Washington ? The guilty verdict returned against Jose Padilla in a Miami courtroom Thursday marked a victory in the Bush administration’s campaign against terrorism, but prosecutors were only able to secure a conviction on charges that were much weaker than the headline-making allegations that Padilla was planning to detonate a radioactive “dirty bomb” in the United States.

Padilla, the former Chicago gang member who converted to Islam and began an international odyssey that took him to terrorist training facilities in Central Asia, was found guilty of charges of conspiring to commit jihad and supporting terrorism.

In the end, it was a case that bore little resemblance to the Justice Department’s initial accusation that Padilla was a locked-and-loaded al-Qaida agent ready to rain destruction upon an American city. He may face life imprisonment.

Still, the administration can claim vindication in a case that drew international attention, one where an acquittal would have been a profound embarrassment. The conviction could also help to moderate criticism of the way Padilla was handled by the government. Initially, in a highly controversial move, he was declared an “unlawful enemy combatant” and jailed in a Navy brig in South Carolina for three and a half years before prosecutors charged him with a federal crime.

“This is a huge win for the government and for the Department of Justice,” said Guy Lewis, the former U.S. attorney in Miami and former Justice Department official. “A lot of people from the White House on down were watching this one.”

Criminal defense attorneys and civil liberties advocates were more measured in their reaction. Some fear that Padilla’s conviction will give the government license to treat other terrorism suspects in the same manner, shuttling them between military detention and the criminal justice system as circumstances warrant.

Padilla and two other defendants were convicted on three counts, including conspiracy to murder and providing material support to terrorists. The jury was out for only little more than a day. Padilla will be sentenced Dec. 5 and faces life in prison.