There is a common denominator that connects the Al Qaeda terrorists involved with the 9/11 attacks, terror plots in Fort Dix and Toronto, attempted Christmas Day bombing and the Fort Hood massacre – radical Islamic cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. He is an American citizen with a Master's degree in educational leadership from San Diego State University. Tragically, Awlaki chose to misuse his degree by leading and educating numerous terrorists.
He has been on the terror watch list and under investigation by U.S. intelligence for many years. Awlaki reportedly survived a December 24, 2009 airstrike in Yemen, as a target of the military’s hit list that is maintained by the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command. In a history-making decision, the CIA is building a case for adding Anwar al-Awlaki to its hit list, as the first American citizen to ever be on it. The memos proposing new targets are drafted by analysts in the CIA's Counter-Terrorism Center and then submitted to high-level officials for approval.
The main criterion for this decision is whether the individual in question is "deemed to be a continuing threat to U.S. persons or interests." Through his involvement in numerous terror attacks against the United States, Awlaki undoubtedly earned his spot on the CIA’s target list, alongside Osama bin Laden and other fellow Al Qaeda leaders.
Anwar al-Awlaki’s terror legacy
- Anwar al-Awlaki served as a "spiritual adviser" to September 11, 2001 hijackers Nawaf al-Hamzi and Hani Hanjour at the Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, VA;
- In his Internet blog, Anwar al-Awlaki praised the Fort Hood massacre by Major Nidal Malik Hasan, calling him “a hero” and “a man of conscience.” Prior to the murders, Hasan attended the same Islamic Center as the 9/11 hijackers and engaged in numerous "electronic communications" with Awlaki;
- Awlaki is an imam, who champions and praises Al Qaeda and other violent Islamic fundamentalist groups in his religious sermons. He is a key Al Qaeda recruiter;
- Anwar al-Awlaki played an important part in recruiting the accused Christmas Day "underwear bomber" Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab;
- Awlaki had also been in touch with an associate of "the blind sheik," Omar Abdel Rahman, who is now serving time in federal prison for seditious conspiracy.
To kill a terrorist
White House attorneys are hard at work to determine the legality of proposed attempts to kill al-Awlaki through targeted air strikes in Yemen, since he is an American citizen. The previous CIA strike in Yemen in November 2002 was aimed at non-American leaders of al Qaeda. There has never been a U.S. citizen on the CIA’s hit list, but that may soon change. Anwar al-Awlaki crossed the line from spewing propaganda to becoming an active Al Qaeda operative – therefore, earning his spot on the receiving end of the CIA’s Predator strike.
U.S. citizen in CIA's cross hairs
Anwar al-Awlaki is reportedly hiding in the mountains of Yemen, protected by Al Qaeda. But he wasn’t always so hard to find – in October 2002, he was intercepted as a terror suspect at JFK airport in New York. Awlaki was not only on the terror watch list – there was also a warrant for his arrest – that is, until one day before his arrival into the United States.
A missed opportunity
Just one day before al-Awlaki’s arrival into the United States, U.S. Attorney David Gaouette (who was at the time the Assistant U.S. Attorney) chose to rescind an arrest warrant against him for felony passport fraud. This forced American authorities to release Anwar al-Awlaki, and he soon left the United States, never to return again. Al-Awlaki moved to London, then settled in Yemen and became a top Al Qaeda recruiter, inciting numerous terrorism plots in the U.S. and Canada.
Gaouette defended his decision to drop the charges against al-Awlaki, stating that his terrorism ties had no bearing on the case. The Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) in San Diego was actively investigating Awlaki because of his ties to the 9/11 hijackers. Anti-terrorism investigators were outraged and shocked to find out that the warrant against him had been withdrawn.
U.S. Attorney Defends His Decision To Scap Anwar al-Awlaki's Arrest Warrant
"Investigators were aggressively trying to pin Awlaki down so they could work 9/11 and other terrorism cases against him, and that's why that passport fraud charge was so critical," said Paul Sperry of the Hoover Institution, author of the book, "Muslim Mafia." DSS agent Fournier, who initiated the fraud case against Awlaki, told ABC News that in his view, the case was solid and “absolutely worth pursuing.”
JTTF investigators in San Diego were "disappointed and shocked" when the warrant was dropped according to a former agent who asked not be named.
"This was a missed opportunity to get this guy under wraps so we could look at him under a microscope," said the agent to ABC News. DSS Agent Fournier says he personally flew to Denver from San Diego, to express his outrage at the cancellation of an arrest warrant. He also emphasized the importance of detaining Awlaki, who was on the terror watch list, because of his ties to Al Qaeda. No one listened to Fournier’s warnings, Anwar al-Awlaki was simply let go. He reportedly influenced untold numbers of recruits to travel to Iraq and Afghanistan and fight American forces.
