The Federal Government of the United States of America disagrees. Charge 4 against Mussoui:
Section 2332a. Use of certain weapons of mass destruction
(a) Offense Against a National of the United States or
Within the United States. - A person who, without lawful
authority, uses, threatens, or attempts or conspires to use, a weapon of mass destruction [From the indictment: “namely, airplanes intended for use
as missiles, bombs, and similar devices”.] (other than a
chemical weapon as that term is defined
in section 229F), including any biological agent, toxin, or vector
(as those terms are defined in section 178) -
(1) against a national of the United States while such national
is outside of the United States;
(2) against any person within the United States, and the
results of such use affect interstate or foreign commerce or, in
the case of a threat, attempt, or conspiracy, would have affected
interstate or foreign commerce; or
(3) against any property that is owned, leased or used by the
United States or by any department or agency of the United
States, whether the property is within or outside of the United
States, shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for life, and if
death results, shall be punished by death or imprisoned for any term of
years or for life.
