Americans have always thought they were safe in this country. But the reality is far different than anyone expected.
And the Pentagon made a stunning national security announcement that changes everything.
Remember earlier this year when the Chinese decided to fly a spy balloon over the entirety of the United States homeland.
From west coast to east coast Americans watched as the balloon was allowed to hover over critical military installations without so much as a jet scrambled by the Biden administration.
Then, after completing its entire mission, Biden finally allowed the spy craft to be destroyed over the Atlantic Ocean.
But now we’re learning that American technology may have helped the Chinese in their intelligence gathering mission.
According to the Wall Street Journal, which quoted authorities involved in the preliminary inquiry into the balloon’s origin and purpose, the American-made technology assisted China in capturing images, videos, and other information.
Debris from the balloon, which was shot down in early February, apparently revealed to investigators that the Chinese device contained commercially accessible US equipment, some of which was for sale online, as well as specialized Chinese sensors and other equipment.
The new material reinforces the view of many intelligence specialists that the balloon was designed for surveillance rather than meteorological measurements, as Beijing stated.
“The officials described the Chinese balloon, with its mix of off-the-shelf and specialized equipment, as an inventive attempt by Beijing at surveillance,” the Wall Street Journal wrote.
On January 28, the balloon entered US airspace over Alaska before crossing into Canadian airspace.
The balloon reentered US airspace over Montana on January 31, and the public spotted it on February 2. On February 4, it was shot down off the coast of South Carolina.
A report published around two months later revealed that the balloon was able to gather intelligence on US military bases while in flight.
While officials claimed at the time that the balloon could be controlled and delivered data to the Chinese government in real time, the investigation’s subsequent results revealed that the device did not appear to send any data back to China.
The spy balloon episode aggravated the already fragile ties between the United States and China.
Chinese officials thought the balloon’s downing was disproportionate, while many senators thought President Joe Biden’s failure to act sooner was disastrous for national security.
Just this week, the North American Aerospace Defense Command hurried to assuage residents’ fears of another Chinese spy balloon above US country when a high-altitude balloon was detected.
While the organization determined that the balloon was not Chinese, but rather a privately owned civilian balloon registered with the Federal Aviation Administration, the anxiety was noteworthy.
Many citizens and policymakers are concerned about the prospect of spying by America’s number one adversary.
Stay tuned to Prudent Politics.
