The military’s blame game over the Chinese spy balloon spills into the open
Testimony from a top general “has revealed glaring inconsistencies” with Pentagon leaders, a top Republican said.
By Lara Seligman and Lee Hudson
03/27/2023 06:45 PM EDT
A disagreement between top military leaders as to why the U.S. didn’t instantly shoot down the Chinese spy balloon as soon as it appeared on radar in late January has spilled into public view — and the GOP is seizing on it.
Last week, a four-star general told senators that he wasn’t directly asked for his advice until days after the object had headed over land. Yet a Pentagon spokesperson later told POLITICO the general did provide recommendations and updates throughout the crisis.
Now Republican senators are highlighting the discrepancies, using the rift to fault the administration for what they say has been a series of missteps that led to the debacle and adds to their list of questions about what went wrong.
The debate hinges on when Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sought U.S. Northern Command head Gen. Glen VanHerck’s military advice on the best way to handle the balloon. VanHerck told lawmakers during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday that he did not speak to Austin about the situation until Feb. 1 — five days after the intelligence community made top officials aware of its presence.
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https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/27/military-debate-spy-balloon-00089097
