American al-Qaida sentenced to life for Bush plot

Source: AP via the Richmond Times-Dispatch

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) -- A U.S. man who became an al-Qaida terrorist while attending college in Saudi Arabia and plotted to assassinate then-President George W. Bush was defiant Monday as he was sentenced to life in prison.

An appeals court had overturned the original 30-year sentence for Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, 28, who was born in Houston and grew up in the Washington suburb of Falls Church. He was convicted in 2005 of joining al-Qaida while studying in Saudi Arabia in 2002. Abu Ali met with top al-Qaida leaders in Saudi Arabia and discussed establishing a sleeper cell in the United States.

"I would like to remind you that you too will appear before the divine tribunal with me and everyone else," he said in a brief statement to U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee. "That day there will be no lawyers ... If you are comfortable with that, you can decree what you will."

Last year, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond ordered a new sentencing hearing, saying Lee's original sentence was too lenient.

The appeals court ruled Lee was off the mark in comparing Abu Ali's case to that of "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh, who made a plea deal and was sentenced to 20 years. The appeals court said Abu Ali's conduct was far worse - he joined al-Qaida after the Sept. 11 attacks, while Lindh joined prior to 9/11, and Abu Ali specifically sought to attack the U.S., while Lindh only sought to fight in Afghanistan.



Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BUSH_PLOT_SENTENCING?SITE=VARIT&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-07-27-15-18-53

The dump chimp on one side and the evil SOB on the other.