U.S. officials now, almost to a man, are becoming increasingly more convinced that Anwar Al-Awlaki is more than a radical cleric. Duhhh. Maybe in a year or two, they'll become even more convinced. Figuring this out takes a lot of time.
Update: Federal investigators monitoring Mr. Awlaki came across multiple communications from Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the man charged with the shooting spree which killed 13 people. But they dismissed the contacts as routine and didn't delve further. You don't say.
Friday, January 01, 2010
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In 1999, Awlaki was first investigated by the FBI because of his ties to known al Qaeda operatives and their allies, including Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman (aka the “Blind Sheikh”). That investigation was closed in 2000, however, after the FBI agent in charge found that Awlaki did not warrant further scrutiny. That was an obvious mistake as in early 2000 (before the investigation was closed) Awlaki began hosting Khalid al Mihdhar and Nawaf al Hazmi in San Diego. Those two would become hijackers on September 11.
[A]mong those who were drawn to Awlaki’s propaganda were the members of a terrorist cell in Toronto and the plotters who were detained prior to their attack on Fort Dix in New Jersey.
Then, once again, Awlaki became the personal “spiritual advisor” for a terrorist: Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the Fort Hood Shooter.
Now we learn that Awlaki “provided spiritual support” to Abdulmutallab.
Do you guys see any pattern here? Are there any dots to be connected? Naahh, too hard. The graph is always discrete.
Al-wacky?
Yup, but we've capitulated.
How about, for starters, treating mad bombers like enemy combatants? Not. Rocket. Science.
Maybe we can get al-Wacky if we don't take our eye off the ball and spread democracy to Iran.
He was in the US until March 2002, way after he "spiritually advised" two of the 9/11 attackers (pardon, alleged suspects). How come we didn't get him then? From his wiki article:
Writing on the IslamOnline.net website six days after the 9/11 attacks, he suggested that Israeli intelligence agents might have been responsible for the attacks, and that the FBI "went into the roster of the airplanes and whoever has a Muslim or Arab name became the hijacker by default." He left the US for Yemen in March 2002, following extensive FBI investigations.
Sounds like your random Truther.
Filling in the details.
Hey, just want to say hi. I'm new here.
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