Aldawsari Journal, E-mails, Purchases Disclose Dedication to Al Qa'ida-Inspired Plot

For three years, federal agents have been closing in on Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, monitoring his activities and communications. They took note of his online orders and his e-mails. They searched his home. Based on their surveillance, they built a case that led to Thursday's Texas terror plot charges against Aldawsari.

Aldawsari was arrested for attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. Aldawsari targeted former President George W. Bush's home, according to agents, and dams in two states.

The painstaking planning underlying Aldawsari's alleged Texas terror plot gives insight into the process of preparing for jihad. In an affidavit supporting the complaint against Aldawsari, a federal agent described three years of purchases and communications that led up to his arrest.

Like many criminals, Aldawsari was his own worst enemy, allegedly posting damaging information in an online blog. Translations of the Arabic postings helped federal agents build their case. The translated postings talk of jihad and refer to Americans as "infidels," according to the affidavit.

Aldawsari maintained a journal whose entries came to incriminate him. In his journal, Aldawsari allegedly acknowledged being inspired by Usama Bin Laden's speeches. He expressed a desire last July to form an Al Qa'ida Islamic organization to support its agenda, and he laid out his plans to detonate car bombs.

Aldwasari's research into weapons-making, as described in the charging documents, was comprehensive. E-mails show his determination to buy, and his sometimes successful purchases of, explosive ingredients including phenol, nitric acid, and sulfuric acid. His research included obtaining instructions on creating picric acid, also known as T.N.P., an explosive formerly used by the military.

Expert analysis from an FBI chemist submitted to the court with the complaint concluded that Aldawsari was close to being able to produce 15 pounds of picric acid. He allegedly purchased more than enough sulfuric and nitric acids; had he succeeded in his attempt to purchase highly concentrated phenol solution, he would have been able to produce 15 pounds of picric acid, the analysis said.

Preparations for Aldawsari's jihad also allegedly included purchasing a HAZMAT suit, a chemistry set, an alarm clock, a battery tester, a string of Christmas lights, prex glass containers, a screwdriver set and a stun gun.

Musing about necessary preparations in his journal, Aldawsari is said to have planned to obtain a forged U.S. birth certificate. With that document, he would be able to obtain a U.S. passport and driver's licenses; he apparently planned to accumulate numerous driver's licenses so that he could use a different one each time he rented a car.