I have mentioned the threat of terrorists smuggling small nuclear bombs into the United States in previous posts. As a matter of fact, my 2012 novel, Rare Earths, featured just such activity as part of the plot. A decade ago, a software company that I worked for bid on a project to improve inspection and tracking of containers coming into U.S. ports. At that time, only about three percent of containers were closely inspected for possible radioactive materials. Today, the situation has improved but there is still a great deal of concern.
In 1996, David Kay of the International Atomic Energy Agency talked about the smuggling of nuclear devices on PBS's Frontline. "I've often said, my preferred method for delivering a nuclear device is, I would hide it in a bale of marijuana, contract it out to the drug lords and move it," Kay said. "Marijuana is a good shielder actually for radiation. The drug lords have a superb record for delivery. They're not Fed Ex, but they're awfully close to it. And contract it out and get it across the border."
In 2001, Jack Ruina from MIT wrote about such smuggling in the Washington Post. “A potential adversary does not have to rely on ballistic missiles to deliver a warhead. A small nation could easily resort to using planes, ships, cruise missiles or, as has been facetiously suggested, to hiding a warhead in a bale of marijuana, the shipment of which defies most detection.”
In 2007, Representative Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) addressed nuclear smuggling on the floor of the House of Representatives with respect to implementing recommendations from the 9/11 commission. "The most important issue facing the United States, and certainly the most important part of this bill, deals with preventing a nuclear attack on American cities. Since a nuclear bomb is about the size of a person, it could be smuggled into the United States inside a bale of marijuana." He repeated these ideas in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2015 and 2017.
In a Congressional hearing in 2014, the director of George Washington University's Homeland Security Policy Institute, Frank Ciluffo, said, "If you want to smuggle in a tactical nuclear weapon, just wrap it in a bale of marijuana. Because we're not doing all that well in terms of some of our drug enforcement."
And, finally, just this week, Representative Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) said "I can suggest to you that there are national security implications here for a porous border. 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.' ”
While previous statements about smuggling a nuclear device in a bale of marijuana resulted in little response from the media and the public, Frank's comment received ridicule in the form of tweets from citizens. Of the many ways that a nuclear device could be smuggled into the U.S., it is interesting that the marijuana reference keeps popping up. I think that it is a matter of a natural tendency to combine "bad things" to make a greater impact for a public statement. Linking nuclear weapons, terrorism, drugs, and smuggling things across U.S. borders really ramps up the paranoia even if that particular scenario is actually not very probable.
A Coast Guard Cutter Edisto crewmember offloads a bale of marijuana in San Diego, Oct. 18, 2010. U.S. Coast Guard photo by PA2 Jetta H. Disco:
