USAID funded Al-Qaeda leader’s education PHOTO

A newly disclosed document has revealed that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) provided full financial assistance to Anwar al-Awlaki—who later became a senior al-Qaeda figure—for his education at Colorado State University in the 1990s. 

The revelation, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, raises serious concerns over oversight in U.S. foreign assistance programs, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

The document, initially uncovered by Intelwire and later shared by investigative journalist Pamela Browne, confirms that USAID funded al-Awlaki’s civil engineering studies. At the time, al-Awlaki, a US-born citizen of Yemeni descent, was not known to have any extremist ties. However, he would later become a leading figure in al-Qaeda, advocating for attacks against Western targets and inspiring numerous terrorist plots.

Al-Awlaki, born in New Mexico, spent much of his early life in Yemen before returning to the U.S. for university. His radicalization occurred in the early 2000s, when he became a prominent preacher promoting jihadist ideology.

In 2011, he was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen, a move widely debated due to the extrajudicial killing of an American citizen without trial.

The disclosure of USAID’s role in funding al-Awlaki’s education has sparked questions about the effectiveness of U.S. vetting processes for scholarship recipients. While there is no evidence suggesting that al-Awlaki had extremist affiliations when he received the funding, the case highlights the potential for unintended consequences in foreign aid programs.

Critics argue that the U.S. government’s approach to counterterrorism—combining military action with foreign aid—has sometimes backfired, inadvertently contributing to radicalization. Al-Awlaki’s case underscores broader concerns about how U.S. policies may, in some cases, facilitate the very threats they seek to eliminate.

By Aghakazim Guliyev