Shooting suspect Nidal Malik Hasan was investigated by the FBI after intelligence agencies intercepted at least 18 emails between him and al-Awlaki between December 2008 and June 2009 . The terrorism expert Jarret Brachman said that Hasan 's contacts with al-Awlaki should have raised " huge red flags " to intelligence analysts . According to Brachman , the late al-Awlaki was a major influence on radical English-speaking jihadis internationally . '' The Wall Street Journal '' reported that " There is no indication Mr. Awlaki played a direct role in any of the attacks , and he has never been indicted in the U.S. " In one of the emails , 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 . " Hasan also asked al-Awlaki when jihad is appropriate , and whether it is permissible if innocents are killed in a suicide attack . In the months before the attacks , Hasan increased his contacts with al-Awlaki to discuss how to transfer funds abroad without coming to the attention of law authorities
Shooting
2009 Fort Hood shooting
People linked to Anwar al-Awlaki