Go Beavers said:

mace1229 said:

“This was a PRC (People’s Republic of China) surveillance balloon. This surveillance balloon purposely traversed the United States and Canada and we are confident it was seeking to monitor sensitive military sites,” a senior US administration official said.
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/04/asia/beijing-reacts-us-jets-shoot-chinese-spy-balloon-intl-hnk/index.html

I don’t know why anyone is still believing it was just a giant weather balloon at this point. 12 hours ago the idea this could be a spy balloon was being mocked here. Kinda crazy people still trust China that much.

Who was mocking the idea? No one I can see. 

mace1229 said:

Go Beavers said:

mace1229 said:

mrussel1 said:

mace1229 said:

I read Biden Biden wanted it shot down we’d essay too, but was advised to wait by the pentagon.
Still doesn’t make sense to me. The reason they gave and what others came up with here, none make sense.
 It flew right over Malmstrom AFB, which is home to some nuclear silos apparently and to some accounts seemed to linger there. The path also covered some of the most remote areas of the country. There were plenty of opportunities to shoot it down without danger to anyone below. 

I read they’d shot it down so that it would land in only 40-50 feet of water. They can be that precise over water, but not keep it in the eastern third of Montana that is empty?
Fears of not being able to secure it are ridiculous. Pretty sure the Air Force can deploy a unit within a few hundred miles pretty quickly, that’s pretty much what they do. Pretty sure they’d outgun any random hicks who eventually show up in some quad hours later too.
If there’s a chance it’s a spy balloon it should have been shot down sooner. If there’s not, why shoot it down at all?  The whole let’s let it fly across the entire US then shoot it down for security doesn’t make sense.

Well you want to recover it too.  So landing in the mountains makes it impossible to recover and the payload would be destroyed.  So water makes the most sense, presuming they expected it to float.  

Regarding the spy aspect, the military said it was able to impede its abilities.  They didn’t say how.  Also, there are satellites above us that are pretty powerful.  It actually makes the most sense that it is a weather balloon.  The Chinese would know that it would be identified quickly.  The military also said this has happened several times in the last few years.

I’m not buying the recovery issues. If they can shoot it down so it lands just off shore in 40 feet of water, they can certainly target an accessible but remote area on land with a recovery team standing by. Seems a lot easier actually since they’re now worried about sunken debris that will be lost. Falling at full speed landing on water or land won’t make much of a difference if you’re worried about damage. If the deflated balloon acted like a sort of parachute, shouldn’t make much difference either. And just because they get some data from satellites doesn’t mean we should ignore blatant attempts to gather more information while studying our nuclear silos and ignoring air traffic laws. We had to shut down air space to let this thing fly across our country. There clearly was enough of a concern to do that.
Now if they were able to hack into it, monitor the data it was collecting and prevent it from being my sent back, then that does make a lot of sense to wait. I guess that’s why Biden didn’t call me for my advice.

‘The Americans were able to collect intelligence on the balloon as it flew over the U.S., giving them a number of days to analyze it and learn how it moved and what it was capable of surveilling, according to two senior defense officials said. The officials briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.  The officials said the U.S. military was constantly assessing the threat, and concluded that the technology on the balloon didn’t give the Chinese significant intelligence beyond what it could already obtain from satellites, though the U.S. took steps to mitigate what information it could gather as it moved along.’

I saw that too. Not sure if I believe it. Why would they send a balloon that gets less surveillance than what they already have? Within a day of this being public, US officials labeled it as a spy balloon and acknowledged it flew over military bases and nuclear sites. I’m just not comfortable with that..

mace1229 said:

mrussel1 said:

mace1229 said:

I read Biden Biden wanted it shot down we’d essay too, but was advised to wait by the pentagon.
Still doesn’t make sense to me. The reason they gave and what others came up with here, none make sense.
 It flew right over Malmstrom AFB, which is home to some nuclear silos apparently and to some accounts seemed to linger there. The path also covered some of the most remote areas of the country. There were plenty of opportunities to shoot it down without danger to anyone below. 

I read they’d shot it down so that it would land in only 40-50 feet of water. They can be that precise over water, but not keep it in the eastern third of Montana that is empty?
Fears of not being able to secure it are ridiculous. Pretty sure the Air Force can deploy a unit within a few hundred miles pretty quickly, that’s pretty much what they do. Pretty sure they’d outgun any random hicks who eventually show up in some quad hours later too.
If there’s a chance it’s a spy balloon it should have been shot down sooner. If there’s not, why shoot it down at all?  The whole let’s let it fly across the entire US then shoot it down for security doesn’t make sense.

