Biden Admin Concealed Chinese Spy Balloon Incident
OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
3:20 PM – Tuesday, December 26, 2023
Reports reveal that the Biden Administration had initially planned to keep China’s surveillance balloon hidden from the public and Congress. However, their plan was foiled when civilians in Montana spotted the massive white blimp.
In a phone call between President Joe Biden’s top military adviser General Mark Milley and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Chief General Glen VanHerck, it was revealed that the Biden Administration had initially planned to keep the presence of China’s spy balloon a secret.
A former senior authority claimed that the administration had surveilled the Chinese surveillance balloon in an attempt to conceal the situation.
“Before it was spotted publicly, there was the intention to study it and let it pass over and not ever tell anyone about it,” the former senior U.S. official told the press.
The Chinese spy balloon entered U.S. airspace on January 28th and was later shot down on February 4th after floating over several nuclear missile sites.
However, a senior Biden administration official denied claims that the incident was meant to be concealed, stating that quick decisions were made to protect critical intelligence capabilities.
“To the extent any of this was kept quiet at all, that was in large part to protect intel equities related to finding and tracking them,” the official told the press. “There was no intention to keep this from Congress at any point.”
Milley informed VanHerck during the phone call that the Pentagon had planned to send F-22 jets and additional aircraft to measure the size and characteristics of the balloon.
U.S. military jets used targeting pods to identify the object as “a balloon the size of three school buses that had a large surveillance payload but no offensive capabilities.”
However, VanHerck stated that the Chinese balloon program is still active and that the U.S. lacks the capability to locate or track their efforts.
“It exposed significant gaps, long-range gaps, for us to be able to see potential threats to the homeland,” VanHerck said. “I think that opened the eyes of a lot of people.”
VanHerck added that the U.S. is not adequately prepared in terms of deterrence options.
“Time is the opportunity to create deterrence options or, if required, defeat options,” he said.
Officials emphasized that the reputational damage caused by the spy balloon posed a greater threat to China and U.S. relations than its actual entry into U.S. airspace.
According to a senior administration official, “it caused so many problems.”
The balloon was shot down over open water off the coast of South Carolina.
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How did civilians in Montana discover the massive white blimp and disrupt the administration’s plan?
Reports have emerged revealing that the Biden Administration had initially planned to keep China’s surveillance balloon hidden from the public and Congress. However, their plan was foiled when civilians in Montana spotted the massive white blimp.
In a phone call between President Joe Biden’s top military adviser General Mark Milley and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Chief General Glen VanHerck, it was revealed that the Biden Administration had initially planned to keep the presence of China’s spy balloon a secret.
A former senior authority claimed that the administration had surveilled the Chinese surveillance balloon in an attempt to conceal the situation. “Before it was spotted publicly, there was the intention to study it and let it pass over and not ever tell anyone about it,” the former senior U.S. official told the press.
The Chinese spy balloon entered U.S. airspace on January 28th and was later shot down on February 4th after floating over several nuclear missile sites.
However, a senior Biden administration official denied claims that the incident was meant to be concealed, stating that quick decisions were made to protect critical intelligence capabilities. “To the extent any of this was kept quiet at all, that was in large part to protect intel equities related to finding and tracking them,” the official told the press. “There was no intention to keep this from Congress at any point.”
Milley informed VanHerck during the phone call that the Pentagon had planned to send F-22 jets and additional aircraft to measure the size and characteristics of the balloon. U.S. military jets used targeting pods to identify the object as “a balloon the size of three school buses that had a large surveillance payload but no offensive capabilities.”
However, VanHerck stated that the Chinese balloon program is still active and that the U.S. lacks the capability to locate or track their efforts. “It exposed significant gaps, long-range gaps, for us to be able to see potential threats to the homeland,” VanHerck said. “I think that opened the eyes of a lot of people.”
VanHerck added that the U.S. is not adequately prepared in terms of deterrence options. “Time is the opportunity to create deterrence options or, if required, defeat options,” he said.
Officials emphasized that the reputational damage caused by the spy balloon posed a greater threat to China and U.S. relations than its actual entry into U.S. airspace. According to a senior administration official, ”it caused so many problems.”
The balloon was ultimately shot down over open water off the coast of South Carolina.
This incident highlights the need for improved surveillance and deterrence capabilities to protect national security interests. The Biden Administration must address these gaps and work towards enhancing the country’s ability to detect and counter potential threats.
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