Another One Down?

News out of Pakistan:

Younis al-Mauritani's arrest -- made public five days before the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks -- was seen as a blow to Al Qaeda's central leadership in Pakistan, further degrading its ability to mount terrorist attacks abroad. The terrorist organization has seen its senior ranks thinned since Usama bin Laden was killed May 2 along with Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, the group's No.2, in a CIA missile strike last month.

Who is Mauritani? Thomas Joscelyn says he's not 'number three' (which used to be a source of derision during the Bush years) but he's certainly involved with plots against the west.

The interesting aspect of this bust was the location--Quetta. Long known as a city that has harbored the worst of the worst, Quetta is a city our drones can't hit due to the dense population and likely collateral damage and its resulting PR blowback. Obviously the Pakistanis are making a big deal of this capture since it shows their cooperation still exists despite the alleged simmering anger from the Abottabad raid. Perhaps money has soothed their rage, or perhaps they've cleaned house a bit after their embarrassment.

At any rate, this capture is only symbolic if CIA/FBI agents aren't allowed access. We still haven't heard an official word about what happened to Taliban Number Two Mullah Baradar after he was captured by the Paks.

MEANWHILE..

With the 9/11 anniversary approaching a previously unreleased video of the smoldering remains of United Flight 93 in Pennsylvania has surfaced. It really doesn't show anything unusual or unexpected, just smoke rising from the horrific crash site. Still, such evidence must really annoy 9/11 truthers, some of whom believe the government just opened a hole in the ground and claimed there was a plane crash. They once crucified a woman who came forward with a still photo of the aftermath showing similar rising smoke over the horizon, therefore it's no wonder this person wanted to remain anonymous.

What some of these folks don't understand is the force of an aircraft plowing into the ground at full throttle, inverted. According to a new book by Laurie Garret entitled "I Heard the Sirens Scream", FBI investigators autopsied the hijacker bodies from Flight 93 and found evidence of anthrax exposure. If true that would be a pretty big bombshell in its implications, but according to another book, "American Anthrax" by Jeanne Guillemin, FBI investigators did indeed forensically test those bodies, which required them to dig down 90 feet into the impact hole to reach the crushed cockpit section.

Their tests turned out negative, according to Guillemin. But the depth of their dig illustrates why there were no large pieces of fuselage visible on the ground at the site. Even small aircraft can produce 20 foot smoldering holes if the worst occurs. This is not intuitive, which is why many truthers won't believe it.

But as the ten year anniversary arrives perhaps this new video and the passage of a decade will finally serve as a cure to some of the skepticism, most of it rooted in denial. Perhaps Rosie and various other Hollywood celebrities can help by speaking out.