Reuters, 25 Feb 10: U.S. spy agencies believe an American-born Muslim cleric based in Yemen played a bigger role than first thought in al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s decision to start launching attacks against U.S. targets, counterterrorism officials said. The revised assessment by intelligence analysts could help build a case for adding Anwar al-Awlaki to the U.S. target list to kill or capture top militants, though current and former officials said careful review was needed given his status as a U.S. citizen. . . . . “The preferable course would always be a capture but we are at war,” the former official said. Pending a decision on whether the United States should target him directly, the former official added, “If we can do it through a third party, it’s probably preferable.” . . .

. . . . “Awlaki is someone who has shifted his focus in recent years. At one time, he was principally a recruiter and propagandist. More recently, he’s become a key player in terrorist operations — one who has helped turn AQAP’s attention to planning attacks on U.S. interests,” a U.S. counterterrorism official said. Other U.S. counterterrorism officials described Awlaki as the main force behind AQAP’s decision to transform itself from a regional threat into what U.S. spy agencies see as the network’s most active affiliate outside Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Born in New Mexico, Awlaki was an imam at mosques in Denver, San Diego and Falls Church, Virginia, near the U.S. capital. He returned to Yemen in 2004 where he taught at a university before he was arrested and imprisoned in 2006 for suspected links to al Qaeda and involvement in attacks. . . .