Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan was investigated by the FBI after intelligence agencies intercepted at least 18 e-mails between him and al-Awlaki between December 2008 and June 2009 . Even before the contents of the e-mails were revealed , terrorism expert Jarret Brachman said that Hasan 's contacts with al-Awlaki should have raised " huge red flags " , because of his influence on radical English-speaking '' jihadis '' . Charles Allen , no longer in government , noted that there was no work-related reason for Hasan to be in touch with al-Awlaki . Former CIA officer Bruce Riedel opined : " E-mailing a known al-Qaeda sympathizer should have set off alarm bells . Even if he was exchanging recipes , the bureau should have put out an alert . " A DC-based Joint Terrorism Task Force operating under the FBI was notified of the e-mails , and reviewed the information . Army employees were informed of the e-mails , but they did n't perceive any terrorist threat in Hasan 's questions . Instead , they viewed them as general questions about spiritual guidance with regard to conflicts between Islam and military service , and judged them to be consistent with legitimate mental health research about Muslims in the armed services . The assessment was that there was not sufficient information for a larger investigation . In one of the e-mails , Hasan wrote al-Awlaki : " I ca n't wait to join you in the afterlife " . " It sounds like code words , " said Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer , a military analyst at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies . " That he 's actually either offering himself up , or that he 's already crossed that line in his own mind . " Yemeni journalist Abdulelah Hider Shaea interviewed al-Awlaki in November 2009 . Al-Awlaki acknowledged his correspondence with Hasan . He said he " neither ordered nor pressured ... Hasan to harm Americans . " Al-Awlaki said Hasan first e-mailed him December 17 , 2008 , introducing himself by writing : " Do you remember me ? I used to pray with you at the Virginia mosque . " Hasan said he had become a devout Muslim around the time al-Awlaki was preaching at Dar al-Hijrah , in 2001 and 2002 , and al-Awlaki said ' Maybe Nidal was affected by one of my lectures . ' " He added : " It was clear from his e-mails that Nidal trusted me . Nidal told me : ' I speak with you about issues that I never speak with anyone else . ' " Al-Awlaki said Hasan arrived at his own conclusions regarding the acceptability of violence in Islam , and said he was not the one to initiate this . Shaea said , " Nidal was providing evidence to Anwar , not vice versa . " Asked whether Hasan mentioned Fort Hood as a target in his e-mails , Shaea declined to comment . Al-Awlaki said the shooting was acceptable in Islam , however , because it was a form of '' jihad '' , as the West began the hostilities with the Muslims . Al-Awlaki said he " blessed the act because it was against a military target . And the soldiers who were killed were ... those who were trained and prepared to go to Iraq and Afghanistan "
Fort Hood shooter
2009 Fort Hood shooting
Anwar al-Awlaki