Biden To Address Chinese Spy Balloon and Three Other Shot-Down Objects
Under mounting political pressure from both sides of the aisle, President Joe Biden is mulling giving a speech in the forthcoming days to address the recent Chinese spy balloon and the three other shot-down objects, two senior administration officials confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday.[0]
The precise time of Biden's speech has not been determined.[1] On Thursday, the president is expected to undergo a physical examination that may take several hours.[1]
White House officials have been privately discussing whether he should deliver an address about the military shooting down a Chinese spy balloon and three other objects that have still not been identified.[1] On the weekend, three unidentified objects were shot down over US and Canadian territory, following the destruction of a Chinese surveillance balloon earlier this month. As a result, a briefing has been issued.[2]
Growing pressure has been placed upon Biden to voice his opinion.[3] At a daily briefing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had to make a definitive announcement due to the lack of information available; the objects that crashed were not of extraterrestrial origin. Thus, conspiracy theories have been forming.[4]
Lawmakers who have been given private information about the aerial objects have expressed the desire to receive a direct response from Biden concerning the danger that the U.S. may be facing.[3]
According to Dennis DeConcini, a Democrat from Arizona who served with Biden in the Senate, if Biden were to say “I'm going to share everything I can as soon as I can,” it would put people more at ease that he is “on top of it.” DeConcini stated that in today's world, one can't just “put this kind of stuff off.”[1]
John Bolton, a national security adviser in the Trump administration, also said in an interview that when Biden does speak, “he needs to say not just the truth, but the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”[1]
Biden will be delivering a speech in which he is anticipated to explain the criteria the U.S will use to determine if it should take out unidentified objects in the sky or permit them to proceed since they are harmless and don't pose a hazard to civilian planes.[5] He will also explain how he has tasked his administration with setting parameters about how to deal with aerial balloons and other objects spotted in the future.[1]
Meanwhile, federal officials have said the initial Chinese surveillance balloon downed off the coast of South Carolina was capable of conducting signals intelligence collection operations and had a payload around the size of three buses.[6]
0. “Under pressure, Biden considering speech on Chinese spy balloon, other objects shot down” WBAL Radio, 15 Feb. 2023, https://www.wbal.com/article/604433/111/under-pressure-biden-considering-speech-on-chinese-spy-balloon-other-objects-shot-down
1. “Biden plans to deliver his most extensive remarks yet about the aerial objects the military shot down” Yahoo! Voices, 16 Feb. 2023, https://www.yahoo.com/now/biden-plans-deliver-most-extensive-052532547.html
2. “John Bolton to be briefed on spy balloons this week” NBC News, 13 Feb. 2023, https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meetthepressblog/john-bolton-briefed-spy-balloons-week-rcna70489
3. “Biden could deliver remarks this week addressing downed objects, sources say” CNN, 15 Feb. 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/15/politics/president-speech-downed-objects/index.html
4. “Biden planning to deliver most extensive remarks yet on aerial objects military shot down” CNBC, 16 Feb. 2023, https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/16/biden-planning-to-deliver-most-extensive-remarks-yet-on-aerial-objects-military-shot-down.html
5. “Biden expected to address Chinese balloon, unidentified objects Thursday” The Week, 16 Feb. 2023, https://theweek.com/joe-biden/1021046/biden-expected-to-publicly-address-chinese-spy-balloon-unidentified-objects-on
6. “President Biden has sought broad assessment of China's intelligence capabilities: White House” ThePrint, 14 Feb. 2023, https://theprint.in/world/president-biden-has-sought-broad-assessment-of-chinas-intelligence-capabilities-white-house/1370000/
