“Despite ties to two of the 9/11 hijackers and the Fort Hood gunman, al-Awlaki has avoided terrorism charges over the years because he never crossed the line into being an active member of al-Qaida — someone who recruits and trains terrorists and plots attacks on the U.S.”
That is a very fine line, apparently.
“U.S.-Born Radical Cleric Added to Terror Blacklist,” from AP, July 16 (thanks to all who sent this in):
The Obama administration added the U.S.-born, al-Qaida-linked cleric accused of helping to plan the failed Christmas Day airline bombing to a terrorism blacklist Friday, targeting him with sanctions aimed at cutting off his financial support.
fox newsThe Obama administration added a U.S.-born, al-Qaida-linked cleric to a terrorism blacklist Friday, targeting him with sanctions aimed at cutting off his financial support.
The Treasury Department placed Anwar al-Awlaki — accused by officials of helping plan the failed Christmas Day airline bombing — on its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists. That means any bank accounts found in the United States belonging to him are frozen. Americans are forbidden from doing business with him. And, it bans him from traveling to the U.S.
The move comes about six months after the U.S. government put al-Awlaki on a secret list of targets to be captured or killed, according to U.S. officials.
Born in New Mexico, al-Awlaki, 39, is not perceived by American officials as a major tactical terror leader on par with al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden. But his role as an inspirational exhorter for al-Qaida’s cause and his growing involvement in plots aimed at the U.S. has made him a prime target in the effort to counter the militant movement.
The U.S. government has been monitoring al-Awlaki for years. But the Treasury Department was able to slap the cleric with sanctions because officials established an operational link between him and an al-Qaida spinoff group in Yemen, according to a government official who was not authorized to speak publicly about this matter and spoke only on condition of anonymity.
Despite ties to two of the 9/11 hijackers and the Fort Hood gunman, al-Awlaki has avoided terrorism charges over the years because he never crossed the line into being an active member of al-Qaida — someone who recruits and trains terrorists and plots attacks on the U.S.
But that changed with his involvement with Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the young recruit to al-Qaida’s nascent Yemen branch, who tried to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day….