bret: ups and fedex we re told right now, greg, suspending those packages from yemen. greg, thank you very much. there is also concern tonight over a series of shootings in this part of the country. aimed at buildings associated with the u.s. marine corps. national correspondent steve centanni is following that story. another shootings and more worry about security in the d.c. area. the latest attack came overnight when an unknown shooter took aim at the second time 25 miles south of washington. one of three military targets hit since october 17. there have been no injuries and the f.b.i. pointed out all the shootings took place when no one was around. we re cognizant of the fact he attempted to avoid casualties by acting in the nighttime, not the business hours. all the shootings occurred in a 30-mile radius of each other in the washington, d.c., suburbs. the first one was october 17 at the marine corps museum.
week. i think we are all breathing easier because of that. the administration should be given credit when the system is working. bret: peter, yemen. umar farouk abdulmutallab, the christmas day bomber is from yesmen and the radical cleric, anwar al-awlaki, believed to be in yemen. a bad guy as well. this is a place that s been a focus for us. it has. where the uss cole was bombed is now the al-qaeda du jour where al-qaeda has networks going on. david petraeus earlier this year went to yemen to talk to the president there, to try to up the counter intelligence, counterinsurgency effort. counterterrorism effort there. it s a real problem, credit to the obama administration, they realized that there were strike against there, but a reminder yemen is a country right now, of a great source of problems. but we face a militant
down of the shippers might not be so easy. one yemeni official reminded me, we don t have addresses this our capitol. the place is a maze. by the way, late today ups saying it s cutting service to yemen. meanwhile, the u.k. brushed by a potential of terror. the small east midland airport in central england was the refuelling point for a cargo plane carrying the first of those explosive devices or packages. it was found there. part of the airplane was cordoned off all day while the package was taken away for examination. authorities here are not just concerned however with cargo going back and forth between yemen and u.k. and elsewhere. they have halted all direct passenger flights between england and yemen. by the way, there is no claim of responsibility yet coming from yemen due to the thwarted nature of the incidents. maybe we won t hear anything from anybody there. once again, this desolate corner of the world getting the u.s. attention again.
screening suspicious packages from yemen in other places but testing was negative for explosives. because packages came from yemen in addition to other intelligence, they said the al-qaeda affiliate, including the american cleric anwar al-awlaki was at the top of their list. the group was behind the attempted christmas day bombing where a device was stuffed in the underwear of umar farouk abdulmutallab. the president stopped short of making a direct connection. although we are still pursuing all the facts, we do know that the packages originated in yemen. we have also know that al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula, terrorist groups based in yemen continues to plan attacks against our homeland, our citizens and our friends and allies. reporter: the transportation security administration is stepping up security for passengers and cargo across the country. significantly, the white house counterterrorism advisor suggested the packages were not part of the severe threat
and congressman peter waner. steve, start with you. the president saying this is real, they contained the material and it came from yes yemen, saying that the al-qaeda and the arabian peninsula is behind it. by all accounts, everybody i talked to believes it was a real threat, a real attack. i think the president and the white house are wise to treat it as such. i think the first point to take away from the activities today the intelligence seems to have worked in this case. the administration claimed this in the past, but in this case working with the liaison and the intelligence communities in saudi arabia, we have thwarted an attack, or potential attack. bret: a statement just out from john brennan, the terrorism advisor, in which he says, phrases the united states is grateful to the kingdom of saudi arabia for assistance in underscoring the immense of the threat and