captured on our oil, whether they be u.s. citizens or non-u.s. citizens. richard reid, al mahri and others. they were brought into custody by law enforcement officials and then treated accordingly. >> reporter: now aside from the inherent seriousness of this subject matter, terrorism and the claims by many officials that al qaeda is planning a new terrorist attack or at least would like to spring a new terrorist attack in the coming months, there is this political question as well. republicans feel like this is a political vulnerability on the part of democrats and the white house. this whole subject of terrorism. we can expect that this fight is going to continue, it will not subside in the coming months, alex. >> mike viqueira at the white house, thanks. all of you can watch "meet the press" when it re-airs at 2:00 eastern right here on msnbc sunday. after the break, a live report on how toyota's planning to address problems with the prius hybrids. and switching her entire family to sprint.