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Shoe-Bomber Reid to Plead Guilty
Thursday, October 3, 2002
By Julian Borger
The Guardian

Sandia National Laboratories, a Department of Energy lab, announced February 21, 2002, that the shoe bombs Richard Reid allegedly tried to detonate on board a transatlantic flight from Paris to Miami were surgically disabled by bomb specialists using an advanced bomb squad tool originally developed at Sandia. Above, a bomb technician aims a Percussion-Actuated Nonelectric (PAN) Disrupter at a suspect bomb. The PAN, originally developed at Sandia National Laboratories, has become the primary tool used by bomb squads nationwide to disable conventional, handmade-type bombs remotely. (Very High-Res Image).
Image Credit: Randy Montoya.

In one email found on his computer, he said it was an Islamic duty to "remove the oppressive American forces from the Muslim land." He allegedly told the FBI he was particularly angered by the treatment of Muslims in Israel, and targeted the US as Israel's sponsor and protector. He said he hoped the destruction of the plane would stop people travelling and trigger an economic downturn.

WASHINGTON -- The Guardian
Richard Reid, the Briton accused of trying to blow up a transatlantic airliner in December with explosives hidden in his shoes, will plead guilty to all charges against him, his lawyer said yesterday.

Richard C. Reid is shown in this December 2001 file photo form the Plymouth County Jail. Reid, accused of trying to blow up a transatlantic flight with explosives hidden in his shoes, plans to plead guilty to all eight charges against him, his lawyer said on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2002.
Image Credit: AP File Photo.

The lawyer, Owen Walker, said that Mr. Reid "has no disagreement with the facts" alleged in the eight charges against him and that he wanted to avoid the added public scrutiny a trial would bring his family.

However, in papers filed in a Massachusetts court, Mr. Reid asked for all mention of links with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida organisation to be dropped from his indictment -- an appeal the U.S. justice department said it would oppose, saying it had ample proof for all the charges.

The 38-year-old Londoner has claimed to have acted alone, but U.S. investigators said they found a hair and a palm print on the explosives in his shoes belonging to someone else, and the charges state that he trained in an al-Qaida camp in Afghanistan.
(More: Guardian.co.uk News Source)
2002 © Newswire.

Related Stories:
* US Rejects Reid Bid to Remove Al Qaeda References
Reuters, Ltd.
Wednesday, October 2, 2002

* Shoe bomb suspect Richard Reid to plead guilty, lawyer says
The Associated Press
Wednesday, October 2, 2002

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