BEIRUT, Lebanon — The radical, American-born cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, called for Muslims around the world to kill Americans and overthrow Arab leaders in a video posted Monday on the Internet.
Mr. Awlaki, who is now thought to be hiding in southern Yemen, has called for violence against Americans before, and his sermons appear to have played a role in a number of terrorist plots. American officials believe he plays an active part in Al Qaeda’s regional branch, which took credit on Friday for the attempt late last month to send explosives by courier to the United States.
In the new 23-minute video, Mr. Awlaki appears at a desk wearing traditional Yemeni garb, including a ceremonial dagger, and says, speaking in Arabic, that no special clerical ruling is required to kill Americans.
“Don’t consult with anyone in fighting the Americans, fighting the devil doesn’t require consultation or prayers or seeking divine guidance,” Mr. Awlaki says. “They are the party of the devils.”
Mr. Awlaki also inveighs against Arab leaders who cooperate with the West, in a style that is common in jihadist sermons. He called on religious scholars to declare these leaders infidels — which would make them legitimate targets for assassination.
“Kings, emirs and presidents are now not qualified to lead the nation, or even a flock of sheep,” he says. “If the leaders are corrupt, the religious scholars have the responsibility to lead the nation.”
The video appears to pre-date the mail freight plot; parts of it were released on Oct. 23.
On Saturday, a Yemeni judge called for Mr. Awlaki’s arrest, a few days after he failed to show up at a trial where he was accused in absentia in a plot to kill foreigners.
Yemen has been under strong American pressure to do something about Mr. Awlaki, particularly since the discovery of the mail freight plot. The cleric, born in New Mexico, has spent much of his life in the United States, and returned to Yemen in 2006. It is not clear exactly when his views — once moderate — hardened into a militant anti-Americanism. American officials believe his eloquent sermons play an important role in recruiting jihadists around the world, and last year they took the unusual step of authorizing his targeted killing.
Mr. Awlaki has been linked to Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan, the Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people in Fort Hood, Tx., last year, and to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian charged with trying to blow up a Detroit-bound jetliner on Dec. 25.
Mr. Awlaki belongs to the large and powerful Awlak tribe. Leaders of the tribe have said the government is welcome to arrest him, but some fellow tribesmen appear to be sheltering him in Shabwa province, the tribe’s heartland in southern Yemen.
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Yemen has U.S. drones available for use, foreign minister says

By Hala Gorani, CNN
November 8, 2010 -- Updated 1756 GMT (0156 HKT)
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STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • He says U.S. is helping find al Qaeda agents
  • Yemen's air force carries out strikes, and U.S. and his country share intelligence, he says
  • Newspaper: U.S. official says drones have yet to fire on suspected targets in Yemen
  • Recent bombing attempts have put focus on terrorist activity in Yemen
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (CNN) -- Yemen's foreign minister has told CNN that his country has U.S. military drones at its disposal and that U.S. intelligence is helping find al Qaeda operatives.
Asked by CNN whether the Yemeni air force has unmanned drones, Abu Bakr Abdullah Al Qirbi replied: "Yes, it has." He then confirmed they were U.S. drones.
Al Qirbi was then asked about drone strikes against suspected terrorist targets. "Do those happen with the cooperation of the Yemeni government?" he was asked.
"The attacks are undertaken by the Yemeni air force," he said, "but there is intelligence information that is exchanged about the location of the terrorists by the Americans."
Yemeni officials later clarified his remarks, saying Al Qirbi was talking about air strikes by Yemen's air force, and not attacks by drones. Al Qirbi himself later told CNN that there had been no drone strikes between December 2009 and September of this year.
A report in Sunday's Washington Post quoted a senior U.S. official as saying the United States has deployed Predator drones in Yemen, but has not yet fired on suspected targets because of unreliable intelligence on "insurgents' whereabouts." However, a senior Yemeni official rejected recent media reports of regular drone flights over provinces of Yemen where al Qaeda is thought to be active.
The Yemeni government, which has little control of restive parts of its territory, has openly asked the United States for assistance in targeting militant positions in southern Yemen but says help has come slowly.
"It wasn't really until last year that the Americans have been heavily involved in building our counter-terrorism capability and providing us with equipment," Al Qirbi said.
The campaign against al Qaeda in Yemen has gained increased international visibility since a cargo plane bomb plot targeting Western interests was uncovered last week.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has claimed responsibility for placing parcel bombs that U.S. and British officials say were designed to explode in midair. The group has also been linked to an attempted 2009 Christmas Day attack on a commercial airliner by a man with explosives strapped to his underwear. (cnn)
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