The Chinese balloon story is even bigger than it seems
by Byron York, Chief Political Correspondent
February 06, 2023 08:57 AM
THE CHINESE BALLOON STORY IS EVEN BIGGER THAN IT SEEMS. The Chinese spy balloon matter has become far more serious in recent hours — and it was serious enough to begin with.
Of course, there are lots of questions in the aftermath of the U.S. Air Force shootdown of the balloon off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday. Questions such as what, specifically, was it spying on? What information had it gathered? When was the United States aware of its existence? Will experts be able to secure enough of the wreckage from the ocean floor to answer those and other questions?
But there are perhaps more troubling questions raised by the conduct of top Biden administration officials. First, they sought political cover by claiming that Chinese spy balloons had overflown the U.S. three times during the Trump administration, and nobody did anything about them at the time. Then, when a chorus of high-ranking officials of the Trump years said with one voice that simply did not happen, the Biden team responded with an explanation that strains credulity. That's where we are now.
As the balloon drifted across the U.S., starting in Alaska, then into Canada, then from Idaho all the way to South Carolina, with the Biden administration refusing to take it down, Republicans were appalled at the White House's tepid response to such a blatant violation of American airspace and sovereignty. Shoot the damn thing down, many of them urged President Joe Biden.
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