Dirty Wars (119 page)

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Authors: Jeremy Scahill

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286

not recruited by Al-Qaida
”:
“MEMRI TV Clip No. 3240: AQAP Video Features American-Yemeni Cleric Anwar al-Awlaki Calling On American Muslims to Either

Leave or Follow the Example of Nidal Hassan,” transcript of AQAP-produced video featuring Anwar al Awlaki, November 2011, transcript from Middle East Research Institute (MEMRI), December 20, 2011,
www.memritv.org/clip/en/3240.htm
.

286

undertake a full review
”:
Transcript, “Weekly Address: President Obama Calls for Comprehensive Review of Events Leading to Tragedy at Fort Hood,” November 14, 2009.

286

most destructive terrorist attack
”:
Agence France-Presse, “Army Base Shooting Was ‘Terrorist Attack': US Lawmaker,” November 18, 2009.

286
call for preemptive strikes
:
Jordan Fabian, “Lieberman: Yemen Will Be ‘Tomorrow's War' If Pre-emptive Action Not Taken,” Briefing Room (blog),
The Hill
, December 27, 2009,
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/73651-lieberman-yemen-will-be-tomor-rows-war-if-preemptive-action-not-taken
.

287
Wild West Domains
:
Author search, August 2011,
http://who.is/whois/anwar-alawlaki.com/
.

287

They shut down my website
”:
Anwar al Awlaki, interview with Al-Malahem Media, aired May 23, 2010, transcript provided by MEMRI,
www.memrijttm.org/clip_tran-script/en/2480.htm
.

287
landed in Sana'a
:
Transcript, “Grand Jury Focuses on NC Man Tied to Jihad Magazine,”
Morning Edition with Steve Inskeep
, NPR, August 18, 2010.

287

He's a Christmas child
”:
Author interview, Sarah Khan, April 2012. All information and quotations attributed to Sarah Khan come from the author's interview.

287
Samir's grandparents' house
:
Ibid.

287
classmates recall
:
Matthew Chayes, Anthony M. Destefano, Robert E. Kessler, Greg Lacour, and Victor Manuel Ramos, “Samir Khan, al-Qaida Figure, Grew Up on Long Island,”
Newsday
, October 7, 2011; Timothy Bolger, “Slain al Qaeda Mouthpiece Samir Khan's Westbury Roots,”
LongIsland-Press.com
, October 6, 2011.

288

a practicing Muslim
”:
Michael Moss and Souad Mekhennet, “An Internet Jihad Aims at US Viewers,”
New York Times
, October 15, 2007.

288
Islamic Thinkers Society
:
Ibid.

288

Does he think like them?
”:
Chayes et al., “Samir Khan, al-Qaida Figure, Grew Up on Long Island.”

288
first of several interventions
:
Robbie Brown and Kim Severson, “Second American in Strike Waged Qaeda Media War,”
New York Times
, September 30, 2011.

288

If you give Satan an inch
”:
Chayes et al., “Samir Khan, al-Qaida Figure, Grew Up on Long Island.”

288
community college
:
Moss and
Mekhennet, “An Internet Jihad Aims at US Viewers.”

288
debates with fellow attendees
:
“American Editor Brings US Savvy to Jihad Outreach,”
Morning Edition
, NPR, October 12, 2010.

289
retiring blogs
:
Alice Fordham, “A ‘Proud Traitor': Samir Khan Reported Dead Alongside Aulaqi,” Checkpoint Washington (blog),
Washington Post
, September 30, 2011.

289
Muslimpad
:
Moss and Mekhennet, “An Internet Jihad Aims at US Viewers.”

289
top 1 percent
:
Ibid.

289

scholars of Islam
”:
“About,” The Ignored Puzzle Pieces of Knowledge,
revolution.muslimpad.com
.

289
Zachary Chesser
:
“Alleged American Jihadists—Connecting the Dots,” CNN.com, October 10, 2012.

289

unlikely foot soldier
”:
Moss and Mekhennet, “An Internet Jihad Aims at US Viewers.”

