Courtesy Sen. Steve Daines
Disclaimer: This article may contain the personal views and opinions of the author.
The Chinese spy balloon was back in the news recently after NBC News reported that the balloon did indeed gather intelligence from “several sensitive” American military bases.
The balloon garnered national attention in February after first being detected in Montana after passing over parts of Canada.
On Feb. 9, one of Montana’s state senators, Republican Steve Daines, put together a list of questions about the balloon for the Biden administration.
The top question, to which most Americans would want an answer, was why was this balloon allowed to enter our airspace.
The senator did not receive an answer to any of his ten questions.
“The Pentagon’s response to my questions regarding the Chinese spy balloon fiasco shows the administration is more interested in covering up the truth and hoping it goes away than leveling with the American people, admitting where mistakes were made, and working to ensure it never happens again,” Daines told Fox News Digital.
“Like the failed withdrawal from Afghanistan where 13 American lives were lost, this is a slap in the face for Montanans and Americans who watched the balloon float right over their homes and our sensitive military sites,” Daines said.
“Now that we know the balloon was collecting intelligence, Montanans and the country deserve better, and I hope to see my colleagues, Republican and Democrat, hold this administration accountable.”
“The administration’s explanation that the balloon had ‘limited additive value’ is little comfort to Montanans and the American people and weak spin on an issue the administration mishandled from start to finish,” Daines said in a statement.
“This is just the latest national security embarrassment from an administration that continues to project nothing but weakness on the world stage. Unfortunately, when it comes to national security, it has real-world consequences.”
Jon Tester, a Democrat Montana senator, also agrees with the need to take this seriously for the purposes of national security.
“I’ll keep holding the Biden Administration accountable to ensure Montanans’ freedom and privacy are protected,” he tweeted.
According to a Fox News article, “Despite the Biden administration’s attempt to block its intelligence gathering efforts, two senior U.S. officials and a former senior administration official told NBC News this week the vessel had, in fact, collected ‘intelligence from several sensitive American military sites.'”
It included “electronic signals, which can come from weapons systems or base personnel communications,” according to the publication.
The report states that “Beijing received the information in real-time.”
The White House and the Pentagon said they can’t confirm that the latest reports are accurate.
Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said, “I could not confirm that there was real-time transmission from the balloon back to (China) at this time,” citing that analysis of debris collected from the balloon is ongoing.
Who are the American people supposed to believe?
The White House which downplayed the whole incident as the balloon traversed the country or a news report that cites two current senior U.S. officials and one former senior administration official?
Go with your gut on this one.
