Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

I remember saying once or twice, when Khalid Sheikh Mohammed got captured, that it seemed to me like this was much more interesting than catching ol' Bin Laden, who always seemed more like a P.R. guy to me. And, his confession seems to prove me right:

He was the mastermind of the 9/11 jetliner attacks and, in their wake, certified his bloodthirst by personally beheading Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl — bragging about it on the Internet then and in the testimony transcript of last Saturday. "I decapitated with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jew, Daniel Pearl, in the city of Karachi, Pakistan," he said. "For those who would like to
confirm, there are pictures of me on the Internet holding his head."

His operations ranged from his admitted involvement in the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center, as well as a failed scheme known as Bojinka to bring down 12 Western airliners in Asia — claims that are well documented.

Too bad that they've had him in the hole so long now that it seems like they could've gotten to confess being his own granddad by now.

But if his mega-confession is to be believed, his arrest was a crushing blow to bin Laden's plans for even more deadly attacks in the wake of 9/11. His expertise was never replaced and his absence has contributed to the group's transition from a fear-inspiring attack force to a hate-filled voice on the Internet, urging others to wage terror against the West.

I believe that, though, given that seems to have been precisely what happened to AQ lately.