursday, May 1, in the Halak neighborhood of Aleppo.
Syrians gather at the site of reported airstrikes in Aleppo on May 1. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 33 civilians were killed in the attack.
A woman runs after two barrel bombs were thrown, reportedly by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo on May 1.
A boy runs in Aleppo on Sunday, April 27, after what activists said were explosive barrels thrown by forces loyal to al-Assad.
Security and emergency medical personnel work at the site of a car bomb explosion Monday, April 14, in the Ekremah neighborhood of Homs.
In this photo released by the state-run SANA news agency, Syrian forces take positions during clashes with rebels near the town of Rankous, Syria, on Sunday, April 13.
Flames engulf a vehicle following a car bomb Wednesday, April 9, in the Karm al-Loz neighborhood of Homs.
A man carries a child who was found in the rubble of an Aleppo building after it was reportedly bombed by government forces on Monday, March 18.
An elderly man and a child walk among debris in a residential block of Aleppo on March 18.
A woman with blood on her face carries a child following a reported airstrike by government forces Saturday, March 15, in Aleppo.
People attempt to comfort a man in Aleppo after a reported airstrike by government forces on Sunday, March 9.
Buildings in Homs lay in ruins on March 9.
Syrian forces fire a cannon and a heavy machine gun loaded on a truck as they fight rebels in the Syrian town of Zara on Saturday, March 8.
A handout photo released by SANA shows Syrian President Bashar al-Assad speaking March 8 during a meeting in Damascus to mark the 51st anniversary of the 1963 revolution, when Baath Party supporters in the Syrian army seized power. Al-Assad said the country will go on with reconciliation efforts along with its fight against terrorism.
Syrians inspect the rubble of destroyed buildings in Aleppo following a reported airstrike by Syrian government forces on Friday, March 7.
People dig through the rubble of a building in Damascus that was allegedly hit by government airstrikes on Thursday, February 27.
A boy walks ahead of men carrying the body of his mother in Aleppo on Saturday, February 22. According to activists, the woman was killed when explosive barrels were thrown by forces loyal to al-Assad.
A man holds a baby who survived what activists say was an airstrike by al-Assad loyalists Friday, February 14, in Aleppo.
In this photo provided by the anti-government activist group Aleppo Media Center, Syrian men help survivors out of a building in Aleppo after it was bombed, allegedly by a Syrian regime warplane on Saturday, February 8.
Syrians gather at a site hit by barrel bombs, allegedly dropped by a regime helicopter on the opposition-controlled Mesekin Hananu district of Aleppo on February 8.
In this handout photo released by the state-run SANA news agency on February 8, civilians wave national flags in Damascus as they take part in a rally in support of President al-Assad.
A man stands next to debris in the road following a reported airstrike by Syrian government forces in Aleppo on February 8.
Medical personnel look for survivors after a reported airstrike in Aleppo on Saturday, February 1.
Syrians carry a dead body following an airstrike on February 1.
A man walks amid debris and dust on January 31.
An injured man is covered in dust after an airstrike on January 29.
A man tries to fix electrical wires in Aleppo on January 27.
Rebels and civilians check out a crater that activists say resulted from a Syrian government airstrike on an Aleppo bus station on Tuesday, January 21.
Men rush to a site that Syrian government forces reportedly hit in Aleppo on January 21.
Buildings lie in ruins in Aleppo on Sunday, January 19, after reported air raids by Syrian government planes.
A child collects items from a garbage pile in Douma, northeast of the capital, on Saturday, January 18.
A piece of exploded mortar lies in a street in Daraya, a Syrian city southwest of Damascus, on Friday, January 17.
