Hoping to ensure that the “shoe bomber” ends his days in prison, federal prosecutors released new details Tuesday that show Richard Reid tried six times to light a bomb in his sneakers aboard a trans-Atlantic flight a year ago, and was so determined that he melted the end of the bomb fuse. Prosecutors also provided fresh evidence that Reid initially scouted airports and security measures for a planned bombing of an El Al Airlines flight because he was embittered with the nation of Israel. But, prosecutors said, he changed his plans and targeted American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to this country because he became “very angry” with the U.S. military bombing in Afghanistan. The court documents outline Reid’s alleged embrace of the Al Qaeda network and the terrorism fomented against Israel and the United States by its leader, Osama bin Laden. Prosecutors noted that at the Oct. 4 plea hearing, for instance, “Reid admitted that he was a member of Al Qaeda, was pledged to Bin Laden, was an enemy of this country, and had used the explosive device in his shoe as an act of war.” Full Story
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