1991

Gulf War: U.S. sets up presence in Saudi Arabia.

1992

February: Civil war starts in Algeria.

Fall: Ahmed Ressam leaves Algeria for France.

Feb. 26: World Trade Center bombed.

1993

Feb. 20: Ressam arrives in Montreal.

Dec. 24: Air France plane hijacked in Algiers, Algeria. Plane is recovered in Marseille, France.

1994

1996

Spring: Osama bin Laden, expelled from Sudan, moves to Afghanistan.

1997

September: Taliban takes over Kabul.

1998

February: Bin Laden issues fatwa urging Muslims to kill Americans.

March: Ressam trains in Afghan terrorist camps.

1999

August: U.S. embassies bombed in Tanzania and Kenya. U.S. bombs al-Qaida camps in return.

2000

Dec. 14: Ressam arrested in Port Angeles.

2001

April 6: Ressam convicted on nine terrorism and bomb-related charges.

June 23: Ressam agrees to cooperate with federal authorities.

July 3: Ressam testifies in New York at the trial of Algerian Mokhtar Haouari.

Sept. 11: Terrorists slam planes into World Trade Center, Pentagon.

2003

Feb.: Reports surface that Ressam has stopped cooperating with federal authorities.

2005

April 20: Due to Ressam souring on cooperation, prosecutors propose a 35-year sentence while the defense seeks 12 ½ years.

April 27: U.S. District Judge John Coughenour delays the sentencing of Ressam to allow more time for Ressam to decide whether he will once again cooperate with investigators for a lesser sentence.

July 25: According to a filing by Ressam's attorneys, he will offer no further assistance to the U.S. in prosecuting other terrorism cases.

July 27: Judge Coughenour sentences Ressam to 22 years in prison.

Compiled by Seattle Times researcher Miyoko Wolf.