12 UNITED STATES V. MOHAMUD inclusion in a council project.7 Youssef asked Mohamud “what he had been doing lately to continue being a good Muslim.” Mohamud said that he had been writing poetry and articles for Jihad Recollections. Mohamud asked Youssef how he got his email address, and Youssef explained that the council had forwarded it to him. When asked about travel, Mohamud described his unsuccessful attempt to go to Alaska. And when asked what he was “willing to do for the cause,” Youssef testified that Mohamud said that “originally he had planned to wage war within the United States,” but then he dreamt that he traveled to Yemen, received training, and “went to Afghanistan where he led an army against the kuffar or the unbelievers.” Youssef asked Mohamud again what he would do for the cause, and Mohamud responded, “anything.” When offered five ways to be a good Muslim—(1) pray five times a day; (2) go to school to learn something that would help the brothers overseas, such as engineering or medicine; (3) raise money for the brothers; (4) become operational; or (5) become a martyr—Mohamud almost immediately picked “become operational.” Mohamud explained “operational” meant “doing like the other brothers do when they get a car, fill it with explosives, park it near a target location, and detonate the vehicle.” When asked about targets, Mohamud said he had thought about Washington, D.C., because of all the government buildings, but admitted he was not familiar with the area. Youssef told Mohamud to research possible 7 The FBI invented this “council” to serve as a fictional intermediary between Al-Ali and Youssef because Youssef would not be able to answer many questions about Al-Ali.