Flashback: Droned U.S. Citizen Once ‘Moderate Islam’s’ Media Darling

mike.ciandella — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 13:03:55 +0000

Al Awlaki was called ‘bridge-builder’ between Islam and West.

Matt Philbin

Who was Anwar Al Awlaki and why did the U.S. government kill him in a 2011 drone strike, despite his U.S. citizenship?

The latter question has been answered with the court-ordered release of a Justice Department memo justifying the action. Awlaki, held “operational and leadership roles” in Al Qaeda in Yemen and “continue[d] to plot attacks intended to kill Americans.”

The first question – who he was – is one many in the media won’t be too eager to revisit, because they got it spectacularly wrong for a long time.