CNN’s Clapper: I’ve Grown ‘Very Concerned’ About ‘Serious’ Concern of Terrorists Exploiting Border

On Friday’s broadcast of CNN’s “OutFront,” CNN National Security Analyst and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper stated that he has “gotten very concerned” about the prospect of terrorists exploiting the chaos on the southern border because “the composition of the border crossers has changed a good bit since my day, and now, it’s much more international. There are Chinese, Russians, and others.” And the border “is a serious national security concern.”

Host Erin Burnett asked, “So, the Houthis say that American interests are legitimate targets. They’re being very clear about that. Now, obviously, they can’t strike the U.S. from Yemen, where they’re based, but they and others, Director, can take advantage of the chaos on the southern border. There were 225,000 illegal border crossings in the month of December alone on that U.S. southern border. It’s a stunning number. Every time I say it I almost have to go check it, because it does sort of stop you in your tracks. How worried are you about this when you look at that border?”

Clapper responded, “I’ve gotten very concerned about it. The nature — the composition of the border crossers has changed a good bit since my day, and now, it’s much more international. There are Chinese, Russians, and others. So, we traditionally thought about it as people coming from South and Central America. Well, it’s much broader than that. So, this is a serious national security concern. Having said that, though, it doesn’t mean that…should be our exclusive focus. We ought to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time to attend to our southern border and also continue our position of leadership internationally.”

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