Anwar al-Awlaki, Radical Yemeni-American Cleric, Personally Blessed Northwest Terror Attack

From the Washington Times, "Awlaki personally blessed Detroit attack" (via Memeorandum):

The Nigerian accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner had his suicide mission personally blessed in Yemen by Anwar al-Awlaki, the same Muslim imam suspected of radicalizing the Fort Hood shooting suspect, a U.S. intelligence source has told The Washington Times.

The intelligence official, who is familiar with the FBI's interrogation of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, said the bombing suspect has boasted of his jihad training during interrogation by the FBI and has said it included final exhortations by Mr. al-Awlaki.

"It was Awlaki who indoctrinated him," the official said. "He was told, 'You are going to be the tip of the spear of the Muslim nation.'"

I thought about this after writing my post rebutting Steve Clemons. It's newfangled extremists like Awlaki who'll pose the biggest threats to international security in the years ahead. Who knows where Osama bin Laden is? And the Middle East's young jihadis probably couldn't give a flying-v, in any case. They've got up-and-coming inside-militants like this formerly U.S.-based cleric? Too bad he escaped that recent drone attack.

Allahpundit has more, "U.S. intel: Jihadi cleric linked to Fort Hood attack blessed Flight 253 plot":

How far back do these two go? According to CBS, they might have hooked up in Londonistan years ago when Abdulmutallab was a student and Aulaqi was preaching the good word of jihad in the local mosque. (He was kicked out of the country in 2006.) The question tomorrow will be whether the former ended up in Yemen for his own reasons or whether he followed Aulaqi there, in which case you’ve got a whole new avenue of missed red flags potentially opening up.

He could, of course, be lying about all this, trying to spook intel agents by mentioning Aulaqi knowing that he already has a body count at Fort Hood. But he also told the agents that there are many more jihadis in Yemen ready to follow his example and he appears to be telling the truth about that. Obama’s called a surprise presser that’s set to start at any minute as I’m writing this. Stand by to see if he delves into any of it in his remarks.

Actually, the New York Times has that report, "Obama Cites ‘Systemic Failure’ in U.S. Security."