On Saturday afternoon off the coast of South Carolina, the United States finally shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon after allowing the craft to cross the entire country. Joe Biden claimed he gave the shoot-down order last Wednesday but the way this played out gives the people cause to wonder.
“The Pentagon said at midday Friday that a Chinese spy balloon had moved eastward and was over the central United States,” the Associated Press reported, “and that the U.S. rejected China’s claims that it was not being used for surveillance.”
The AP did not say which part of the “central United States” China’s balloon was currently surveilling. Early reports said the balloon had been spotted over Montana, a western state, so the craft was clearly maneuverable and had covered some ground.
“President Joe Biden declined to comment when questioned at an economic event,” the AP reported, adding that former President Donald Trump, and Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador, said the U.S. should “immediately shoot down the balloon.” The U.S. did no such thing.
Montana is home to Malmstrom Air Force Base, “one of America’s three nuclear missile silo fields.” The Air Force prepared F-22 fighters but “the Pentagon ultimately recommended against it, noting that even as the balloon was over a sparsely populated area of Montana, its size would create a debris field large enough that it could have put people at risk.”
As for potential risk to the people from the Chinese spy balloon, defense officials said it had only “limited” intelligence value. They didn’t say how much value would be acceptable.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley recommended against “kinetic action” to bring down the balloon, CBS News reported, because of the danger of debris hitting the ground, and because “the U.S. government had determined the balloon does not pose a threat.” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had also advised against shooting down China’s balloon, which was traveling above commercial air traffic and “not moving very fast.”
Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told CNN the U.S. government has been “tracking the balloon for several days as it made its way over the northern United States.” The balloon’s flight path had passed over “a number of sensitive sites,” but did not present a “significant intelligence gathering risk.”
If the risk level changed, defense officials explained, they “will have options to deal with this balloon.” U.S. officials told their Chinese counterparts “we have made clear we will do whatever is necessary to protect our people and our homeland.” For people across the country, that raised more than a few questions.
Who was tracking China’s balloon en route to American airspace? Did it perhaps drift over Pearl Harbor? Why was no action taken when China’s balloon entered American airspace? At what point did the USA determine it was on a surveillance mission? Did the vaunted “intelligence community” know anything?
Why was the balloon allowed a flight path over missile bases and such? So far there is no word of any official flagged for negligence or incompetence, and nothing about equipment failure. The incident invites a look back to the time Joe Biden “got China.”
Vice president Biden gained command of China policy through the efforts of longtime supporter Tom Donilon, who would serve—badly, according to former defense secretary Robert Gates in his memoir Duty—as national security adviser under President Obama. Donilon sees no conflict between a “rising power and an established power” and contends that “a deeper U.S.-China military-to-military dialogue is central to addressing many of the sources of insecurity and potential competition between us” (emphasis added).
In 2020, Biden went on record that the Chinese are “not bad folks” and not even competition for the United States. The Delaware Democrat thus provided more evidence that China “got Biden.”
As he made clear in his September 1 hate speech, Biden sees the greatest threat to America from people who want the nation to be great, not from a genocidal Communist dictatorship. So no surprise that the Chinese Communists act like they own the place.
The Chinese regime operates police stations in New York, Los Angeles and other American cities. When the FBI does catch Chinese spies, the Biden Justice Department drops the cases against them. In similar style, Communist China’s military sends a surveillance balloon into U.S. airspace, and Biden’s military lets it cross the country before taking any action. If that is not evidence of Donilon’s “deeper military-to-military dialogue” it’s hard to imagine what might be.
The White House resident is supposed to be the most powerful man in the world but the Delaware Democrat keeps referring to what “they” want him to do, a reference to his handlers.
On the military side, the loudest voice is Joint Chiefs boss Milley, who likens Donald Trump to Hitler and calls his supporters “brownshirts.” On the other hand, the portly general is willing to tip off China about what’s coming down. So no surprise that Milley cautions against “kinetic action” against China’s spy balloon.
In a response to the balloon incident, China’s Mao Ning told reporters “China is a responsible country. We act in accordance with international law. We have no intention in violating other countries’ airspace.” But they did.
In his brief announcement on Saturday, Biden did not mention China and failed to criticize the Communist regime for violating American airspace, overflying missile bases, and otherwise putting Americans at risk. Biden’s claim that he gave the shoot-down order on Wednesday raises the question of who, exactly, is calling the shots.
Stanley Kubrick, on LSD, would have a hard time with this scenario. The people have cause to wonder what Milley’s Joint Chiefs would do if the missiles started to fly. It’s not out of the question that the famous ’60s poster may again become relevant. As it explained, in case of a nuclear attack:
Stay clear of all windows.
Keep hands free of glass, bottles, cigarettes, etc.
Stand away from bar, tables, orchestra, equipment and furniture
Loosen necktie, unbutton coat and any other restrictive clothing
Remove glasses, empty pockets of all sharp objects such as pens, pencils etc.
Immediately upon seeing the brilliant flash of nuclear explosion, bend over and place your head firmly between your legs.
Then kiss your ass goodbye.