February 14, 2023

UFOs Shot Down

A U.S. fighter jet shot down an ‘unidentified object’ over Lake Huron on Sunday on orders from President Joe Biden. It was the fourth such downing in eight days…

“The Pentagon officials said they were still trying to determine what exactly the objects were and said they had considered using the jets’ guns instead of missiles, but it proved to be too difficult. They drew a strong distinction between the three shot down over this weekend and the balloon from China.” AP News

Read our prior coverage of the Chinese spy balloon here and here. The Flip Side

Many on both sides call for greater transparency about the ongoing situation:

“No one – not the White House, the Pentagon or the government of Canada, whose airspace has also been infringed – seems able to say exactly what is going on with these latest downed crafts. This raises questions for top military brass and US spy agencies as well as for the potential safety of civilian aviation. And it creates an information vacuum that Republicans are again using to question President Joe Biden’s leadership…

“It’s possible that in a unique, fast-moving situation, the government may not know much more than it is saying. But the piecemeal emergence of details is adding to the confusion. On issues including the Chinese balloon and the discovery of classified vice presidential documents at Biden’s home and office, the administration has sometimes struggled to control a media narrative to its own political detriment… There are also signs that federal lawmakers may be getting information from military and local authorities that is incomplete, risking further confusion or politicization about what is going on.”
Stephen Collinson, CNN

“Are more balloons suddenly coming, or has US policy changed to a ‘down them all’ approach — and if so, why? You have to fear the White House is simply desperate to show toughness after it got caught trying to let the initial Chinese espionage craft proceed safely. So far, Biden has offered nothing more than a brief brag in his State of the Union speech, plus a vague claim to Telemundo that the first one was ‘no major breach.’ Yet reports suggest Biden wasn’t told about that first balloon for several days. Was that policy? Is it still?…

“It’s not just the opposition asking questions. Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the top Dem on the House Intelligence Committee, this weekend said he has ‘real concerns about why the administration is not being more forthcoming with everything that it knows.’ Some spy-vs.-spy stuff needs to be secret, but at this point the nation deserves some clear answers — and cause to believe our leaders have solid national-security reasons for whatever it is they’re doing.”
Editorial Board, New York Post

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