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Ressam, Ahmed (1967– )———311

Later that month, he purchased an expensive pair
of basketball shoes, using cash, then took a train to RESSAM, AHMED (1967– )
Paris, where he paid $1,800 in cash for a round-trip
ticket to Antigua that stopped at Miami, Florida. Reid Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian terrorist, was
was scheduled to leave on December 21, 2001, but he captured at the U.S.-Canadian border, on his way to
had paid cash for the tickets and had no luggage, thus carry out a plot to blow up Los Angeles International
instigating an extensive security check at the airport, Airport (LAX) on New Year’s Eve 1999. Since his
and he missed the flight. That evening, he went to an capture, Ressam, hoping to reduce his prison sen-
Internet café and sent an e-mail to a recipient in tence, has provided key testimony against others in
Pakistan, asking what he should do. The correspon- the Y2K plot, as well as Osama bin Laden’s terrorist
dent replied that Reid should try again, and the next network, Al Qaeda, and his training camps.
day he successfully boarded American Airlines Flight Ressam grew up in Algeria, developing militant
63, Paris to Miami. Roughly 90 minutes after the Islamic sentiments after a trip to France in the early
plane took off, a flight attendant smelled sulfur and 1990s. Immigrating to Canada in 1994 with a false pass-
realized that Reid had lit a match. She made him put port, Ressam, when found out, asked for political asy-
it out, but he lit another and attempted to set fire to the lum, claiming that he had been tortured in Algeria for
tongues of his sneakers. When she tried to make him his politics. He was allowed to settle in Canada. He
stop, Reid attacked her, knocking her down, and then stayed in Montreal until 1998, living off welfare pay-
bit another attendant. Passengers quickly responded, ments and petty theft, while residing in an apartment
holding Reid down, tying him up with belts and cords, later identified as the headquarters of a cell of the Armed
dousing him with water; a doctor on board eventually Islamic Group (GIA), an Algerian terrorist organization.
injected him with sedatives. During this time, Ressam, along with his friend
After Reid was subdued, the flight was redirected Mohktar Haouari, also made money trafficking in false
to Boston, Massachusetts, where investigators identification documents. Ressam would later become
examined his shoes and discovered that the soles Benni Antoine Norris, complete with a Canadian pass-
were packed with enough plastic explosives to port, Montreal driver’s license, an insurance card,
punch a hole through the side of the plane. Initially, several bankcards, and a Costco membership card.
the conjecture was that Reid acted alone, but his In March 1998, Ressam traveled to Peshawar,
e-mails as well as other evidence revealed his con- Pakistan, where he was approved by Abu Zubaydah, a
siderable connections to Al Qaeda. On October 4, top bin Laden associate, to attend bin Laden’s terror-
2002, Reid pleaded guilty to charges that he ist training camps, known colloquially as “Jihad
attempted to blow up the plane with the explosives University.” Over the next several months, at Khalden
hidden in his shoes. Prosecutors are expected to seek Camp, Ressam was instructed in using explosives,
a prison sentence of 60 years to life at a hearing handguns, machine guns, and small rocket launchers,
scheduled for January 8, 2003. all provided by the ruling Taliban. He was taught how
to disrupt government infrastructure through sabotage
See also AL QAEDA; ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI; SEPTEMBER 11
ATTACKS. and was schooled in ways to work unnoticed. In
another camp, in Deronta, Afghanistan, he was taught
how to use cyanide and other poisons, and how to con-
Further Reading
struct bombs from small electronics. There, Ressam
Bayles, Fred. “Shoe-Bomb Suspect’s Travel Suggests became part of a European-based Algerian terrorist
Financial Help.” USA Today, December 31, 2001, 4A.
cell with five other men, who all agreed to travel to
Canedy, Dana. “A ‘Strange’Traveler Acted, and the Passen-
Canada, where they would rob banks to fund their
gers Reacted.” New York Times, December 24, 2001, A1.
ultimate plot—a terrorist attack on the United States.
Hoge, Warren. “Shoe-Bomb Suspect Fell In With
When Ressam left Afghanistan in February 1999,
Extremists.” New York Times, December 27, 2001, B6.
carrying hexamine tablets, a chemical booster for
Reid, T. R., and Keith B. Richburg. “Shoe Bomb Suspect’s
Journey Into Al Qaeda: Search Continues for Reid’s explosions, glycol, and $12,000, the details of the attack
Mysterious Handlers.” Washington Post, March 31, were still to be determined. His flight stopped briefly in
2002, A9. Los Angeles before arriving in Vancouver, and it was