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.  (snip) 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...(Read Full Post)