LETTER: The Chinese spy balloon
February 9, 2023 - 9:02 pm
So we finally shot down the Chinese spy balloon. Why did this administration take so long to take action? Why did U.S. military heads and those in power wait until the balloon crossed the entire United States, all the while collecting and immediately transmitting valuable information back to China? Wouldn’t it have made more sense to shoot it down before its spy mission was complete?
Supposedly, the reason for not taking immediate action was to wait until the balloon was over water, or over an unpopulated area … out of concern its widespread debris may cause harm. But given the abundance of desolate area in Alaska and the large uninhabited areas in Montana and other states the balloon passed over, that reasoning is unjustifiable.
This administration’s hesitance to take immediate action should inspire a frightening lack of confidence in our current leadership’s regard for American safety. One can only speculate that if this had happened during the previous administration, China’s spy balloon would have been dead on arrival.