Anwar Al-Awlaki and the AQAP Threat to the US

33 Pages·2011·1.25 MB·English

Anwar Al-Awlaki and the AQAP
Threat to the US
Terrorism Threat Analysis Group (TTAG)
Counterterrorism Bureau
New York Police Department (NYPD)
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Overview
 Al-Qa‟ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
 The Threat
 Anwar Al-Awlaki
 Individuals Tied to Al-Awlaki
 Immediate & Long-term Implications
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Al-Qa‟ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
Saudi-Yemeni roots
 Based in Yemen
Took refuge in tribal
regions
 Leadership:
 Nasir Al-Wuhayshi
 Saeed Al-Shihri
AQAP’s leadership in 2009 video
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announcing merger
The Threat
 AQAP has continued to
demonstrated its intent to hit inside
the US.
 December 2009: NWA 253
 October 2010: Cargo Plane Plot
 Vowed to continue attacks against the US
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The Threat
 Political unrest in Yemen will now
provide AQAP with greater flexibility to
operate, for individuals to link up with
the group.
 Govt. losing control of key areas in
Abyan, Shabwah
 US-trained Yemeni CT units
reportedly withdrawn from Abyan
province, strike targeting Al-Awlaki
fails
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The Threat
 US-born cleric Anwar Al-Awlaki is
playing an increasingly defined role
as both a spiritual authority and as
an operational figure in AQAP:
 Connected to individuals in the West who
have sought to conduct attacks, facilitate
operations, provide material support.
 April 2010: Killing authorized
 July 2010: Designated terrorist by US
Treasury Department
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Al-Awlaki: Background
Ties to Yemen & the US:

 1971: Born in New Mexico to
Yemeni parents
 Father professor, Agriculture
Minister of Yemen
 Hails from influential Awaliq Shabwahprovince, Yemen
tribe in Shabwah province
 Family moved back to Yemen in
1978, Anwar returns to US for
college in the 90s
 Anwar moves own family to
Al-Awlaki’sfirst home in Las Cruces, NM
Yemen in 2004 after 2 years in
UK
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Al-Awlaki: Background
 Education:
 Earned B.S. in Civil Engineering (Colorado State University 1995)
 Began M.A. in Education Leadership (San Diego State University 1996)
 Began Ph.D. in Human Resource Development (George Washington
University 2001)
 Limited training in Islam
Claims to have studied with various scholars, well-read
Salman Al-Odeh (associate of bin Laden)
Still respected as a „scholar‟ by young English-speaking audience
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Al-Awlaki: Background
 Roots of animosity towards the
US?
 ‟96, ‟97: Arrested for soliciting
prostitutes
 ‟06: Interviewed by FBI while
detained in Yemen
1997 Mug Shot
 ‟10: cites US „aggression‟
abroad
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Al-Awlaki: Background
March 2010: “With the American invasion of Iraq and continued U.S.
aggression against Muslims, I could not reconcile between living in the
U.S. and being a Muslim, and I eventually came to the conclusion that
jihad against America is binding upon myself just as it is binding on every
other Muslim… To the Muslims in America, I have this to say: How can
your conscience allow you to live in peaceful co-existence with a nation
that is responsible for the tyranny and crimes committed against your own
brother and sisters? How can you have your loyalty to a government that
is leading the war against Islam and Muslims?” (Anwar Al-Awlaki)
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