It could only have come from the 9th Circuit:

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court on today vacated the sentence of ``millennium bomber'' Ahmed Ressam, who was arrested near the U.S.-Canadian border and convicted of plotting to bomb Los Angeles International Airport.

Ressam was arrested in December 1999 in Port Angeles when he drove off a ferry from British Columbia with a trunk full of 124 pounds of explosives. Prosecutors said he was intent on bombing the airport on the eve of the millennium.

The arrest raised fears of terrorism attacks and prompted the cancellation of millennium celebrations at the Space Needle.

He was sentenced to 22 years after being convicted of all nine charges, including terrorism conspiracy and explosives charges. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco reversed his conviction on one of the charges and sent the case back to a lower court judge to issue a new sentence and explain the rationale behind the original 22-year term.

Unbelievable. Only the 9th Circuit would have trouble understanding the rational for Ressam's long sentence.