President Joe Biden doubled down Thursday on the White House’s denial of national security concerns over the Chinese spy balloon that was allowed to cross the continent before being shot down on the Atlantic coast.
Speaking to Noticias Telemundo, the president inexplicably described the incident as “not a major breach.” He added that “the total amount of intelligence gathering that’s going on by every country around the world is overwhelming.”
“It’s Not a Major Breach”: Joe Biden Downplays China Spy Balloon That Flew Over US for a Week https://t.co/e1oqGS1xga
— The Gateway Pundit (@gatewaypundit) February 10, 2023
These statements fly in the face of the military concluded that it was a spy vehicle as well as his own order for it to be shot down and retrieved from the ocean.
Biden did acknowledge that China’s sending the balloon was a violation of international law. He also asserted that “once it comes into our space, we can do what we want with it.”
The crisis developed when reports of the balloon flying over Montana surfaced on Wednesday. As the aircraft made its long and slow trek across the continent, pressure intensified for the White House to take decisive action.
Instead, it was allowed to continue its course until it reached the South Carolina coast.
The State Department announced Thursday that the spy balloon, which China purported to be a civilian weather craft, was equipped with antennas capable of gathering communication signals along with other intelligence-collecting equipment.
An official also said that the spy balloon carried large solar panels with the ability to operate data sensors.
And while it is not yet clear exactly what the spycraft was fishing for, U.S. Assistant Defense Secretary for the Indo-Pacific told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee Thursday that the Pentagon has “some very good guesses.”
The House of Representatives is in strong disagreement with Biden over this issue. So much so that the body ignored partisanship and unanimously passed a resolution this week condemning the spy balloon as a “brazen violation of United States sovereignty.”
Biden did at least confirm that the balloon was a violation of both international law and U.S. airspace. The president told the interviewer that “it’s our airspace. And once it comes into our space, we can do what we want with it.”
However, it is grossly negligent to claim that the balloon’s crossing of North America undeterred was “not a major breach” of security. Where a show of strength was warranted, the White House instead provided the world with anything but.
