Judge gives would-be millennium bomber 22 Years

The sentence itself was fairly straightforward: An Algerian man received 22 years for plotting to bomb the Los Angeles airport on the eve of the millennium.

Facing up to 130 years in prison after being convicted of terrorist conspiracy and explosives charges in 2001, Ressam began cooperating with authorities in hopes of winning a reduced sentence. He told investigators from several countries about the operation of terrorist camps and disclosed the identities of potential terrorists, the use of safe houses and other details.

Ressam's information was given to anti-terrorism field agents around the world - in one case, helping to prevent the mishandling and potential detonation of the shoe bomb that Richard Reid attempted to blow up aboard an American Airlines flight in 2001.

Coughenour has called the information Ressam provided "startlingly helpful."

"It is a flat fact that law enforcement, the public and public safety have benefited in countless ways" from Ressam's cooperation, defense lawyer Thomas Hillier said.