Twice in the days leading up to Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari's arrest federal agents secretly searched the Saudi man's West Texas apartment, where they say they found bomb-making chemicals as well as beakers, flasks, wiring, a hazmat suit and clocks.

They also discovered Aldawsari's journal, handwritten in Arabic, in which he wrote that he had been planning a terror attack in the U.S. for years and that it was "time for jihad," or holy war, court documents show.

Aldawsari wrote that he was planning an attack in the U.S. for years, even before coming to America on a scholarship. He bemoaned the plight of Muslims and said he was influenced by Osama bin Laden's speeches.

Jury selection in the 22-year-old's trial was set to begin Thursday in Amarillo. If convicted, Aldawsari faces up to life in prison.

The results of the two searches at Aldawsari's apartment in Lubbock in February 2011 led authorities to suspect he had nearly everything he needed to build a bomb, having purchased chemicals and other materials online in previous months.