Thankfully the Man Known as the Shoe Bomber Never Carried out His Plan — Where Is He Now?

We have excellent news for anyone who wants to go through airport security a bit more quickly and hates taking off their shoes in public.

According to USA Today, the Department of Homeland Security has decided to end the TSA shoe removal policy, which has been the bane of our travel existence for decades.

"Everything the TSA does and requires of travelers has always been necessary, but they have advanced over the years," said Kristi Noem, Secretary of the DHS. This is simply no longer necessary.

It's hard to believe there are people who never experienced a time when they didn't have to suffer the indignity of removing one's shoes at airport security, and yet they are out there. Those of us who are old enough to remember a time when friends and loved ones could meet you at your gate, also have fond memories of footwear remaining on at all times.

Why was this policy put in place? It was courtesy of a man known as the Shoe Bomber. What happened to him? Details to follow.

The Shoe Bomber, whose real name is Richard Reid, is currently serving a life sentence at USP Florence ADX, a federal prison in Colorado. The incident occurred in December 2001 and in January 2003, Reid pleaded guilty to "trying to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight with explosives concealed in his shoes," per The New York Times. Thankfully, he couldn't light the fuse and was thwarted by passengers and crew.

Reid admitted to being a member of Al Qaeda and told Judge William G. Young of the Federal District Court he was at war with the United States.

"I further admit my allegiance to Sheik Osama bin Laden, to Islam and to the religion of Allah," he said. While he was being led away in handcuffs, Reid shouted at the judge, "You're not going to stand me down. You'll go down. You will be judged by Allah. Your flag will come down, and so will your country."

Judge Young did not take these threats seriously and told Reid he was a terrorist, not an "enemy combatant." The judge continued, "You are a terrorist, and we do not negotiate with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice."

Federal prosecutors discovered that Reid received training at Al Qaeda terrorist camps in Afghanistan. Former FBI director Robert Mueller said he believed Reid was not the one responsible for constructing the bombs. He was fairly certain the shoe bombs were built by an "Al Qaeda bomb maker."

Prior to boarding his American Airlines flight that day in December 2001, Reid sent an email in which he described a dream he had. In it, Reid was waiting to catch a ride with a truck but couldn't get on because they were no room for him.

He wrote that this symbolized 9/11, and bemoaned the fact that he wasn't one of the terrorists who took part in the attacks that day.

Reid told the judge he would never apologize for his actions. "Your government has killed two million children in Iraq," he said and, "your government has sponsored the rape and torture of Muslims in the prisons of Egypt and Turkey and Syria and Jordan with their money and with their weapons."

Reid did not see how his actions could match the American government's.