this savage arab swine won't be a problem any longer.
Richard C. Reid, a self-described member of the terrorist group al-Qaida who tried to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight with explosives hidden in his shoes, was dragged from a courtroom Thursday, telling the judge who had just sentenced him to life: "You will be judged by Allah!"
Reid, 29, received the maximum sentence after declaring himself a soldier of war and denouncing U.S. foreign policy toward Islamic countries.
"Your government has sponsored the rape and torture of Muslims in the prisons of Egypt and Turkey and Syria and Jordan with their money and with their weapons," said Reid, who converted to Islam eight years ago.
U.S. District Judge William Young would have none of it.
"We are not afraid of any of your terrorist coconspirators, Mr. Reid," said the judge. "We are Americans. We have been through the fire before."
"You are not an enemy combatant you are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war you are a terrorist. ... To give you that reference, to call you a soldier gives you far too much stature. ...You are a terrorist and we do not negotiate with terrorists ... We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice."
At that, the judge pointed to the American flag behind him and said: "See that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America. That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten."
Young then turned to one of the court officers and said, "Custody, Mr. Officer. Stand him down." Before handcuffs could be placed on Reid, he leaned forward and pointed at the judge, raising his voice.
"That flag will be brought down on the day of judgment and you will see in front of your Lord and my Lord and then we will know," Reid said. He added, "You will be judged by Allah!" before being taken from the courtroom in handcuffs.
Reid, a British citizen, admitted he tried to ignite shoe bombs aboard American Airlines Flight 63 on Dec. 22, 2001, three months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks left many Americans afraid to fly.
As Reid sought to justify his actions, several of the crew members who were seated in the courtroom looked stunned, glancing at each other and shaking their heads. One woman cried and wiped tears from her face.
Reid had faced 60 years to life in prison for trying to down the American Airlines flight bound from Paris to Miami. Prosecutors said there was enough plastic explosives in his shoes to blow a hole in the fuselage and kill all 197 people aboard.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. told the judge that in Reid's mind "the religion of Islam justifies the killing of innocent civilians. In his mind, the horrific and homicidal attacks of Sept. 11 were but a missed opportunity."
Passengers and crew members overpowered Reid, using seat belts and their own belts to strap him to his seat. Two doctors who were passengers injected him with sedatives, and the flight was diverted to Boston.
In Washington, Attorney General John Ashcroft praised the sentence and called the passengers and crew heroes who averted a disaster.
"The sentence imposed on Richard Reid says to the world that terrorists cannot escape American justice," Ashcroft said. "We will hunt them down, stop them and we will put them away."
When Reid pleaded guilty last October, he said he was a member of al-Qaida, pledged his support to Osama bin Laden and declared himself an enemy of the United States. |