Well you want to recover it too.  So landing in the mountains makes it impossible to recover and the payload would be destroyed.  So water makes the most sense, presuming they expected it to float.  

Regarding the spy aspect, the military said it was able to impede its abilities.  They didn’t say how.  Also, there are satellites above us that are pretty powerful.  It actually makes the most sense that it is a weather balloon.  The Chinese would know that it would be identified quickly.  The military also said this has happened several times in the last few years.

I’m not buying the recovery issues. If they can shoot it down so it lands just off shore in 40 feet of water, they can certainly target an accessible but remote area on land with a recovery team standing by. Seems a lot easier actually since they’re now worried about sunken debris that will be lost. Falling at full speed landing on water or land won’t make much of a difference if you’re worried about damage. If the deflated balloon acted like a sort of parachute, shouldn’t make much difference either. And just because they get some data from satellites doesn’t mean we should ignore blatant attempts to gather more information while studying our nuclear silos and ignoring air traffic laws. We had to shut down air space to let this thing fly across our country. There clearly was enough of a concern to do that.
Now if they were able to hack into it, monitor the data it was collecting and prevent it from being my sent back, then that does make a lot of sense to wait. I guess that’s why Biden didn’t call me for my advice.

mrussel1 said:

mace1229 said:

Go Beavers said:

mace1229 said:

mrussel1 said:

mace1229 said:

I read Biden Biden wanted it shot down we’d essay too, but was advised to wait by the pentagon.
Still doesn’t make sense to me. The reason they gave and what others came up with here, none make sense.
 It flew right over Malmstrom AFB, which is home to some nuclear silos apparently and to some accounts seemed to linger there. The path also covered some of the most remote areas of the country. There were plenty of opportunities to shoot it down without danger to anyone below. 

I read they’d shot it down so that it would land in only 40-50 feet of water. They can be that precise over water, but not keep it in the eastern third of Montana that is empty?
Fears of not being able to secure it are ridiculous. Pretty sure the Air Force can deploy a unit within a few hundred miles pretty quickly, that’s pretty much what they do. Pretty sure they’d outgun any random hicks who eventually show up in some quad hours later too.
If there’s a chance it’s a spy balloon it should have been shot down sooner. If there’s not, why shoot it down at all?  The whole let’s let it fly across the entire US then shoot it down for security doesn’t make sense.

Well you want to recover it too.  So landing in the mountains makes it impossible to recover and the payload would be destroyed.  So water makes the most sense, presuming they expected it to float.  

Regarding the spy aspect, the military said it was able to impede its abilities.  They didn’t say how.  Also, there are satellites above us that are pretty powerful.  It actually makes the most sense that it is a weather balloon.  The Chinese would know that it would be identified quickly.  The military also said this has happened several times in the last few years.

I’m not buying the recovery issues. If they can shoot it down so it lands just off shore in 40 feet of water, they can certainly target an accessible but remote area on land with a recovery team standing by. Seems a lot easier actually since they’re now worried about sunken debris that will be lost. Falling at full speed landing on water or land won’t make much of a difference if you’re worried about damage. If the deflated balloon acted like a sort of parachute, shouldn’t make much difference either. And just because they get some data from satellites doesn’t mean we should ignore blatant attempts to gather more information while studying our nuclear silos and ignoring air traffic laws. We had to shut down air space to let this thing fly across our country. There clearly was enough of a concern to do that.
Now if they were able to hack into it, monitor the data it was collecting and prevent it from being my sent back, then that does make a lot of sense to wait. I guess that’s why Biden didn’t call me for my advice.

‘The Americans were able to collect intelligence on the balloon as it flew over the U.S., giving them a number of days to analyze it and learn how it moved and what it was capable of surveilling, according to two senior defense officials said. The officials briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.  The officials said the U.S. military was constantly assessing the threat, and concluded that the technology on the balloon didn’t give the Chinese significant intelligence beyond what it could already obtain from satellites, though the U.S. took steps to mitigate what information it could gather as it moved along.’

I saw that too. Not sure if I believe it. Why would they send a balloon that gets less surveillance than what they already have? Within a day of this being public, US officials labeled it as a spy balloon and acknowledged it flew over military bases and nuclear sites. I’m just not comfortable with that..

First you have to decide whether you think the US military and the admin has our best interests in mind or China's. Once you come to that answer,  the thought path is simple. If it's our interests,  then I believe the military that it analyzed the balloon,  the capabilities and determined the course of action that best balanced national security and safety for the citizens.  If you believe that the military prefers China,  then all of the challenges come into play (like the MAGAs are doing) and they'll never be satisfied.  

