By BJ Austin, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-954476.mp3
Dallas, TX – A 20 year old student from Saudi Arabia appears in court in Lubbock this morning. He's under arrest for attempting to use weapons of mass destruction on a number of potential targets, including the Dallas home of former President George W. Bush. KERA's BJ Austin reports.
Khalid Aldawsari had been under surveillance since the first of the month. He came to the FBI's attention after an employee at a chemical supply company in North Carolina became suspicious of Adlawsari's order for a quantity of phenol - a chemical that can be used to make explosives.
Former Dallas FBI Special Agent in Charge Danny Defenbaugh applauds that sort of vigilance and cooperation with law enforcement.
Defenbaugh: This coinage of public private partnership isn't just a nom de guerre. It obviously is real and it does work.
Aldawsari was arrested late Wednesday. A search of his apartment in Lubbock turned up chemicals used in bomb-making, a gas mask, Hazmat suit, wiring, stun gun, clocks and a battery tester. The FBI says a list of potential targets included dams and nuclear power plants, as well as George W. Bush's home, and a possible attack on a Dallas nightclub with explosives in a backpack. Investigators say a diary found at Aldawsari's apartment indicates he obtained a scholarship to study in the U.S. for the sole purpose of "jihad". Mark White, with the FBI Dallas office - which has jurisdiction in Lubbock - says there are no allegations that Aldawsari received direction from or was under the control of a foreign terrorist organization.
Danny Defenbaugh says there's a message in this story of thwarted terrorism.
Defenbaugh: If American citizens or anybody out there, you see or you feel something that kinda gives you the queasy feeling in your stomach, you gotta react and you gotta call. It's obvious the FBI, law enforcement and these task forces are going to react.
Dallas FBI Chief On Terrorism Arrest
Dallas FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Casey oversees the Lubbock field office. He says the arrest of Saudi student Khalid Aldawsari is a success story for U.S. counter-terrorism operations.
In the accompanying audio, Casey talked with KERA about Aldawsari, and the "tips" that led to his arrest.
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