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| Imam Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen October 2008, taken by Muhammad ud-Deen. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Al-Awlaki, you may recall was reportedly killed by a U.S. drone attack in 2011. He was a U.S. born citizen from New Mexico with parents from Yemen.
Judicial Watch says the emails:
"...dating back to December 2003 suggest that agency personnel were bothered by the Commission’s [referring to the 9/11 Commission] “numerous and unrelenting requests” and were dismissive of the Commission’s work. The emails indicate that the FBI refused to set up interviews between the Commission and al-Aulaqi, and was surprised to learn of the Commission’s trip to Yemen, in what turned out to be a futile attempt to track down the terrorist..."
Among the emails that suggest a connection, collaboration or cooperation by al-Awlaki with FBI officials is the following, in which al-Awlaki says to an FBI addressee:
"...I was astonished by some of the talk circulating in the media about me. I was even more surprised to know that the congressional report on Sep 11 had alluded to me as being a “spiritual adviser” to the hijackers. The Guardian newspaper in the UK mentioned that the US authorities are looking for me in the UK while Time magazine mentions that they are looking for me in Yemen. Well in both countries I could be easily accessed. Even though I have nothing more to say than what I did at our previous meetings I just wanted to let you know that I am around and available. I am amazed at how absurd the media could be and I hope that the US authorities know better and realize that what was mentioned about me was nothing but lies..."
Judicial Watch enlightens us with this:
"...Al-Aulaqi’s email offering to meet with the FBI after being identified as a person of interest by the Commission is the latest in a series of events that have fueled speculation that he was an asset or an intelligence source for the U.S. government..."
"...Indeed, one memo obtained by Judicial Watch from then-FBI Director Robert Mueller to then-Attorney General John Ashcroft on October 3, 2002 — seven days before the imam suddenly re-entered the U.S., was detained and then released at JFK Airport – is marked “Secret” and titled 'Anwar Aulaqi: IT-UBL/AL-QAEDA.' The FBI ordered al-Aulaqi’s release at JFK, even though an arrest warrant was still active at the time of his detention. On October 22, 2002, 12 days after the imam’s return, another FBI memo, also marked 'Secret,' includes the subject line 'Anwar Nasser Aulaqi' and 'Synopsis: Asset reporting.'..."
JW says:
"...The new FBI documents are just the latest in a continuing series of internal records Judicial Watch has obtained concerning the relationship between Anwar al-Aulaqi and the agency. In January 2014, Judicial Watch obtained 79 pages of previously unreleased surveillance reports and logs from the FBI providing evidence of ties between terrorist leaders Anwar Al-Aulaqi and Omar al Bayoumi, the government of Saudi Arabia, and FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) counter-terrorism investigations in the days leading up to the 9-11 terrorist attack..."
A 2010 report by Catherine Herridge of Fox News revealed that Anwar All-Awlaki, "An AlQaeda Leader, Dined at the Pentagon Just Months After 9/11."
According to Herridge:
"...Documents exclusively obtained by Fox News, including an FBI interview conducted after the Fort Hood shooting in November 2009, state that Awlaki was taken to the Pentagon as part of the military’s outreach to the Muslim community in the immediate aftermath of the attacks...The incident was flagged by a current Defense Department employee who came forward and told investigators she helped arrange the meeting after she saw Awlaki speak in Alexandria, Va.The Herridge report was particularly enlightening, given the allegations at the time about Al-Awlaki's contacts and connections: Herridge says (in that same 2010 report) :
...The employee "attended this talk and while she arrived late she recalls being impressed by this imam. He condemned Al Qaeda and the terrorist attacks. During his talk he was 'harassed' by members of the audience and suffered it well,' reads one document. ...According to the documents, obtained as part of an ongoing investigation by the specials unit 'Fox News Reporting,' there was a push within the Defense Department to reach out to the Muslim community..."
