A Democratic congressman expressed worry about leaders in North Korea using a “bale of marijuana” to smuggle a nuclear device into the U.S Thursday.
California Rep. Brad Sherman made the odd comment following a classified briefing at the White House Thursday. Sherman, who serves as the ranking Democratic member of the House Asia Subcommittee, seemed to imply the U.S. is not focusing enough attention on border security and the issue of drug smuggling, which he argues is a national security threat, reports Business Insider.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Coast Guard are involved in regular drug interdictions and seizures coming in from Central and South America as well as Asia and the Middle East. Despite the recent missile tests by North Korea related to its nuclear program, Sherman wants to remind Americans about other tactics Kim Jong Un could employ.
“I raised two issues: No. Korea could smuggle nuke into U.S. rather than use ICBM,” Sherman said on Twitter Thursday. “Could smuggle inside a bale of marijuana and might sell nukes to Iran, which has billions of hard currency. Waiting for answers.”
Sherman clarified in a subsequent tweet that while he does not think North Korea is “likely to send a bomb in weed,” it is an example of why the U.S. cannot “rely solely on missile defense.”
Rep. Trent Franks, a Republican from Arizona, made similar comments Wednesday, arguing border security is a national security issue. Franks also asserted that a weak border could lead to a nuke being smuggled into the country.
“I can suggest to you that there are national security implications here for a porous border,” Franks said on CNN Wednesday. “We sometimes used to make the point that if someone wanted to smuggle in a dangerous weapon, even a nuclear weapon, into America, how would they do it? And the suggestion was made, ‘Well, we’ll simply hide it in a bale of marijuana.'”
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