We caught a big one today: Waleed bin Attash, a serious Islamic nutcase who helped organize the September 11 atrocities and the bombing of the USS Cole. Great, great news.

Waleed bin Attash, also known as Tawfiq Attash or just Khallad, coordinated the activities of at least two of the hijackers who crashed into the Pentagon during the Sept. 11 attacks, U.S. counterterrorism officials said. He is also one of two figures described as masterminds of the bombing of the U.S. Navy destroyer on Oct. 12, 2000.

Bush described Khallad as “one of the top al-Qaida operatives” — saying he ranked just below Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the captured No. 3 figure in the terror network.

Khallad is often described as one-legged but actually is missing his right foot.

“He’s a killer,” Bush said of Khallad. “He is one less person that people who love freedom have to worry about. … It was a major, significant find.”

Khallad was arrested Tuesday in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi during raids that netted five other al-Qaida suspects. Pakistani and U.S. officials announced his capture Wednesday.