After a trial in a civilian, rather than a military, court a jury convicted bin Laden's son-in-law Abu Ghaith of the three charges against him: conspiracy to kill Americans, conspiracy to provide support to al Qaeda and providing support to al Qaeda.

Taking the witness stand in his own defense, Abu Ghaith in a calm voice denied he was an al Qaeda recruiter and claimed his role was a religious one aimed at encouraging all Muslims to rise up against their oppressors. He insisted he agreed to meet with bin Laden in a cave on the night of Sept. 11 out of respect for bin Laden's standing as a sheik. 

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Those videos, though, emerged as the centerpiece of the government's case. One - titled "Convoy of Martyrs" - features Abu Ghaith preaching over horrific footage of a plane flying into one of the World Trade Center towers. Another showed the defendant looking at bin Laden admiringly as the al Qaeda leader boasted that he knew the attack would make both towers fall.

Despite Abu Ghaith's conviction, al Qaeda is thriving as they continue "working to expel the infidels from the lands of the Faithful, unite Muslims and create a new Islamic caliphate."

Meanwhile, in Syria

 Dozens of seasoned militant fighters, including some midlevel planners, have traveled to Syria from Pakistan in recent months in what American intelligence and counterterrorism officials fear is an effort to lay the foundation for future strikes against Europe and the United States.

“We are concerned about the use of Syrian territory by the Al Qaeda organization to recruit individuals and develop the capability to be able not just to carry out attacks inside of Syria, but also to use Syria as a launching pad,” John O. Brennan, the C.I.A. director, told a House panel recently.

However, Detroit is still dead.