You all may have already seen this, I just thought what the Judge said was excellent!
By Pamela Ferdinand
Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, January 30, 2003; 6:11 PM
BOSTON, Jan. 30-Richard C. Reid, the British drifter and Muslim fundamentalist who attempted to explode a bomb in his shoe during a transatlantic flight in December 2001, today became the first admitted member of the al Qaeda network to be sentenced to prison since the terrorist attacks in New York and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.
Reid, 29, was sentenced to life in prison for attempting to blow up an American Airlines flight carrying 197 people from Paris to Miami. When he pleaded guilty to all eight charges against him in October, Reid pledged his support to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and declared himself an enemy of the United States. Under federal sentencing guidelines, he faced a minimum sentence of 60 years in prison and a maximum of life plus 30 years. Prosecutors had urged that Reid receive a life sentence with no chance of parole.
Before being sentenced today, Reid renewed his complaints about U.S. policy against Islamic countries. He told the judge, "Your government has sponsored the torture of Muslims in Iraq, and Turkey, and Jordan and Syria with their money and weapons."
But U.S. District Judge William Young refused to listen, quickly telling Reid that Americans will not cower before terrorists.
"We are not afraid of any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid," Young told him. "We are Americans. We have been through the fire before.
"You are not an enemy combatant -- you are a terrorist. . . . We do not negotiate with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice."
He then turned to the flag behind him and said, "You see that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America. That flag will fly there long after this is long forgotten."
As he was leaving the courtroom, Reid began to yell at the judge, saying, "You will be judged by Allah," and was wrestled out of the room by the security officers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
By Pamela Ferdinand
Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, January 30, 2003; 6:11 PM
BOSTON, Jan. 30-Richard C. Reid, the British drifter and Muslim fundamentalist who attempted to explode a bomb in his shoe during a transatlantic flight in December 2001, today became the first admitted member of the al Qaeda network to be sentenced to prison since the terrorist attacks in New York and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.
Reid, 29, was sentenced to life in prison for attempting to blow up an American Airlines flight carrying 197 people from Paris to Miami. When he pleaded guilty to all eight charges against him in October, Reid pledged his support to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and declared himself an enemy of the United States. Under federal sentencing guidelines, he faced a minimum sentence of 60 years in prison and a maximum of life plus 30 years. Prosecutors had urged that Reid receive a life sentence with no chance of parole.
Before being sentenced today, Reid renewed his complaints about U.S. policy against Islamic countries. He told the judge, "Your government has sponsored the torture of Muslims in Iraq, and Turkey, and Jordan and Syria with their money and weapons."
But U.S. District Judge William Young refused to listen, quickly telling Reid that Americans will not cower before terrorists.
"We are not afraid of any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid," Young told him. "We are Americans. We have been through the fire before.
"You are not an enemy combatant -- you are a terrorist. . . . We do not negotiate with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice."
He then turned to the flag behind him and said, "You see that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America. That flag will fly there long after this is long forgotten."
As he was leaving the courtroom, Reid began to yell at the judge, saying, "You will be judged by Allah," and was wrestled out of the room by the security officers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.