Saudi man gets life in prison in US bomb plot

[NewsCaster]

By NBC News wire servicesZach Long / AP fileKhalid Ali-M Aldawsari is escorted to his initial court appearance at the Mahon Federal Building in Lubbock, Texas, Feb. 25, 2011.A former Texas college student from Saudi Arabia was sentenced to life  in prison on Tuesday for trying to make a bomb for use in a religious  attack, possibly targeting former U.S. President George W. Bush.

Khalid Ali-M  Aldawsari was sentenced in Amarillo, Texas, where jurors convicted him in June  of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. Prosecutors say he  had collected bomb-making material in his apartment and researched  possible targets, including the Dallas home of Bush. A handwritten journal found in his apartment included notes  that he believed it was time for "jihad," a Muslim term for holy war.


The 22-year-old Aldawsari apologized Tuesday for "these bad actions,"  but Judge Donald E. Walter said the evidence against him was overwhelming.  Walter acknowledged he was conflicted due to Aldawsari's youth and signs  that outside influences had led him astray.

NBCNews