It seems that Faisal Shahzad, the man who tried to detonate a car bomb in Times Square, followed Anwar Al-Awlaki — the radical Islamic cleric who inspired the Fort Hood shooter and the Christmas Day underwear bomber.

According to the Guardian, Shahzad "has reportedly told law enforcement officials that he was a "fan and a follower" of Awlaki." Which means the 39-year-old American born preacher has now been cited as a factor in all of the most prominent recent terror attacks.

Al-Awlaki now lives in Yemen, after stints in the US and UK. He has been accused of definite links to al-Qaeda, but ties have never been conclusively proven. He does lecture at at Iman University in Sanaa. That institution is headed by Abdul Majeed al-Zindani who is on the UN list of individuals associated with al-Qaeda.

Al-Awlaki, whose teachings are distributed on YouTube and via Islamic websites, is the only US citizen on the CIA's list for targeted killing.