himself with petty crime. Recruited by an alumnus of Abu Zubaydah's Khal-
dan camp, Ressam trained in Afghanistan in 1998, learning, among other things,
how to place cyanide near the air intake of a building to achieve maximum
lethality at minimum personal risk. Having joined other Algerians in planning
a possible attack on a U.S. airport or consulate, Ressam left Afghanistan in early
1999 carrying precursor chemicals for explosives disguised in toiletry bottles,
a notebook containing bomb assembly instructions, and $12,000. Back in
Canada, he went about procuring weapons, chemicals, and false papers.
alone. By the end of the summer he had chosen three Los Angelesarea airports
as potential targets, ultimately fixing on Los Angeles International (LAX) as the
largest and easiest to operate in surreptitiously. He bought or stole chemicals and
equipment for his bomb, obtaining advice from three Algerian friends, all of
whom were wanted by authorities in France for their roles in past terrorist attacks
there. Ressam also acquired new confederates. He promised to help a New
Yorkbased partner,Abdelghani Meskini, get training in Afghanistan if Meskini
would help him maneuver in the United States.
credit for the attack, but he did not get a reply. He spent a week in Vancouver
preparing the explosive components with a close friend.The chemicals were
so caustic that the men kept their windows open, despite the freezing temper-
atures outside, and sucked on cough drops to soothe their irritated throats.
United States, and packed the explosives in the trunk's spare tire well.
Seattle and meet Meskini, with whom he would travel to Los Angeles and case
Following a familiar terrorist pattern, Ressam and his associates used
fraudulent passports and immigration fraud to travel. In Ressam's case, this
involved flying from France to Montreal using a photo-substituted
French passport under a false name. Under questioning, Ressam admit-
ted the passport was fraudulent and claimed political asylum. He was
released pending a hearing, which he failed to attend. His political asy-
lum claim was denied. He was arrested again, released again, and given
another hearing date.Again, he did not show. He was arrested four times