Dirty Wars (101 page)

30
“
near total dependence on CIA
”:
Donald Rumsfeld, working paper sent to General Myers, “Subject: Afghanistan,” October 17, 2001. Rumsfeld writes, “Given the nature of our world, isn't it conceivable that the Department ought not to be in a position of near total dependence on CIA in situations such as this?”

31
Their best hope
:
Dr. James J. Zogby, “The Arab American Vote in the November 2000 Election,” Arab American Institute, December 14, 2000. In an analysis commissioned by Abu Dhabi Television, Zogby writes that “a recent poll of Arab American voters shows that Arab Americans supported the candidacy of Republican George W. Bush over the candidacy of Democrat Al Gore by a margin of 45.5% to 38%.” He further notes that despite the fact that Arab Americans tended to lean Democratic, “this election took place against the backdrop of escalating Israeli violence against Palestinians,” which “apparently influenced the votes of a number of Arab Americans.”

31
“
Freedom is one of them
”:
Transcript, interview with Anwar al Awlaki, “Fighting Fear,”
NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,
PBS, October 30, 2001.

31
Fulbright scholarship
:
Author interview, Nasser al Awlaki, January 2012. Details of Nasser al Awlaki's family life and the early years of Anwar al Awlaki are from the author's interview, unless otherwise noted.

31
“
My studies in the United States
”:
Ibid. All quotations from Nasser al Awlaki are from interview with author, unless otherwise noted.

31
“
meet people of the New World
”:
Personal, unpublished essay written by Nasser al Awlaki and shown to the author in January 2012.

32
April 22, 1971
: An FBI report about Anwar lists his birthday as April 21, but Nasser says in an interview with the author that Anwar was born on the 22nd. News reports have used both dates.

32
University of Minnesota
:
“Interview: Dr. Nasser al-Awlaki on the Killing of His Son, Anwar, and His Grandson,”
National Yemen,
October 6, 2012.

33
O'Hare Airport
:
Catherine Herridge,
The Next Wave: On the Hunt for Al Qaeda's American Recruits
(New York: Crown Forum, 2011), p. 78.

33
civil engineering
:
Bruce Finley, “Muslim Cleric Targeted by U.S. Made Little Impression During Colorado Years,”
Denver Post,
April 11, 2010.

33
“
not [a] fully practicing Muslim
”:
Anwar al Awlaki, “Spilling Out the Beans; Al Awlaki Revealing His Side of the Story,”
Inspire
9 (winter 2012), released May 2012.

33
Muslim Student Association
:
Ibid.

34
“
staying in the US
”:
Ibid.

34
grades were slipping
:
Ibid.

34
“
termination of my scholarship
”:
Ibid.

34
“
I was a fundamentalist now!
”:
Ibid.

35
asked him to deliver a sermon
:
Author interview, Nasser al Awlaki, January 2012; Scott Shane and Souad Mekhennet, “Imam's Path from Condemning Terror to Preaching Jihad,”
New York Times,
May 8, 2010.

35
“
very promising person
”:
Author interview, Sheikh Saleh bin Fareed, January 2012.

35
graduated from CSU
:
Finley, “Muslim Cleric Targeted by U.S.”

35
Denver Islamic Society
:
Ibid.

35
Malcolm X
:
Author interview, Nasser al Awlaki, January 2012.

35
“
He had this magic
”:
Finley, “Muslim Cleric Targeted by U.S.”

35
“
a beautiful tongue
”:
Shane and Mekhennet, “Imam's Path.”

35
September 13, 1995
:
Author copy of Abdulrahman al Awlaki's birth certificate.

35
Masjid al Ribat al Islami
:
Shane and Mekhennet, “Imam's Path.”

35
education leadership
:
Union-Tribune and Associated Press, “Anwar al-Awlaki, al-Qaida-Linked Cleric with San Diego Ties, Killed,”
UTSanDiego.com
, September 30, 2011.

35
“
very outgoing and cheerful
”:
Memorandum
for the record: telephone interview of Lincoln Higgie, prepared by Dieter Snell, FBI-San Diego Field Office, November 19, 2003. Available at the National Archive and Records Administration website,
http://media.nara.gov/9-11/MFR/t-0148–911MFR-00449.pdf
.

35
“
albacore fishing
”:
Transcript,
The Situation Room,
CNN, September 30, 2011.

36
first run-in with the FBI
:
Shane and Mekhennet, “Imam's Path.”

36
“
blind sheikh
”:
Ibid.

36
Holy Land Foundation
:
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States (Philip Zelikow, Executive Director; Bonnie D. Jenkins, Counsel; Ernest R. May, Senior Advisor),
The 9/11 Commission Report
(New York: W. W. Norton, 2004), p. 517.

36
Charitable Society for Social Welfare
:
Susan Schmidt, “Imam from Va. Mosque Now Thought to Have Aided al-Qaeda,”
Washington Post,
February 27, 2008.

36
“
front organization
”:
Tom Hays (AP), “FBI Eyes NYC ‘Charity' in Terror Probe,”
washingtonpost.com
, February 26, 2004.

36
Abdul Majeed al Zindani
:
Schmidt, “Imam from Va. Mosque.”

36
US Department of Labor
:
US Department of Labor, International Labor Affairs Bureau, Technical Cooperation Project Summary, for project “Alternatives to Combat Child Labor Through Education and Sustainable Services in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region,”
www.dol.gov/ilab/projects/europe_mena/MidEast_LebanonYemen_EI_CLOSED.pdf; “Project Status—Europe, Middle East, and North Africa,” Department of Labor website, accessed October 2010
,
www.dol.gov/ilab/projects/europe_mena/project-europe.htm
.

36
raising money for orphans
:
Author interviews with Awlaki family members, January 2012.

