American Cleric Anwar al-Awlaki's Targeted Killing Approved By US
An unusal step has been taken by Obama administration in authorizing the targeted killing of an American citizen.
Radical muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki is believed to have changed his activities from only encouraging attacks on US to participating himself in them, said the intelligence and counterterrorism officials on Tuesday.
Awlaki, born in New Mexico, stayed as an Imam in US, is now in hiding in Yemen. Ever since he was found linked to Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the army psychiatrist who in November killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas as well as to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian charged with attempted blowing up of a Detroit-bound flight on Christmas Day.
According to American counterterrorism officials, Awlaki works for Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
Speaking of the decision to authorize killing of an American citizen, director of national intelligence, Dennis C Blair without taking Awlaki's name told a House hearing in February, “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.”
At a panel discussion in Washington on Tuesday, Awlaki was referred to as “probably the person, the terrorist, who would be terrorist No. 1 in terms of threat against us.”
