There’s still a lot of fulmination going on about the Chinese balloon that traversed the entire United States and some of Canada before it was shot down over the Atlantic. I have a question. At present we spend nearly $2 trillion on defense when all is said and done. Why can’t we detect and intercept a foreign aircraft (a balloon is, indeed, an aircraft), when it enters U. S. airspace rather than after it has traveled several thousand miles?
What advantage do we gain from shooting it down over an area where debris could be harmful, other than making you feel better? Yes, they are going to intercept our talk radio channels but I can live with that.
Steve
Is there any way to determine in advance whether a balloon floating over our territory is merely passive?
It spent 3 or 4 days over the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, Yukon and Northern British Columbia. Places where the question, “If a tree falls in a forest, and there’s no one around to hear it, does it make a sound?” applies.
Certainly better to shoot it then the wait for it to cross over “sensitive” sites across the country.
I’m still think its nothing extraordinary in the espionage game (if it was that). Reports are its been happening for years, and likely on both sides. The only difference is this time it went viral.
That’s certainly my view. And doing that would be better than just ignoring incursions.
“Why can’t we detect and intercept a foreign aircraft…”
We can. We chose not to.
The notion of harm on the ground from falling debris is simply absurd. Partisan hackery. There are vast swaths of uninhabited land or water.
The notion that shooting down a Chinese aircraft over our territory is unwarranted is ludicrous. If you have to debate it, there is no point in debating.
The “Trump” did it too excuse is just silliness. Even if the highly unlikely stated reason is true: “it was not reported up the chain under Trump,” it was known in the case of the recent balloon. Its really an idiotic excuse. They just want to slough off their culpability with whataboutism.
Team Biden are the gaslighting kings, made possible only through a compliant media.