He met with and inspired the 9/11 hijackers at a mosque in Northern Virginia.
He inspired and encouraged Nidal Hassan to kill at Ft Hood through 18 e-mails sent from abroad.
He met Christmas Day airline terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab at an al Qaeda training camp in Yemen.
He inspired and encouraged Faisal Shahzad to bomb Times Square.
He was the operations officer for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a powerful franchise.
Radical Islamist cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen, was killed earlier today in a U.S. led drone attack in Yemen. Also in the vehicle was the editor of Inspire, al Qaeda's online magazine used for recruitment, rhetoric and to educate followers on bomb building and terrorist tactics.
Almost a year ago, the President authorized the killing of Awlaki, a nearly unprecedented act from the Oval Office. A great debate ensued as to whether Awlaki was a really a "terrorist", by the strictest definition of the term. The President's action confirmed that a terrorist doesn't have to be the trigger man or have blood on his hands - if you provide logistical support, or in this case, the ideological fuel that fans the flames of radicalism, you are a terrorist and you are in the cross hair of the United States and all who join us in the fight against terrorism.
Who was Awlaki? Recall the Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia, which was a place of worship for several of the 9/11 hijackers. According to the 9/11 commission report, Awlaki had personal contact with 2 of the hijackers, both at the mosque in VA, and at a mosque in San Diego.
At Dar al-Hijrah, Awlaki also preached to Ft Hood killer Hasan and his family, notably around the early 2001 time period. The two may have maintained contact throughout the years, and investigators are looking at Hasan's e-mail accounts for the evidence. Awlaki praised Hasan's actions, calling him a "hero" and using his first name several times, indicating familiarity.
Awlaki was born in the U.S. and obtained a B.S. (Civil Engineering) from Colorado State University, an M.A. (Education Leadership) from San Diego State University, and worked toward on a PhD at George Washington University. He was living in Yemen, as the operations officer for AQAP. A few months ago, he attempted to enter the UK to speak at a fundraiser for the prisoners at Guantanamo but was banned from the county. I will always wonder why we didn't pay for his one way plane ticket.
His most recent website is no longer accessible, but I was previously able to access and read his works. There were many of Awlaki's radical speeches, some of which had been accessed thousands of times. A common theme was his distinct respect for Sayyid Qutb, who was also Osama bin Laden's inspiration.
Qutb was educated in the U.S. (in Colorado and DC) in the 1950s. While here, he came to hate the Western culture and returned to Egypt. He radicalized and influenced many others to take up the cause of Jihad. He was imprisoned and later executed by hanging when found guilty of trying to overthrow the government. His book entitled "Milestones" was written in prison, and has served as a source of radicalization and inspiration for many Islamist terrorists including Zawahiri. It is worthy of reading as we try to understand the roots of the radical ideology. Military strategist Sun Tzu's philosophy of "know thy enemy" has perhaps never been more relevant than today. I also recommend The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright, which explores Qutb and his influence on bin Laden.
If you want to read more of Awlaki's writings and the comments of his followers, I located his 2008 blogs through an internet search engine that finds archived web sites:
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.anwar-alawlaki.com
Although he is dead, it is important to study the psychological and sociological make up of a terrorist such as Awlaki, and to recognize how he ascended to power as a spiritual leader of a religious group - the mechanisms that were in place, and the laws and controls that were absent. This analysis should help prevent another Awlaki from rising to power in our back yard.
