With a few details confirmed by the White House, the downing of three people unidentified aerial objects in recent days from US warplanes has sparked wild speculation about what they were and where they came from. It even led to the presidential press secretary saying on Monday that there were no indications of “extraterrestrial activity.”
US President Joe Biden did not have a public event on Monday and offered little explanation about it, after the discovery of a Chinese balloon – allegedly a spy one – that flew across the country and the record kills in times of peace that occurred.
US officials said yes little information on the three objectswhich were shot down first Friday off the coast of Alaska, then Saturday over Canada and finally Sunday over Lake Huron in the state of Michigan.
But those shootdowns were part of a stronger response to aerial phenomena following the balloon crash attributed to a Beijing spy program.
crazy theories
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made a forceful statement to try to appease the untested theories: “I know there have been questions and concerns about this, but There is, I repeat, there is no indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity.”.
The US government insists that none of the three objects posed a threat to the country’s security and that even the huge spy balloon provided limited additional capabilities to other Chinese surveillance programs. However, they were shot down as a precautionsaid John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council.
Biden’s unprecedented decision to shoot down four objects flying over North America over the course of eight days, coupled with efforts by US officials to publicly downplay the foreign threat, fueled dissonant messages about actions to protect Americans.
US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged the confusion, saying the administration wants to keep the American public from worrying unnecessarily while also trying to maintain a strong position vis-à-vis China.
Kirby said that while the US has no particular reason to suspect the aerial objects were spying, “we can’t rule it out.” She added that the newer objects, flying at an altitude of between 6,000 and 12,000 meters, could have posed a remote risk to civilian aircraft.
Some officials see the legal justification for the shootdowns that the objects could endanger civilian flights as a shot so long as to raise questions as to whether it was merely a pretext for tough action.
Firm hand with China
Biden wants to be tough on China, and this is a good example that actions speak louder than words, said Brian Ott, co-author of the book. The Presidency of Twitter: Donald J. Trump and the Politics of White Rage.
“If we get into a presidential debate between the two of them next year, Trump will try to portray Biden as weak on national security, and Biden can turn to Trump and say: How many of those Chinese balloons and unidentified objects did you shoot down? ???,” said the pundit, referring to the 2024 presidential election.
Ott, a communications professor at Missouri State University, noted that Biden’s relative silence on the shooting down of the Chinese balloon and other objects may be directed, at least in part, at his possible candidacy for re-election in 2024.
Republicans criticized Biden in the days following the detection of the Chinese balloon in US airspace for being slow to act.
When asked if the decision to tear down the objects came in response to that criticism, Kirby insisted that these were decisions based solely and simply in the best interests of the American people.
Congress demands answers
With little new information, senators from both sides demanded answers when they returned to Washington on Monday.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Senators would receive a confidential briefing on Tuesday and that Congress would work in the coming weeks to get the full story on what happened.
Senator Dick Durbin, the second Democrat behind Schumer, stressed that Biden owes the country some answers.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell noted that Biden needs to communicate and be honest with the American people. He questioned what the government knew about Chinese espionage before the first balloon flew across the country.
After the balloon was shot down, the White House revealed that such balloons they had crossed into US territory at least three times during the Trump administration, unbeknownst to the former president or his advisers, and that others have flown over dozens of nations on other continents. Kirby stressed on Monday that they have only been taken over by the Biden administration.
Jim Ludes, a former national defense analyst who currently heads the Pell Center for International Affairs and Public Policy at Salve Regina University, said political simulation is inevitable.
“It doesn’t matter what the government says. People will play politics with it and try to score points,” he said, always saying he acted too slowly or too hastily.
There are good reasons for the Biden administration to be cautious, Ludes added, noting that the melee over aerial devices comes amid rising tensions between China and Taiwan. A wrong statement by Biden could destabilize an already tense situation.
“The next time we fly a B-52 across the strait, what will China do?” Ludes asked. There are opportunities for this to get very complex very quickly.
On Monday, Kirby tried to establish a distinction between the latest objects and the confirmed spy balloonemphasizing their much smaller size, their lack of maneuverability, and the absence of any indication that they had communications links before being shot down.
They were only detected, he said, because the United States had adjusted the sensitivity of air defense radars to detect high-flying, slow-moving objects, such as the spy balloon.
Officials have not yet recovered any part of the three unidentified objects, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, citing dangerous terrain, water and the time they were shot down as the cause.
US officials They couldn’t even specify whether they were balloons or some other type of aircraftand so far they have refused to share images taken before it was shot down.
What is clear is that this is not about extraterrestrial activity. Kirby echoed Jean-Pierre’s point on this: I don’t think the American people need to worry about aliens as far as these objects are concerned.
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.