Mamdani's 2015 post on al-Qaida terrorist returns to haunt him

India Today

8 hours ago

New York City's Democratic socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is facing fresh scrutiny after his past tweets surfaced in which he appeared to question the FBI's surveillance tactics of Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born cleric later linked to terror outfit al-Qaida, and suggested that American intelligence actions may have contributed to Awlaki's radicalisation.Mamdani's 2015 post surfaced days after US President Donald Trump called the mayoral candidate a "100% Communist lunatic" and warned that the Democrat would be arrested if he stopped the immigration department from carrying out raids. Mamdani has also been under scrutiny over his family wealth.advertisementIn a 2015 post on X (formerly Twitter), Mamdani questioned al-Awlaki's surveillance the FBI had done after the 9/11 attacks.
"Why no proper interrogation of what it means for the FBI to have conducted an extensive survey into Awlaki's private life? (sic)" asked Mamdani on X (formerly Twitter) in 2015."How could Awlaki have ever trusted the FBI to not release surveillance, especially if he continued to critique [the] state? Why no further discussion of how Awlaki's knowledge of surveillance eventually led him to alqaeda? Or what that says about [the] efficacy of surveillanec? (sic)," Mamdani said.
Screenshort of Zohran Mamdani's 2015 posts.
Awlaki, who was born in New Mexico to Yemeni parents, served as an imam in US mosques and came under federal scrutiny for his suspected ties to three of the 9/11 terrorists, according to a report in the New York Post.Though never charged with involvement in the attacks, Awlaki later emerged as a senior figure in al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and was killed in a 2011 US drone strike in Yemen.He was put under surveillance by the FBI after 9/11, a probe that uncovered, among other things, that the conservative, family-values-preaching cleric was frequenting sex workers at hotels, according to the report.OBAMA ORDERED AIRSTRIKE ON THE AMERICAN CITIZENAl-Awlaki moved to Yemen in 2004, where he joined terror outfit al-Qaida and helped plan multiple terrorist attacks while spreading jihadist messages through videos and recordings.The cleric was considered so dangerous that then-president Barack Obama approved the drone strike that killed him in 2011, an unprecedented assassination of an American citizen who had not been charged with a crime, The New York Post reported."He directed the failed attempt to blow up an airplane on Christmas Day in 2009. He directed the failed attempt to blow up US cargo planes in 2010," Obama said at the time, according to the report."And he repeatedly called on individuals in the United States and around the globe to kill innocent men, women, and children to advance a murderous agenda," Obama added.
Al-Awlaki moved to Yemen in 2004 and joined terror outfit al-Qaeda (Photo: AFP)
MAMDANI'S COMMENTS ENRAGED 9/11 VICTIMS' FAMILIES, US OFFICIALSMamdani's comments have enraged 9/11 victims' families and US anti-terror officials, who view his remarks as insensitive.Retired Long Island Representative Peter King said holding the US responsible for al-Awlaki's deeds is like blaming the Jews for Hitler."To blame the United States for al-Awlaki is like blaming the Jews for Hitler," King, who chaired the House Homeland Security Committee and served on the Intelligence Committee that received confidential briefings on the slain terrorist, was quoted as saying by the New York Post."Mamdani is making excuses and rationalising al-Awlaki joining al-Qaida," King added.Former Lieutenant of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) Jim McCaffrey, whose brother-in-law, FDNY Battalion 7 Chief Orio Palmer, rushed into the World Trade Centre's south tower to try to help people before the building collapsed, called Mamdani's comments "very offensive to 9/11 victims and their families," the New York-based tabloid reported."It's offensive to all New Yorkers and all Americans," he said."It's an absolutely ridiculous assertion on Mamdani's part. The FBI agents were doing their job," said McCaffrey, who himself spent many days participating in search and recovery efforts at Ground Zero.advertisement"This guy, al-Awlaki had connections to al-Qaida. But [Mamdani's] blaming the FBI?" he said, slamming Mamdani.The New York Post reported that intelligence sources claimed al-Awlaki's disciples had been linked to about a quarter of the Islamists convicted of terrorism-related offences in the US from 2007 until his death.- EndsMust Watch