Terror dot com
Awlaki’s Internet blog features various anti-American messages, such as "44 Ways to Support Jihad," and "I pray that Allah destroys America and all its allies." He wrote: "We will implement the rule of Allah on Earth by the tip of the sword, whether the masses like it or not." On July 15, 2009, in his blog entry entitled "Fighting Against Government Armies in the Muslim World," Awlaki wrote, "Blessed are those who fight against [American soldiers], and blessed are those shuhada [martyrs] who are killed by them."
Praising the Fort Hood shootings on his blog, al-Awlaki wrote that he "blessed the act because it was against a military target.”
In December 2009, it was reported that there were close contacts between Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Christmas Day bomber, and Anwar al-Awlaki. Abdulmutallab reported that Awlaki was his recruiter, as well as one of his trainers.
Warning signs ignored, lives lost
Evidence revealed after the Fort Hood massacre demonstrates that Defense Department personnel and the FBI have missed many warning signs in the years leading up to the shooting rampage by the Army psychiatrist, Major Nidal Malik Hasan. It is considered to be the largest single terror act in America since 9/11.
FBI’s counterterrorism officials admitted that they were aware of as many as 20 e-mail exchanges between Hasan and with Awlaki prior to the massacre. There was no legitimate reason for the Army Major to be communicating with Al Qaeda’s senior recruiter, tied to the 9/11 hijackers. In October 2008, Charles Allen, US Undersecretary of Homeland Security for Intelligence and Analysis, had warned that Anwar al-Awlaki "targets US Muslims with radical online lectures encouraging terrorist attacks from his new home in Yemen." Former CIA officer Bruce Riedel stated: "E-mailing a known al-Qaeda sympathizer should have set off alarm bells. Even if he was exchanging recipes, the bureau should have put out an alert." Terrorism expert Jarret Brachman concurs that Hasan's communications with Awlaki should have raised "huge red flags". But they didn’t.
In his interviews, Awlaki stated that Hasan was asking him for guidance “regarding the [possibility] of a Muslim soldier killing his colleagues who serve with him in the American army.” These questions clearly referred to Hasan planning to kill fellow American soldiers, such communications should have set off alarm bells. But they didn’t.
Hasan’s business cards described him as a psychiatrist specializing in Behavioral Health - Mental Health - Life Skills, but did not contain any mention of his rank or military service in the Army. They did, however, include the acronyms “SoA” and “SWT”. An acronym “SoA” is commonly used on jihadist websites for “Soldier of Allah” and “SWT” is commonly used by Muslims to mean "subhanahu wa ta'ala" (Glory to God).
In 2001, Hasan attended the Dar al-Hijrah mosque, which was also attended during the same time period by 9/11 hijackers, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Hani Hanjour, as well as Ahmed Omar Abu Ali (convicted of providing material support to Al-Qaeda and conspiracy to assassinate President George W. Bush). Anwar al-Awlaki was imam at the Dar al-Hijrah mosque and a spiritual adviser to the hijackers and Hasan, who expressed deep admiration for Awlaki’s teachings.
During his psychiatry fellowship, while other students' projects focused on topics such as water contamination, Hasan's project dealt with "whether the war on terror is a war against Islam," suggesting that “Muslims should stand up and fight against the aggressor.” Someone should have tried to clarify what he meant by that statement. But no one asked.
In 2007, Hasan gave a presentation to his colleagues at Walter Reed Medical Center, where he served as a psychiatrist prior to being transferred to Fort Hood. Instead of discussing topics related to psychiatry, Hasan defended suicide bombings, arguing, “We love death more then you love life!” Someone should have questioned Hasan’s mindset. But no one did.
One of Hasan’s colleagues reported his concerns that Hasan “might leak secret military information to Islamic extremists” if he was deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. Another co-worker had confided to colleagues whether Hasan might be capable of committing fratricide, like the Muslim U.S. Army sergeant who killed 2 fellow soldiers and injured 14 others by setting off grenades at a base in Kuwait in 2003. Those warnings were ignored.
Law enforcement officials said that a review of Hasan's computer and his multiple e-mail accounts has revealed visits to websites espousing radical Islamist ideas. He had come to the attention of federal authorities at least 6 months before the attacks, because of internet postings he made under the name of “NidalHasan”, praising a suicide bomber who sacrifices his life for a "more noble cause." No official investigation was opened.
