Obama's Bin Laden Problem: Why Can't He Capture or Kill Ringleader for Detroit Bombing and Fort Hood Shooting?

Anwar al-Awlaki is the new face of Al Queda and Obama seems incapable of taking effective action to stop him!

Remember during the Bush years when the Dem chorus would chant day after day "where's bin Laden?" They don't do that anymore do they? Obama has not captured bin Laden, despite his campaign promise to focus on "the people who actually committed 9/11." Like so much else in Obama land, that kind of talk was great for a campaign, but quickly forgotten.

It seems Obama has discovered that Bush was right and Osama isn't as relevant to the war on terror (or whatever it's called this week) as he used to be.

But while Osama is still #1 on the F.B.I.'s terrorist most wanted list one name is missing from that list: Anwar al-Awlaki.

Awlaki is the American born Yemeni who was an imam in Denver, San Diego and Falls Church, Virginia. In Virginia, he served as spiritual advisor to three of the 911 hijackers and first came into contact with the Fort Hood shooter, Major Malik Hasan with whom he exchanged email.

Awlaki also lectured at Islamic centers in Britain where he also knew the bombers who blew up London subway trains and a bus in July 2005. He may also have come into contact with the Detroit underwear bomber in London. It's reported that Awlaki was the key contact in Yemen with foiled Nigerian terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab.

Described as the "bin Laden of the Internet" Awlaki is a new breed of more sophisticated jihadi leader than the camel jockey image of the bin Laden era. His ability to communicate in English and use the internet to recruit and radicalize make his capture or killing a top priority.

President Obama's favored tactic for going after these terrorists has so far been strikes by Predator drones. So much for his campaign rhetoric about "air raiding villages and killing civilians (video)." Unfortunately, a Christmas Even strike in Yemen, which may have targeted Awlaki, didn't get him.

In a failed state like Yemen, there's only one thing to stop U.S. Special Forces from going into the area where Awlaki is hiding and nab him and that's Obama's fear of projecting U.S. power in such an overt and strong effort. It would appear that Obama's campaign promise to put more boots on the ground to solve these problems was about as good as the rest of his campaign promises.