Moussaoui pleads guilty

Although he pleaded guilty as expected Friday, Moussaoui told US District Judge Leonie Brinkema, "I will fight every inch against the death penalty." Just last week, he had told her he would plead for execution.

That was among several surprises as the defendant voluntarily admitted his guilt on six counts of conspiring with al-Qaeda leaders and the Sept. 11 hijackers to wreak havoc on Americans. Four counts carry a possible death penalty.

Moussaoui also declared for the first time in public that Osama bin Laden personally instructed him to fly an airliner into the White House. The target date was not clear.

The defendant, who had been so volatile and vituperative in three years of legal wrangling, was polite, calm and even able to joke during the proceedings.