"...Awlaki, a Yemeni-American who was born in Las Cruces, N.M., was interviewed at least four times by the FBI in the first week after the attacks because of his ties to the three hijackers Nawaf al-Hazmi, Khalid al-Mihdhar and Hani Hanjour. The three hijackers were all onboard Flight 77 that slammed into the Pentagon.
Awlaki is now believed to be hiding in Yemen after he was linked to the alleged Ft. Hood shooter Major Nidal Malik Hasan, who e-mailed Awlaki prior to the attack.Judicial Watch says that then FBI Director "...Mueller refused to deny that al-Aulaqi was recruited to be an asset of the Bureau or another federal agency, telling Fox News, 'I am not personally familiar with any effort to recruit Anwar al-Aulaqi as an asset – that does not mean to say there was not an effort at some level of the Bureau (FBI) or another agency to do so.'..."
Sources told Fox News that Awlaki, who is a former Muslim chaplain at George Washington University, met with the Christmas Day bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in Yemen and was the middle-man between the young Nigerian and the bombmaker. Awlaki was also said to inspire would-be Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad.
Apparently, none of the FBI's information about Awlaki was shared with the Pentagon. Former Army Secretary Tommy White, who led the Army in 2001, said he doesn't have any recollection of the luncheon or any contact with Awlaki.
"If this was a luncheon at the Office of Government Counsel, I would not necessarily be there," he said.
The Pentagon has offered no explanation of how a man, now on the CIA kills or capture list, ended up at a special lunch for Muslim outreach.
After repeated requests for comment on the vetting process beginning on October 13th, an Army spokesman insisted Wednesday that the lunch was not an Army event. "The Army has found no evidence that the Army either sponsored or participated in the event described in this report," spokesman Thomas Collins said.
Collins also noted that the FBI document referred to the “Office of Government Counsel” but should read “Office of General Counsel.”
Collins said he believed the event was sponsored by the office of the Secretary of Defense. A spokeswoman there said she would look into it and get back to Fox News.
A former high-ranking FBI agent told Fox News that at the time Awlaki went to lunch at the Pentagon, there was tremendous "arrogance" about the vetting process at the Pentagon.
"They vetted people politically and showed indifference toward security and intelligence advice of others," the former agent said.
JW explains that "...In January 2014, Judicial Watch obtained 79 pages of previously unreleased surveillance reports and logs from the FBI providing evidence of ties between terrorist leaders Anwar Al-Aulaqi and Omar al Bayoumi, the government of Saudi Arabia, and FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) counter-terrorism investigations in the days leading up to the 9-11 terrorist attack..." And it says:
"...On September 11, 2013, Judicial Watch released surveillance reports and logs it had obtained from the FBI revealing that its agents trailed al-Aulaqi to the front doors of the Pentagon on the day he spoke as an invited guest at a Department of Defense luncheon. The day before the surveillance and luncheon, al-Aulaqi had been identified as a “terrorist organization member,” and an FBI alert had been issued reading: “Warning – approach with caution . . . Do not alert the individual to the FBI’s interest and contact your local FBI field office at the earliest opportunity.” [Emphasis added] Judicial Watch had previously obtained documents from the U.S. State Department indicating that the FBI was aware on September 27, 2001, that al-Aulaqi had purchased airplane tickets for three of the 9/11 terrorist hijackers, including mastermind Mohammed Atta. Subsequent to the FBI’s discovery, al-Aulaqi was detained and released by authorities at least twice..."Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton concludes that:
"...These new documents raise troubling questions about the FBI’s dealings with Anwar al-Aulaqi, a known terrorist that the FBI knew had facilitated the 9/11 attacks. The FBI’s refusal to assist the 9/11 Commission is an outright scandal that deserves further scrutiny. I have little doubt that President Obama assassinated a terrorist that was an asset of the U.S. government...Was President Obama aware of al-Aulaqi’s connections to federal law enforcement? These unanswered questions cast President Obama’s decision to assassinate al-Aulaqi in a disturbingly different light...”
