AN AL-QAEDA recruiter, described as the No. 1 terrorist threat to America, was engaged by a Sydney youth group to address hundreds of young people - a decision that has caused deep divisions at one of Australia's largest mosques.
At the same time as Anwar al-Awlaki was advising the extremist later charged with killing 13 people at Fort Hood in Texas, he was in talks with a group, Sydney Muslim Youth, about delivering a sermon to young Australians. He was already well known to security agencies as the spiritual guide to three of the hijackers on September 11, 2001.
''Anwar al-Awlaki is like a virus produced by the body wanting to fight a microbe,'' said Taj el-Din al-Hilaly, condemning the sermon, which was delivered at his mosque by phone link from Yemen.

It sounds a good deal, BUT I would add: if he returns to the bad habits of preaching hate on the internet and recruiting people to be suicide killers or just killers (will he renounce that also?), the assassination order will be back automatically, without any further notice.

Of course, AQ is not going to consider this deal as a good one. Stepping off from making any other "virulent anti-American sermon" just because his life is menaced, doesn't sound like a very brave decision, after supporting jihad and suicide attacks...