Packages from Yemen: President Confirms Explosives found

A suspicious series of events has involved security forces on three continents in an investigation of suspicious packages which originated in Yemen and were sent to the United States, Dubai and the United Kingdom. They were found on UPS Cargo flights.

P>WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - President Obama spoke to the Nation concerning the suspicious packages which he called a "credible terrorist threat against our country." At the end of a day of specualtion he confirmed that "Initial examination of those packages has determined that they do apparently contain explosive material."  He further confirmed that the packages originated in Yemen and were being sent to Jewish Synagogues in Chicago, Illinois.

A series of events involved security forces on three continents in an investigation of these suspicious packages which originated in Yemen and were sent to the United States, Dubai and the United Kingdom. They were found on UPS Cargo flights.
 
Yemen is home to the branch of the global extemist Muslim terrorist movement which attempted to bomb a plane headed to Detroit last Christmas. These terrorists call themselves "al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula."

The packages which came to the US did not dangerous substances. At least one was an ink toner cartridge with wires attached and what was described as a white substance. The substance was found to be harmless.

However, later it was discovered that packages which went to the UK and Dubai did contain explosive material.

Two packages were addressed to a synagogue and a Jewish community Center in Chicago, Illinois.

Speculation about the packages, the security measures taken to investigate them (which included temporary airport closures) and the lack of specific information on the entire affair, produced non-stop news reports throughout the day speculating on whether other packages were sent on other flights.

There is growing concern that the entire series of events which captured the news throughout the day is some kind of "dry run" for a future terrorist operation.

According to the White House Press Release, "The president was notified of a potential terrorist threat on Thursday night at 10:30."

The incident brought extreme caution to our airspace. In fact, two US military jets accompanied a commercial airliner into JFK airport. It was a flight from the United Arab Emirates which originated from Dubai. The action of accompanying the plane was simply precautionary.There was concern that a similar package was on board.

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