WASHINGTON — The radical cleric contacted by accused Ft. Hood gunman Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan has such unmistakable connections to past terrorist plots that his e-mail exchanges with the American should have triggered an all-out investigation, a number of officials and experts now believe.
Anwar al Awlaki is an extremist whose sermons have helped radicalize terrorists from Atlanta to New Jersey to London, including cases in which the U.S. military was targeted. A well-spoken Yemeni American, Awlaki has emerged as the leading ideologue for a homegrown generation of young militants who conspire over the Internet.
The fact that Hasan -- the Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people at Ft. Hood, Texas, a week ago -- exchanged e-mails with Awlaki in Yemen should have raised grave concern, U.S. officials said.
As the lead agency on two anti-terrorism task forces that reviewed the e-mails, the FBI should have pursued a "full field" investigation, said one counter-terrorism official who spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity because the case was ongoing. That would have allowed agents to interview Hasan's friends and colleagues and take other steps that might have detected suspicious behavior.
"What possible conversations could you have with Awlaki that could not be red flags?" the official said, adding that the e-mails should have triggered a more aggressive investigation by law enforcement, intelligence and military officials.
Lawmakers have called for inquiries on the handling of the case. Rep. Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, the senior Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said that the contacts between Hasan and the cleric "should have set off red flags regardless of the content."
In response, senior federal law enforcement officials said that they did not have legal justification to pursue a formal investigation because the 10 to 20 e-mail exchanges between Hasan and Awlaki over the last year were not deemed to be violent or threatening.
Awlaki has left a well-documented trail of influence in a string of recent terrorism cases in North America and Europe.
His ideas apparently drove five young men convicted last year of planning a shooting spree against soldiers at Ft. Dix, N.J. In a wiretapped conversation, Eljvir Duka, 23, exulted about an Awlaki sermon that is revered by militants, according to court documents.