To me,  this is a nothing and it's what the military does every day.

Chinese balloons flew over US three times during Trump administration: officials

As Republicans spent the past few days criticizing the Biden administration over its response to the suspected Chinese spy balloon that flew across the country, an official revealed during a briefing on Saturday that the U.S. was aware of three other instances during the prior administration and one instance earlier in the Biden administration that such an apparatus “transited” the country.

“PRC [People’s Republic of China] government surveillance balloons transited the continental United States briefly at least three times during the prior administration and once that we know of at the beginning of this administration but never for this duration of time,” said a senior defense official. “We spoke directly with Chinese officials through multiple channels, but rather than address their intrusion into our airspace, the PRC put out an explanation that lacked any credibility.”

Biden authorized the missile strike that shot down the balloon Saturday. Republican lawmakers have been arguing that the response should have come sooner, but military officials warned the president that the best time to take down the balloon was when it was over water, citing the risk of damage to people and property if it was shot down over land. Biden told reporters he wanted it shot down when he learned it entered U.S. airspace last week.

Trump denied the revelation by defense officials that Chinese balloons flew over the U.S. during his administration, calling it “disinformation.”

“The Chinese Balloon situation is a disgrace, just like the Afghanistan horror show, and everything else surrounding the grossly incompetent Biden Administration,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site. “They are only good at cheating in elections, and disinformation — and now they are putting out that a Balloon was put up by China during the Trump Administration, in order to take the ‘heat’ off the slow moving Biden fools. China had too much respect for ‘TRUMP’ for this to have happened, and it NEVER did. JUST FAKE DISINFORMATION!”

Defense officials also countered an explanation by the Chinese that the balloon was blown off course.

“This surveillance balloon purposefully traversed the United States and Canada. And we are confident it was seeking to monitor sensitive military sites. Its route over the United States, near many potential sensitive sites, contradicts the PRC government’s explanation that it was a weather balloon,” the official said, adding that additional balloons have been spotted over Central America and South America.

Chinese balloons flew over US three times during Trump administration: officials (msn.com)

lindamarie73 said:

mace1229 said:

Never claimed to be an expert. Are we not allowed to share opinions here?

Come on man….you know the answer to that.   Heads explode when you don’t follow leftist playbook on here, HOW DARE YOU!!! 

Halifax2TheMax said:

Yea, let's discuss balloons and military actions, or lack thereof.

Chinese balloons flew over US three times during Trump administration: officials

Balloons similar to the one that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina this weekend flew over the U.S. at least three times during the Trump administration, according to a senior U.S. defense official.

As Republicans spent the past few days criticizing the Biden administration over its response to the suspected Chinese spy balloon that flew across the country, an official revealed during a briefing on Saturday that the U.S. was aware of three other instances during the prior administration and one instance earlier in the Biden administration that such an apparatus “transited” the country.

“PRC [People’s Republic of China] government surveillance balloons transited the continental United States briefly at least three times during the prior administration and once that we know of at the beginning of this administration but never for this duration of time,” said a senior defense official. “We spoke directly with Chinese officials through multiple channels, but rather than address their intrusion into our airspace, the PRC put out an explanation that lacked any credibility.”

Biden authorized the missile strike that shot down the balloon Saturday. Republican lawmakers have been arguing that the response should have come sooner, but military officials warned the president that the best time to take down the balloon was when it was over water, citing the risk of damage to people and property if it was shot down over land. Biden told reporters he wanted it shot down when he learned it entered U.S. airspace last week.

Trump denied the revelation by defense officials that Chinese balloons flew over the U.S. during his administration, calling it “disinformation.”

“The Chinese Balloon situation is a disgrace, just like the Afghanistan horror show, and everything else surrounding the grossly incompetent Biden Administration,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site. “They are only good at cheating in elections, and disinformation — and now they are putting out that a Balloon was put up by China during the Trump Administration, in order to take the ‘heat’ off the slow moving Biden fools. China had too much respect for ‘TRUMP’ for this to have happened, and it NEVER did. JUST FAKE DISINFORMATION!”

Defense officials also countered an explanation by the Chinese that the balloon was blown off course.

“This surveillance balloon purposefully traversed the United States and Canada. And we are confident it was seeking to monitor sensitive military sites. Its route over the United States, near many potential sensitive sites, contradicts the PRC government’s explanation that it was a weather balloon,” the official said, adding that additional balloons have been spotted over Central America and South America.

Chinese balloons flew over US three times during Trump administration: officials (msn.com)