Guilty Plea in Plot to Fly Remote Plane into Pentagon

Rezwan Ferdaus, planner of one of 12 terrorist plots against the US military by people apparently motivated by their Islamic faith, pleaded guilty to plotting to blow up the Pentagon by flying a remote controlled airplane into it laden with explosives.

Under a plea agreement, federal prosecutors agreed to drop four other charges. Prosecutors and Ferdaus’ lawyers also agreed to jointly recommend a 17-year prison term…

Siegmann said there were two main parts of his plan: to blow up the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol using remote-controlled planes and to kill American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan using improvised explosive devices detonated by modified cellphones.

The planes, measuring 60 to 80 inches in length and capable of speeds greater than 100 mph, would be guided by GPS and packed with 5 pounds each of plastic explosives.

Ferdaus was even told his devices had successfully been used to kill Americans in Iraq — and he was happy:

After giving the first device to the undercover agents, the agents lied and told him it had been used in Iraq and killed three U.S. soldiers.

Siegmann said Ferdaus was “visibly excited” to learn his device had been used successfully and said, “That was exactly what I wanted.”

Ferdaus’ plot is one of 12 attempted or successful attacks on the US military by those apparently motivated by their Islamic faith, four of whom were actually members of the US military:

And: