So, there's a Chinese spy balloon floating around the United States, currently above Montana, and our government says they won't shoot it down. The Chinese Communist Party has confirmed the now-identified flying object is indeed theirs, but claimed the slow-moving balloon is merely a civilian research airship that's drifting where the wind takes it.
Good morning. The spy balloon is still just chillin.
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) February 3, 2023
Conveniently, the supposedly innocuous civilian airship just so happened to float over one of the intercontinental ballistic missile launch sites in the United States. Did we mention the CCP sent its "regret" the balloon ended up surveilling one of the United States' most sensitive defense installations? You know, the kind that would be a primary target for a first strike aimed at neutering America's ability to respond to any attacks? What are the odds...
Supposedly, concerns about "debris" are keeping the Biden administration from taking the shot to down the CCP balloon, but that sounds an awful lot like a convenient excuse to avoid doing anything, just as Biden has chosen to stand idly by during the border crisis, supply chain crisis, energy crisis, rail strike showdown...the list goes on and on.
Now, Republican members of Congress are demanding Biden act to show at least some modicum of strength in the face of the Chinese Communist Party's latest show of ability to reach out and get what it wants — even from above the United States — a classic move from the CCP that has been crossing over in Taiwan's airspace, and escalating such flybys, for years.
Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) called on the Biden administration to "stop coddling and appeasing the Chinese communists" and "bring the balloon down now and exploit its tech package, which could be an intelligence bonanza." Cotton went on to demand Biden and his Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin answer whether the balloon was detected before it ended up over the ICBM site — and if so, why the U.S. didn't take it out before it had the chance to gather and send information back to Beijing.
And President Biden and Secretary Austin need to answer if this ballon was detected over Alaskan airspace. If so, why didn’t we bring it down there? If not, why not?
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) February 3, 2023
As usual, the Chinese Communists’ provocations have been met with weakness and hand-wringing.
Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) said the CCP getting caught "blatantly spying on American soil...needs to be a wake up call" that demands the United States "do everything in our power to counter the CCP and all of its forms of espionage and sabotage."
"Xi is blatantly spying on America because he does not fear or respect Joe Biden," remarked Senator Rick Scott (R-FL). "Communist China is our enemy, and Biden needs to wake up and start acting like it," he added.
Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) also noted the urgency of responding to China's latest act of aggression against the United States:
Why won't Biden shoot down the Chinese spy balloon that is currently flying over the United States?
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) February 2, 2023
The Chinese Communist Party is a threat to our existence.
Republican Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi called on Biden's Defense Department to explain why it did not take action to stop the CCP surveillance balloon from hanging out above the United States and one of its most sensitive military posts:
The @DeptofDefense owes Congress and the American people a full and accurate accounting of why U.S. forces did not take proactive measures to address this airspace incursion by the People’s Republic of China.
— Senator Roger Wicker (@SenatorWicker) February 3, 2023
In a formal letter to Biden's Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Senator Steve Daines of Montana requested a "full security briefing from the administration on this situation." Daines explained that "it is vital to establish the flight path of this balloon, any compromised U.S. national security assets, and all telecom or IT infrastructure on the ground within the U.S. that this spy-balloon was utilizing."
"Montana plays a vital national security role by housing nuclear missile silos at Malmstrom AFB," Daines continued, "Given the increased hostility and destabilization around the globe aimed at the United States and our allies, I am alarmed by the fact that this spy balloon was able to infiltrate the airspace of our country and Montana. There is no higher priority for your administration than the safety and security of the American people and it is imperative that your administration reassure them of that fact at this time," Daines reminded.
Will Biden do anything? His administration has not yet. Are they just going to take China at its word that the balloon is not really spying *wink wink* and allow it to continue floating over who knows what other parts of the U.S.?
Well, this is the administration that spent months trying to work with the CCP to convince Putin not to invade Ukraine — only to have the Chinese government play Biden and take the information we provided straight to Putin to engender goodwill between the two bad-actor states.
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