“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
Other opinions below.
“Since World War II, hundreds if not thousands of U.S. military personnel and other credible U.S. witnesses, including police officers, have reported witnessing objects with unconventional and/or extraordinary performance characteristics. These characteristics include instantaneous hypersonic acceleration, active concealment, the ability to transition with ease between air and underwater, and doing these things without flight surfaces or obvious propulsion methods…
“These witnesses are not the average Joe and Jane. They include witnesses who are trusted to operate some of the most lethal weapons in the U.S. military inventory — those whom the military spends a great deal of time and money in ensuring are of stable mind… Put simply, whatever the U.S. has just shot down, the public deserves direct information and fewer references to Steven Spielberg movies. Whether it involves these recent objects or not, something ‘extra’ is going on with some UFOs.”
Tom Rogan, Washington Examiner
“Whatever these things are, I’m guessing they’re likely some sort of drones that were cooked up right here on terra firma, possibly from multiple countries, including ours. Everybody has been developing advanced drones in recent years. And what’s the point of having a new toy if you don’t get to play with it?…
“There’s one other reason that I don’t think these ‘objects’ are anything exotic. It’s because they’re just too easy to shoot down, or at least it seems that way so far… If these things being seen this week are really from ‘out there’ and can traverse the vast gulf of space, they really shouldn’t be so easy to use for target practice, should they?”
Jazz Shaw, Hot Air
“The three objects that have been most recently shot down aren’t necessarily cause for alarm. Officials say one reason so many unidentified aerial vehicles are suddenly being identified is because the Pentagon has widened the aperture and search parameters… ‘One of the reasons that we think we’re seeing more is because we’re looking for more,’ said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby…
“But it also makes sense to develop a framework for how to approach future such incidents. On Monday, Mr. Biden directed an interagency team, under the direction of the national security adviser, to study the broader policy implications for detection, analysis and disposition of unidentified aerial objects that pose either safety or security risks… To best protect the American people, it’s important to approach these incursions clear-eyed, calmly and without partisan gamesmanship.”
Editorial Board, Washington Post
“During [WWII], the only successful, large-scale attacks mounted on the U.S. mainland came in the form of some 9,000 high-altitude balloons launched from Japan…
“China’s high-altitude balloons, meanwhile, appear to have exploited what a senior Air Force officer called a ‘domain awareness gap’ — meaning the balloons passed through holes in America’s existing air defenses. Such gaps are especially concerning if, as in the 1940s, they create new avenues for adversaries to attack U.S. territory. China, which possesses far more sophisticated weaponry than balloons, including hypersonic missiles, has little reason to exploit these gaps to mount an actual attack — but terrorists or rogue states might.”
Scott M. Moore, Politico