According to new sources, the Biden Administration was not surprised by the Chinese spy balloon observed drifting across the country. Rather, they had been aware of the balloon for about a week, having learned that it had entered American airspace on January 28th.
Bloomberg broke the story, saying that the Biden Administration was aware of the spy balloon as soon as it reached American airspace on the 28th, if not earlier, but chose to cover it up despite the critical nature of the sites it was heading toward. What’s the reason? Due to Secretary of State Blinken’s upcoming trip to China. Bloomberg reported on the matter, saying:
“As it turns out, US authorities were well aware of the unidentified object that had entered American airspace on Jan. 28, that had then left and re-entered over North Idaho on Tuesday. But with such a high-profile trip at stake, keeping it on the down-low was key.
“By the time the thing became visible in Montana, President Joe Biden had already been briefed and the White House was scrambling to decide whether to blast it from the sky.
“The gravity of the situation was only exacerbated by Montana being home to Malmstrom Air Force Base, which houses a large portion of the US’s Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles.”
Not only was the balloon flying over Minuteman ICBMs, our primary land-based nuclear deterrent, but it was also heading toward Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, where the B-2 stealth bomber is stationed.
Despite the enormous risk to national security, Team Biden appears to have chosen to keep the balloon’s presence quiet so as not to jeopardize Blinken’s China trip.
However, after the public learned about the trip, it was canceled. Secretary of State Blinken played on public sympathy by informing China that the balloon was an “irresponsible act and a clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law that undermined the purpose of the trip.”
To avoid seeming weak in the face of Chinese infringement of American sovereignty, Team Biden canceled the China trip, which, according to Bloomberg, was not expected to generate much in the way of tangible outcomes anyhow.
A senior Pentagon official made much the same statement as Blinken, saying “We have noted the PRC statement of regret, but the presence of this balloon in our airspace is a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law and is unacceptable that this has occurred.”
However, it should be highlighted that Blinken’s statement regarding the “obvious infringement of US sovereignty” came only after the public learned about the balloon. Previously, the Biden administration appeared to be fine with allowing the balloon to drift over America and breach our sovereignty in order for Blinken to go on the trip.
Despite canceling the trip and conceding that the balloon is in US airspace, Team Biden has yet to shoot down the balloon, saying that doing so would endanger civilians on the ground.