The quality of Hasan’s performance as a psychiatrist was also in question, as he used his position to proselytize, telling at least one patient that “Islam can save your soul.” The only action taken by Hasan’s supervisors at Walter Reed Hospital was a verbal reprimand.
Hasan made a statement to colleagues that Sharia law trumps the US Constitution. Did he face any repercussions for voicing such blatantly un-American point of view? No. To the contrary, despite many warning signs, in May 2009 Nidal Malik Hasan was promoted to the rank of Major. The Defense Department’s vast bureaucracy had failed to connect the dots and ignored many troubling indicators of Hasan’s violent ideological worldview.
On November 5 2009, Hasan shouted “Allahu Akhbar!” as he opened fire at the Fort Hood Army base. He killed 13 people and wounded 43. Hasan was charged with 13 counts of murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder, but is not facing any terrorism-related charges.
Shortly after the massacre, Anwar al-Awlaki praised Hasan for the shooting, and posted a message on his website, encouraging other Muslims serving in the military to "follow in the footsteps of men like Nidal.”
Political correctness may be one of the biggest problems prevalent in the government today. A report on Hasan’s massacre follows in the same vein, as Protecting the Force: Lessons from Fort Hood is attempting to avoid discussing the very problem it should be seeking to redress.
Terrorism? Fort Hood report doesn’t mention Islamic extremism.
On January 15, 2010, former Army Secretary Togo D. West Jr. and former Chief of Naval operations, retired Navy Adm. Vern Clark, held a news conference at the Pentagon, to discuss the results of their independent review related to the Ft. Hood shooting. Several members of the House Armed Services Committee were frustrated by the Department of Defense’s description of the Fort Hood rampage as an “incident” by an “alleged perpetrator,” wondering if political correctness is suffocating common sense. Rep. Buck McKeon (R) of California referred to the report’s failure to mention Islamic extremism a “strange silence.” 9/11 Commission member John Lehman told Time magazine that the administration's position “shows you how deeply entrenched the values of political correctness have become.”
Political correctness is not only undermining our national security, it is also infringing upon the right of the American public to know the truth. The public was not supposed to know that Hasan was promoted, in spite of espousing violent, anti-American views. Much of the information was “classified” not because of security concerns, but in an attempt to avoid public scrutiny. “This is another incident in a long pattern of information withheld from the public that is neither germane to national security interests or impinging on legal processes,” said Rep. Mike Coffman (R) of Colorado. “A lot of information that has come before this committee has been classified merely because it’s politically embarrassing.”
Hasan’s civilian attorney, John Galligan, reported that as of January 27, 2010 his client’s mental evaluation has been postponed. Galligan was pleased with the delay, calling it a “major development”. He complained that the two civilian members of Fort Hood’s police force, who ended the massacre by shooting Hasan, were invited to attend President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech as guests of the first lady Michelle Obama. “When they’re parading key witnesses in front of the nation, it’s disturbing,” said Galligan.
Fort Hood Hasan Hearing Postponed
What’s disturbing in reality, however, is that political correctness may have cost us countless opportunities to prevent terrorist attacks, timely apprehend terror suspects and save lives. As a nation, we must make a choice to acknowledge and correct the gaps in national security. Transparency and accountability must follow. Claiming that the system works in an attempt to disguise our failures would be tantamount to turning up the music in the car to mask the noise of a sputtering engine.
Thoroughly investigating Anwar al-Awlaki and apprehending him in 2002 at the JFK airport could have prevented nearly a dozen terrorism cases in the U.S. and abroad and saved many innocent lives. It would have also preempted the need for the CIA’s Predator strike, which is known not to be foolproof – having killed multiple people even when the intended target was able to escape. The CIA is free to fire even if it does not have intelligence indicating the presence of anyone on its target list (such as an American citizen, Kamal Derwish, who was among those killed, although he was never on the CIA's target list in the strike aimed at a senior Al Qaeda operative, Qaed Sinan Harithi, who was directly involved with the 2000 attack on the U.S. destroyer Cole).
President Obama alluded to the CIA’s campaign in his State of the Union speech, when he said that during his first year of presidency, "hundreds of Al Qaeda's fighters and affiliates, including many senior leaders, have been captured or killed -- far more than in 2008."
President Obama’s State of the Union Address
Perhaps, in the future our government intelligence officials will be able to timely identify the enemy within, promptly dismantling terror groups, targeting and isolating those on the CIA hit list to minimize collateral damage.
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Comments
Wow! Main steam media should be ashamed! Great, honest reporting! Lies, lies, lies by the media and government!
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