289

brought great happiness to me
”:
Ibid.

289
told a local news station
:
Ibid.

290
hired a lawyer
:
“American Editor Brings US Savvy to Jihad Outreach.”

290
following him closely
:
Michael Moss, “What to Do About Pixels of Hate,”
New York Times
, October 21, 2007.

290

shut [Khan] down
”:
Fordham, “A ‘Proud Traitor.'”

290

FBI dispatched a spy
”:
Samir Khan, “I Am Proud to Be a Traitor to America,”
Inspire
2 (fall 2010), published October 2010. All excerpts of Khan's writing come from this article, unless otherwise noted.

290
invited an Imam
:
Moss and Mekhennet, “An Internet Jihad Aims at US Viewers.”

290

a moderate Muslim
”:
Steven Stalinsky and R. Sosnow, “The Life and Legacy of American al-Qaeda Online Jihad Pioneer Samir Khan—Editor of al-Qaeda Magazine ‘Inspire' and a Driving Force Behind al-Qaeda's Push for ‘Lone-Wolf' Terrorist Attacks in the West,” Middle East Research Institute (MEMRI), September 28, 2012,
www.memri.org/report/en/print6713.htm#_edn39
.

290

became very much convinced
”:
Chayes et al., “Samir Khan, al-Qaida Figure, Grew Up on Long Island.”

290

I tried to bring arguments
”:
Moss and Mekhennet, “An Internet Jihad Aims at US Viewers.”

290
already received an invitation
:
Steve Inskeep, “Grand Jury Focuses on NC Man Tied to Jihad Magazine,”
Morning Edition
, NPR, August 18, 2010.

291

How could anyone claim sanity
”:
Abu Yazeed, “Samir Khan: The Face of Joy,”
Inspire
9 (winter 2012), released May 2012. The author claims to be publishing a “last will” left by Samir Khan on his hard drive.

291
first met Anwar Awlaki
:
Paul Cruickshank and Tim Lister, “The Danish Biker and the Trail That Led to al Qaeda's Most Wanted,” CNN.com, October 24, 2012.

291
Murad Storm
:
Ibid.

291
first armed robbery
:
Ray Weaver, “Former Biker Infiltrated al-Qaeda,”
Copenhagen Post
, October 8, 2012.

292
Bandidos
:
Ibid.

292
converted to Islam, moved to Yemen
:
Ibid.

292
named him Osama
:
Ibid.

292
video from 2005
:
Cruickshank and Lister, “The Danish Biker and the Trail That Led to al Qaeda's Most Wanted.”

292
student at Iman University
:
Ibid.

292

talked freely
”:
Ibid.

292

not what I thought
”:
Weaver, “Former Biker Infiltrated al-Qaeda.”

292
claimed he approached
:
Cruickshank and Lister, “The Danish Biker and the Trail That Led to al Qaeda's Most Wanted.”

292
saw me as his friend
”:
Ibid.

292

materials and electronic equipment
”:
Ibid.

292

discussed the terrorist attacks
”:
Ibid.

292

part of a conspiracy to get Anwar
”:
E-mail sent to author from Awlaki family, December 2012.

293
married a second Yemeni wife
:
Author interviews, Awlaki family members, August 2012.

293

companion in hiding
”:
Cruickshank and Lister, “The Danish Biker and the Trail That Led to al Qaeda's Most Wanted.”

293

There are two things
”:
Duncan Gardham, “Morten Storm: A Radical Life,”
Telegraph
, December 3, 2012.

293
launched an assault
:
Cruickshank and Lister, “The Danish Biker and the Trail That Led to al Qaeda's Most Wanted.”

293

overjoyed
”:
“The Terrorist's Bride,”
Jyllands-Posten
documentary, 12:11, December 16, 2012.

293

The idea was to find someone
”:
Ibid.

