TERRORISM AND ARAB WORLD

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TERRORISM AND THE ARAB WORLD. Cont'd.

NICHOLS GUILTY

Photo: NICHOLS GUILTY: Convicted of murder conspiracy in the Oklahoma City bombing, Terry Nichols is led from the courthouse Wednesday.

McALESTER, Okla. -- Nearly a decade after the Oklahoma City bombing, Terry Nichols was found guilty of 161 state murder charges for helping carry out what was then the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil. He could get the death sentence he escaped when he was convicted in federal court in the 1990s. The verdict came after only five hours of deliberations. Nichols was stone-faced and stared straight ahead at the judge as the verdicts were read. His lawyers bowed their heads and clenched their hands together. Oklahoma prosecutors brought the case with the goal of finally winning a death sentence against Nichols, who is serving a life term on federal charges. The same 12-member jury will now determine Nichols' fate on the state charges: life in prison or death by injection. The penalty phase will begin Tuesday. Prosecutors contended Nichols worked hand in hand with former army buddy Timothy McVeigh to acquire the ingredients and build the fuel-and-fertilizer bomb in a twisted plot to avenge a government siege in Waco, Texas, exactly two years earlier that left about 80 people dead. "These two were partners, and their business was terrorism," prosecutor Lou Keel said during opening statements. The April 19, 1995, blast at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building killed 168 people. McVeigh was executed in June 2001, and until now was the only person convicted of murder in the bombing. Prosecutors brought a mountain of circumstantial evidence during a two-month trial that included testimony from about 250 witnesses. They said Nichols bought the explosive ammonium nitrate fertilizer used in the bombing and stole detonation cord, blasting caps and other explosives. The defence contended that others helped McVeigh carry out the bombing and that Nichols was the fall guy for a wider conspiracy. Witnesses testified that they saw McVeigh with others, including a stocky, dark-haired man depicted in an FBI sketch and known only as John Doe No. 2, in the weeks before the bombing.

Authorities later concluded that the mystery man was actually an army private who had nothing to do with the bombing. "This is a case about manipulation, betrayal and overreaching," defence lawyer Barbara Bergman said in closing arguments. "People who are still unknown assisted Timothy McVeigh." Defence lawyers had planned on bringing up evidence that a shadowy group of conspirators, including members of a white supremacist gang, helped McVeigh with the bombing. But Judge Steven Taylor refused to allow that evidence, saying the defence never showed that such people made any overt acts to further the bomb plot. Prosecutors say McVeigh and Nichols began acquiring the key ingredients for the bomb seven months before the blast, then met at a park near Junction City, Kan., to pack it inside a Ryder truck on April 18, 1995. Nichols was at his home in Kansas 320 kilometres away when the bomb went off. A total of 151 witnesses took the stand for the prosecution over 29 days of testimony that included several gruesome and tearful descriptions of the bombing. The trial was moved 210 kilometres from Oklahoma City to McAlester because of the difficulty in finding an impartial jury in the city where passions still run high over the bombing. The state's star witness was Michael Fortier, who is serving a 12-year sentence for knowing about the plot and not telling authorities. Dozens of victims' family members and survivors of the bombing are expected to testify in the penalty phase, which is expected to last four to six weeks.-AP.

List of top terrorists wanted by the US

WASHINGTON -- Two Canadian citizens are among seven terrorists who may be plotting an attack this year, top U.S. officials said Wednesday as they warned there's "disturbing intelligence'' suggesting al-Qaida intends to "hit the United States hard.'' U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft named six men and one woman who present "a clear and present danger to America'' amid "credible intelligence from multiple sources.'' "Beyond this intelligence, al-Qaida's own public statements suggest that it's almost ready to attack the United States.'' The warnings seemed likely to return the public focus to one of President George W. Bush's strong points after weeks of trouble with the Iraq prison abuse scandal and the lowest approval ratings of his presidency. He still gets high marks among Americans on fighting terrorism, though, and was perhaps at his best after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

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