36
“
does not meet the criterion
”:
J. M. Berger,
Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam
(Washington, DC: Potomac Books, 2011), p. 119.

37
Two men
:
Schmidt, “Imam from Va. Mosque.”

37
Nawaf al Hamzi
:
Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities Before and After the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001, Hearings Before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence,
107th Cong., 2nd Sess., September 26, 2002, p. 178.

37
“
spiritual adviser
”:
Ibid.

37
recording CDs
:
Shane and Mekhennet, “Imam's Path.”

37
extremely popular
:
Author interview, Nasser al Awlaki, January 2012.

37
more than a hundred CDs
:
J. M. Berger, “Gone but Not Forgotten,”
Foreign Policy,
September 30, 2011.

37
“
free of obvious radicalism
”:
Shane and Mekhennet, “Imam's Path.”

37
“
very pleased
”:
Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens, “As American as Apple Pie: How Anwar al-Awlaki Became the Face of Western Jihad,” The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence, London, 2011.

37
sent “moles
”:
Awlaki, “Spilling Out the Beans.”

37
busted twice
:
“Radical Cleric Killed by Drone Was Twice Arrested with Prostitutes in San Diego,” L.A. Now (blog),
Los Angeles Times,
September 30, 2011,
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/09/anwar-awlaki-the-american-born-cleric-and-jihadist-killed-by-a-us-backed-drone-strike-in-yemen-spent-several-years-in-san.html
.

38
“
I was surrounded by police officers
”:
Awlaki, “Spilling Out the Beans.”

38
“
move somewhere else
”:
Ibid.

38
partial scholarship
:
Author interview, Nasser al Awlaki, January 2012.

38
chaplain
:
Ibid.

38
“
full force of faith
”:
Transcript, “Connections Between Radical Cleric, Hasan Closely Examined,”
NewsHour,
PBS, November 12, 2009.

39
backseat of a taxi
:
“Former Islamic Spiritual Leader Defends Mosque,” Copley News Service, September 28, 2001.

39
screamed threats
:
“Muslim Americans Suffer Terrorist Backlash,” Scripps Howard News Service, September 12, 2001.

39
closed for three days
:
William Branigin, “Terror Hits Close to Home; Mix of Emotions Sweeps over Area's Residents,”
Washington Post,
September 20, 2001.

39
“
How should we react?
”:
Susan Morse, “First Source of Comfort; When Events Overwhelm, Clergy, Not Doctors, Are on the Front Lines,”
Washington Post,
September 18, 2001.

39
security firm
:
Debbi Wilgoren and Ann O'Hanlon, “Worship and Worry; Fear for Other Muslims Mixes with Support for US,”
Washington Post,
September 22, 2001.

39
Local churches
:
Ibid.

39
baseball bat
:
Ibid.

39
“
heinous
”:
Branigin, “Terror Hits Close to Home.”

39
“
Best Buy
”:
Brian Handwerk and Zain Habboo, “Attack on America: An Islamic Scholar's Perspective—Part 1,”
National Geographic,
September 28, 2001.

40
“
knocking on my door
”:
Awlaki, “Spilling Out the Beans.”

40
showed him pictures
:
Federal Bureau of
Investigation file on “Anwar Nasser Aulaqi,” September 26, 2001. Document obtained by Intelwire,
intelwire.com
.

40
attended an Awlaki sermon
:
9/11 Commission Report,
p. 229.

40
“
did not recognize
”:
Ibid., p. 221.

40
Awlaki also said
:
Ibid., pp. 229–230.

40
“
described Hazmi
”:
Ibid., p. 221.

40
“
a loner
”:
Federal Bureau of Investigation file on “Anwar Nasser Aulaqi.”

40
“
very religious person
”:
Ibid.

40
got a lawyer
:
Awlaki, “Spilling Out the Beans.”

40
“
Investigation continues
”:
Federal Bureau of Investigation file on “Anwar Nasser Aulaqi.”

40
series of phone conversations
:
9/11 Commission Report,
p. 517.

40
“
evidence is thin
”:
Ibid., p. 221.

41
Nidal Malik Hasan
:
Author interview, Nasser al Awlaki, January 2012. That Hasan attended Dar al Hijrah has been documented in press reports, such as David Johnston and Scott Shane, “U.S. Knew of Suspect's Tie to Radical Cleric,”
New York Times,
November 9, 2009.

41
worst massacres
:
Robert D. McFadden, “Army Doctor Held in Ft. Hood Rampage,”
New York Times,
November 5, 2009.

41
“
tolerance
”:
“Al-Awlaki Assassinated in Drone Attack,” blog post on Dar al Hijrah website, September 30, 2011,
www.daralhi-jrah.net/ns/?p=6258
.

41
“
overtly political or radical
”:
Matthew Barakat, “Relief, Anger at Va. Mosque Where al-Qaida Figure Preached,” Associated Press, September 30, 2011.

41
“
right to defend itself
”:
Transcript, “Fighting Fear,” interview by Ray Suarez,
NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,
PBS, October 30, 2001.

41
“
go-to Muslim cleric
”:
Shane and Mekhennet, “Imam's Path.”

42
“
merging East and West
”:
Laurie Good-stein, “A Nation Challenged: The American Muslims; Influential American Muslims Temper Their Tone,”
New York Times,
October 19, 2001.

42
“
perverted their religion
”:
Handwerk and Habboo, “Attack on America.”

42
webcast
:
Travis Fox, video, “Understanding Ramadan: A Day in the Life of an Imam,”
www.washingtonpost.com
, November 18, 2001.

42
“
Our position needs to be reiterated
”:
Anwar al Awlaki sermon, excerpted in “Fighting Fear,”
NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,
PBS, October 30, 2001.