293

That was the plan
”:
Weaver, “Former Biker Infiltrated al-Qaeda.”

31: Blowback in Somalia

294
plastic surgery
:
Profile of Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, United Nations Security Council al-Qaida Sanctions List, accessed August 14, 2012,
https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2012/sc10755.doc.htm
.

294

senior trainer
”:
US diplomatic cable 09NAIROBI1395, from Ambassador Michael Ranneberger, US Embassy Nairobi, “Somalia—the TFG, Al-Shabaab, and Al Qaeda,” July 6, 2009, released by WikiLeaks,
http://wikileaks.org/cable/2009/07/09NAIRO-BI1395.html
.

294
burst through the door, Wilson Airport
:
Author interview, Clara Gutteridge, July 2011.

294

They put a bag on my head
”:
Author copy of written testimony of Ahmed Abdullahi Hassan.

294
taken to a secret prison
:
Author interview, Clara Gutteridge, July 2011.

295

former personal assistant
”:
Author copy, Kenyan intelligence report, October 2010.

295

CIA no longer operates
”:
Leon E. Panetta, “Message from the Director: Interrogation Policy and Contracts,” Central Intelligence Agency, April 9, 2009,
https://www.cia.gov/news-information/press-releases-statements/directors-statement-interrogation-policy-contracts.html
.

295

United States provided information
”:
Author interview, US official, July 2011.

295

right-hand man
”:
Author interview, Somali intelligence official, June 2011.

295
took off in helicopters
:
Sean D. Naylor, “JSOC Closes Chapter on al-Qaida Leader: Somalia Raid Nets Body of Man Wanted in Bombing,”
Army Times
, September 18, 2009.

295
regular trips
:
Bill Roggio, “Commando Raid in Somalia Is Latest in Covert Operations Across the Globe,”
Long War Journal
, September 15, 2009.

295
According to witnesses
:
Ewen MacAskill, “Somali Insurgents Vow Revenge for US Killing of Leader,”
Guardian
, September 15, 2009.

295
collected at least two
:
Jeffrey Gettleman and Eric Schmitt, “U.S. Kills Top Qaeda Militant in Southern Somalia,”
New York Times
, September 14, 2009.

295

any alleged operation
”:
MacAskill, “Somali Insurgents Vow Revenge.”

295
al Shabab confirmed
:
Gettleman and Schmitt, “U.S. Kills Top Qaeda Militant in Southern Somalia.”

296

I am a firm believer
”:
Author interview, Malcolm Nance, May 2011. All quotations of Malcolm Nance come from the author's interview.

296

like summary executions
”:
Naylor, “JSOC Closes Chapter on al-Qaida Leader.”

296

The truth is closer to the opposite
”:
Ibid.

296
free to interrogate the prisoners
:
Author interview, Somali intelligence official, June 2011.

296

Hassan's case suggests
”:
Statement, legal team of Ahmed Abdullahi Hassan, July 2011.

297
at least seven US citizens
:
Bobby Ghosh, “Domestic-Terrorism Incidents Hit a Peak in 2009,”
Time
, December 23, 2009.

297
issued his update
:
Mark Mazzetti, “U.S. Is Said to Expand Secret Actions in Mideast,”
New York Times
, May 24, 2010.

298

purely military solution
”:
Peter Spiegel, “Gates Says Somalia Government Is Key to Problem,”
Wall Street Journal
, April 14, 2009.

298

National Security Council
”:
Johnnie Carson, prepared testimony, “Developing a Coordinated and Sustainable Strategy for Somalia,” Hearing of Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, May 20, 2009,
www.state.gov/p/af/rls/rm/2009/123729.htm
.

298

following the course
”:
Daniel Volman, “Obama Administration Budget Request for AFRICOM Operations and for Security Assistance Programs in Africa in FY 2010,” African Security Research Project, May 2009,
http://concernedafricascholars.org/african-security-research-project/?p=18
. The figures of US budget requests for FY 2010 come from Volman's report.

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