Yemen's Sheik Abdul-Majid al-Zindani denies Al Qaeda or influence over Anwar al-Awlaki (He's lying)

Jan 12 2010

Funny, after two months of no mention of any link in the press between Yemen's Sheik Abdul-Majid al-Zindani and his junior trainee in Jihad, the now notorious "I didn't tell Hasan to attack Fort Hood, but I'm glad he did" Anwar al-Awlaki, he suddenly denies that he had "any influence" on the man who links both the underpants bombing attack and Fort Hood before any news story has made the link.

It was Nov 11 when the FBI and Army jumped to the still operational conclusion that Major Nidal Hasan acted "alone and without outside influence", even after looking over the "spiritual advice" given by Anwar al-Awlaki that he had the all clear signal to shoot the "troops to be sent to kill Muslims" as military targets. Now that even Obama is willing to admit that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab got his exploding undies from Al Qaeda, and sources point to that he was personally recuited, trained, and blessed by Awlaki who is now known an Al Queda regional commander. Now, if the FBI knows that Hasan talked to Awlaki, and Awlaki confirmed said he talked to Hasan, and we know that Awlaki not only has Al Queda ties but is the new Osama Bin Laden, it's pretty incredible that a) the FBI to continue to maintain that "there is no evidence of a link to a terrorist organization" like Al Queda, or of a link to a terrorist like Awlaki, and b) there still isn't one news story or published editorial that in so many words declares the FBI to be in grevious error and c) everybody still accepts the "acted alone" scenario.

Just two days later on Nov 13, I wrote that The Fort Hood Shootings have Al Qeda Written all over them, pointing not only to the obvious fact that Awlaki WAS the obvious Al Qeda contact to the pile of terrorists that's Yemen, but that his historic boss is none other than the head of Islamic politics in Yemen, Sheik Abdul-Majid al-Zindani, and when we're talking Yemen, recent history pretty shows that Islamic = Jihadist in Yemen.

Zindani, long an associate of Awlawki as head of charity that was a front for terrorism, and taught at his terrorist university, and one of Bin Laden's spiritual advisors says he is against sending US forces in "occupation" of Yemen, and denies that he had any influence on Awlaki (that means he's lying and did influence him) who is now also widely labeled as an Al Qaeda terrorist. Now why would Zindani deny any connection with Fort Hood or the underpants bombing attempt if nobody has yet linked him with Awlaki? This is the first time outside a blog, or Wikipedia which brings up the question of connections between links between Awlaki with his former boss and superior, who is Zindani who also serves as the head of Islamic politics in Yemen (which appear to be dominated by Jihadists).

Here's what the Tehran Times has to say, pretty remarkable since Tehran tends to side with Al Qaeda rather than ratting them out:
Tehran Times AlQaeda veterans http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=211988 Al-Qaeda veterans ‘are flooding into Yemen’

Yemen’s most influential Islamic cleric, Sheik Abdul-Majid al-Zindani, warned the government on Monday against allowing “foreign occupation” of the country in the growing cooperation with the U.S. against ql-Qaeda.

Al-Zindani, a radical cleric who once associated with Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, addressing a news conference held at his San’a home said: “We accept any cooperation in the framework of respect and joint interests, and we reject military occupation of our country. And we don’t accept the return to colonization.”

President Barack Obama said he does not plan to send American combat forces to Yemen, and San'a has said it will not allow such a deployment.

"The deputy prime minister last week denied al-Zindani is a member of al-Qaeda."

During the news conference al-Zindani denied had had any influence on the al-Awlaki, also labeled terrorist with alleged al-Qaida links.

Now given what the US knows about this guy's past who link Hasan directly to Bin Laden with only 4 links (Keven Bacon takes 6 degrees to get anywhere... Hasan -> Awlaki -> Zindani -> Bin Laden), doesn't this public statement mean that Zindani is associated with Al Qaeda, and he did have some influence on Awlaki since he's the big Islamist cheese in Yemen? Can we believe that Zindani, who probably knew in advance of the Cole bombing, if not the embassy bombing, also did not get a heads up that things were going to happen at Fort Hood or Detroit?