[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv class=\u0022ds-1col clearfix\u0022\u003E\n\n \n\n \n \u003Cp\u003EOn November 11, 2009,\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EAsharq al-Awsat\u003C\/em\u003E highlighted a story from the Associated Press noting Anwar al-Awlaki\u2019s communications with Major Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter. \u003Cem\u003EAsharq al-Awsat\u003C\/em\u003E claimed \u201cYemeni authorities are now hunting for Anwar al-Awlaki to determine whether he has al-Qaeda ties.\u201d The article mentioned that Hasan had communicated with Awlaki \u201c10 to 20 times over several months\u201d in 2008, pointing out that Awlaki had urged \u201cMuslims around the world to kill U.S. troops,\u201d and that he had been in contact with 9\/11 hijackers Khalid al-Midhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi while preaching at a mosque in San Diego. \u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003E\u201cUS Imam Wanted in Yemen over Al-Qaeda Suspicions,\u201d \u003Cem\u003EAsharq al-Awsat\u003C\/em\u003E, November 11, 2009, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.aawsat.net\/2009\/11\/article55252912\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.aawsat.net\/2009\/11\/article55252912\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAsharq al-Awsat\u003C\/em\u003E was also quick to report the Al-Qaeda link to the Christmas Day Bomber plot. At the same time that Al Jazeera published its first article on the subject, and the day before it published\u0026nbsp;\u201cJet Bomb \u2018Not Part of Larger Plot,\u2019\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003E\u201cJet bomb \u2018not part of larger plot,\u2019\u201d Al Jazeera English, December 28, 2009, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/americas\/2009\/12\/200912283820592544.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/americas\/2009\/12\/200912283820592544.html\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E \u003Cem\u003EAsharq al-Awsat\u003C\/em\u003E featured the headline \u201cChristmas Bomber \u2018Trained\u2019 by Al-Qaeda in Yemen,\u201d noting that the \u201callegations highlight Yemen\u2019s growing centrality\u201d to global terrorism.\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003E\u201cChristmas Bomber \u2018Trained\u2019 by al-Qaeda in Yemen,\u201d \u003Cem\u003EAsharq Al-Awsat\u003C\/em\u003E, December 27, 2009, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.aawsat.net\/2009\/12\/article55252396l\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.aawsat.net\/2009\/12\/article55252396\u003C\/a\u003E. \u003C\/span\u003E Citing ABC News and NBC News, the outlet\u2019s reporting on Abdulmutallab was much more explicit about his time in Yemen, citing Abdulmutallab\u2019s allegations that he had contacted a \u201cradical Yemeni cleric [Anwar al-Awlaki] through the internet,\u201d and that he spent \u201ca month at an Al-Qaeda compound north of [Sanaa] and said he was denied permission to leave the site until he completed his training alongside a Saudi Al-Qaeda bombmaker.\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003E\u201cChristmas Bomber \u2018Trained\u2019 by Al-Qaeda in Yemen,\u201d \u003Cem\u003EAsharq Al-Awsat\u003C\/em\u003E, December 27, 2009, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.aawsat.net\/2009\/12\/article55252396l\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.aawsat.net\/2009\/12\/article55252396\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlthough Arab media produced little original reporting on the Times Square Bomber plot, \u003Cem\u003EAsharq al-Awsat\u003C\/em\u003E was one of the first Arab publications to run a story on the link between the attempted bomber Faisal Shahzad and American AQAP recruiter Anwar al-Awlaki.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn May 8, 2010, \u003Cem\u003EAsharq al-Awsat \u003C\/em\u003Eran a story noting that Shahzad was impressed by al-Awlaki, though like Nidal Hasan, who carried out the deadly Fort Hood shooting attacks, Shahzad was not in direct contact with al-Qaeda or its leaders. The article claimed that \u201canger by itself was not enough,\u201d citing al-Awlaki\u2019s calls to target the U.S. as an influence that fixated Shahzad\u2019s thinking.\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EMina la-Aribi, \u201cFaisal Shahzad Tatarafuhu Tadrijiyan.. wa \u2018Ajaba bi Al-Awlaki,\u201d \u003Cem\u003EAsharq Al-Awsat\u003C\/em\u003E, May 8, 2010, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/classic.aawsat.com\/details.asp?section=4\u0026amp;article=568623\u0026amp;issueno=11484#.U6ns5LFCxoI\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/classic.aawsat.com\/details.asp?section=4\u0026amp;article=568623\u0026amp;issueno=11484#.U6ns5LFCxoI\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E The article pointed out that Awlaki had been in direct contact with both Nidal Hasan and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab before they carried out their respective attacks.\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EMina la-Aribi, \u201cFaisal Shahzad Tatarafuhu Tadrijiyan.. wa \u2018Ajaba bi Al-Awlaki,\u201d \u003Cem\u003EAsharq Al-Awsat\u003C\/em\u003E, May 8, 2010, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/classic.aawsat.com\/details.asp?section=4\u0026amp;article=568623\u0026amp;issueno=11484#.U6ns5LFCxoI\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/classic.aawsat.com\/details.asp?section=4\u0026amp;article=568623\u0026amp;issueno=11484#.U6ns5LFCxoI\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n","dialogOptions":{"minWidth":850,"resizable":true,"modal":true,"title":"Saudi Outlet Asharq al-Awsat Quick to Note AQAP Connection in Western Attacks"}},{"command":"doFootnotes"}]