Cleric Al-Awlaki in U.S. and Yemeni Crosshairs
Having another Osama Bin Laden on the loose, occasionally taunting the U.S. president, inflaming Islamic extremists and eluding the sophisticated technical apparatus and massive military force of the U.S. Department of Defense, isn't the desired scenario for the war on terror.
In addition to his role in the Christmas Day attack, Al-Awlaki, reportedly the chief cleric for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), was a player in the November's shootings at Ft. Hood.
Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the officer accused in the Nov. 5, 2009 Fort Hood slaying of 13 member of the military, attended sermons at a Falls Church, Va., mosque where al-Awlaki was the former imam, and communicated with radical cleric via email. Al-Awlaki has maintained that he supported Hasan's actions but denied having any involvement in the attack.
"I did not recruit Nidal Hasan to this operation; the one who recruited him was America, with its crimes and injustice, and this is what America refuses to admit," Al-Awlaki said.
Al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen born in New Mexico, has already been in the crosshairs of Yemeni attacks, aided by U.S. intelligence. According an AP report, on the day before the Christmas Day attack, President Obama approved an air strike on a compound in Yemen where al-Awlaki was supposedly a resident. Al-Awlaki is thought to have survived the attack.
Al-Awlaki's status as a U.S. citizen makes him a high-value target with a twist. According to Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair, the use lethal force against a U.S. citizen must meet specific criteria and special permission.
"We take direct actions against terrorists in the intelligence community. If we think that direct action will involve killing an American, we get specific permission to do that," he said during a congressional hearing this week.
The criteria include whether the U.S. citizen is involved in activities that is harmful to other Americans.
"We don't target people for free speech. We target them for taking action that threatens Americans or has resulted in it," Blair said.
Daniel Farber is editor-in-chief of CBSNews.com.