This trip is a completely different experience than his last visit. This time his traveling pals include U.S. Marshals, who are flying with him and who, upon landing, will drive without stopping for refreshments directly to the federal courthouse in downtown Brooklyn.
He comes back to New York under arrest, under indictment and, tonight, with some blockbuster allegations facing him. Chiefly, that he planned to blow up various sites here -- to commemorate the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
Charming.
No surprise there's been stepped up security. And talk about vindication for the NYPD, which had been the target of a whispered campaign that it had reacted too early to the terror threat. Perhaps they did not.
We'll have the latest on Zazi's return to New York, and reaction to the newest developments, tonight at 11.
Meanwhile, some tit-for-tat high-stakes détente going on between Iran and - well, just about everyone else, after revelations that Iran's construction of a uranium enrichment plant will be complete within two years.
Again, charming.
And one more bit of alarming news to start your weekend: Osama bin Laden - remember him? - has come out with a new audio tape. The highlights, with a still picture of bin Laden with a map of Europe on his right, include a warning to Europeans to end their alliance with the U.S. and withdraw their forces from Afghanistan.
Quoting bin Laden: "An intelligent man doesn't waste his money and sons for a gang of criminals in Washington, and it is a shameful thing for a person to be in a coalition whose supreme commander has no regard for human life and intentionally bombs villagers from the air."
This request, he says, is a matter of justice for Europeans to stop assisting in the oppression of Afghans.
"If Europe is suffering the travails of the economic crisis, and the heart of Europe is no longer number one in world exports, and America is reeling from the hemorrhage caused by the economic war," he says, "then how do you think you will fare after America pulls out - Allah permitting - for us to retaliate from the oppressor on behalf of the oppressed.
"So the happy one is he who learns from other's mistakes, and an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of sure, (does he mean 'cure'?) and returning to the truth is better than persisting in error."
Can I say "charming" again?
Also at 11, Tappy Phillips has the story of a student from Brooklyn who did a masterful job organizing a charity fashion show for a local community college. But when it was over, he was left holding the bag, and didn't get paid. He called for 7 On Your Side, and got results.
We'll also have any breaking news of the night, plus Lee Goldberg's weekend AccuWeather forecast, and Scott Clark with the night's sports, including the Yankees game against the Red Sox in the Bronx. I hope you can join Liz Cho and me, tonight at 11, right after 20/20.
BILL RITTER
