Arlington VA 16 February 2012
You all remember the "Underwear Bomber", the guy from Nigeria that decided he would blow up a flight on its way to Detroit in 2009 but failed miserably and wascaught literally with his hand in his pants?
Sentencing was today and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab sat quietly as the sentence was read. The mandatory punishment was never in doubt after he surprised the courtroom and pleaded guilty to all charges on the second day of trial last October. At that time, Abdulmutallab said the bomb in his underwear was a "blessed weapon" he could use to avenge poorly treated Muslims around the world. It failed to detonate when he reached in side his pants aboard an Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight but did cause a brief fire that badly burned his groin. Passengers pounced on Abdulmutallab and forced him to the front of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 where he was held until the plane landed minutes later.
As reported by Fox News, "Abdulmutallab, 25, talked freely to the FBI about his desire to commit martyrdom for his Islamic faith. In 2009, months before the attack, he traveled to Yemen in a desperate bid to see Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born cleric and one of the best-known Al Qaeda figures, according to the government. He told investigators that his mission was approved after a three-day visit with his mentor. Al-Awlaki and the bomb maker were killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen last year, just days before Abdulmutallab's trial. At the time, President Barack Obama publicly blamed al-Awlaki for the terrorism plot."
"Abdulmutallab is an "unrepentant would-be mass murderer who views his crimes as divinely inspired and blessed, and who views himself as under a continuing obligation to carry out such crimes," prosecutors said in a court filing last week." His lawyer argues that no harm was done, except perhaps to his client's groin, in arguing for a lesser sentence.
By the way, this terrorist is the principal reason that the full-body scanners we have come to know and love/hate are in place since his groin bomb completely avoided detection in Amsterdam as he started his journey.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/02/16/underwear-bomber-to-be-sentenced-in-thwarted-terror-plot/#ixzz1ma2LI0FS
