The administration won't shoot it down, for "fear of civilian casualties."

Fear of civilian casualties by shooting down a spy balloon, over Montana, one of the most desolate states in the country.

So what are we gonna do? Nothing but let it fly and collect intelligence.

"Yeah, but, but......Trump!" Right guys?

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"Its easier to fool people than to convince them they have been fooled" - Mark Twain

Nothing new, , , , , , ,


Time

Why the U.S. Decided Not to Shoot Down the Chinese Spy Balloon Over Montana

W.J. Hennigan
Thu, February 2, 2023 at 6:27 PM EST

A high altitude balloon floats over Billings, Mont., on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. The U.S. is tracking a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that has been spotted over U.S. airspace for a couple days, but the Pentagon decided not to shoot it down. Credit - Larry Mayer - The Billings Gazette/AP

The U.S. military has identified a suspected Chinese spy balloon flying high above the northern part of the continental United States in recent days, which prompted President Joe Biden to ask for military options against it, according to senior defense officials.

"The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now," Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Pat Ryder said in a statement. "The balloon is currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground."

Biden was briefed on the matter Wednesday when he asked Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to develop options against the large slow-moving balloon, according to a senior U.S. official, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The Pentagon had considered scrambling fighter jets to shoot it down as it traveled over Montana but determined not to do so out of fears such an act create a debris field and endanger Americans on the ground, the official said.

U.S. military worked with the civil aviation authorities to put a halt on flights coming in and out of the city of Billings in southern Montana, the official said, and even mobilized F-22 stealth fighter jets, which are the Air Force's premier air-to-air combat aircraft.

"We put some things on station in the event that a decision was made to bring this down while it was over Montana," the official said. "We wanted to make sure...to empty out the airspace around that potential area. But even with those protective measures taken - and it was the judgment of our military commanders - that didn't drive the risk down low enough, so we didn't take the shot."

The official wouldn't say how big the balloon was or high it was flying but simply said that it "is significantly above where civilian air traffic is active," which is why it's not believed to pose a threat to civilian aviation.

The Biden Administration has determined that the balloon doesn't give China any additional surveillance capabilities beyond what it already can collect through spy satellites currently orbiting the Earth, the official said.

When the balloon was detected by U.S. intelligence, the official said the military acted swiftly to guard against the Chinese collecting sensitive information. "The current flight path does carry it over a number of sensitive sites," the official told reporters. "Out of an abundance of caution, we have taken additional mitigation steps." The official wouldn't detail what those actions were.

Montana is one of five states that host the U.S. military's land-based, nuclear-tipped Minuteman III missile fields.

In recent years, "a handful" of surveillance balloons have been spotted, but this one "is appearing to hang out for a longer period of time," the official said.

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Dora Hates You

They have satellites that can see the head of a pin from space.

Wait awhile and shoot it down over the water. It's not like the thing has the capability to vanish.

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I was right.

of all the things to get triggered over lol

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Zzzzzzz.. Zzzzzzz.. Braaaaaapp!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Must be from the Amish branch of China's spy department...

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Specializing in sarcasm and condescending rhetoric since 1971.

another brilliant solution (which is not gonna happen) from commander coaltroll oops.... before all the other trolls get their collective pannys in a bunch, I was Twrongz

Edited: 02/04/2023 at 03:57 PM by StirfryMcflurry

Joe China was the one who authorized the balloon.

He told the pentagon it was his pal's balloon and not to shoot it down.



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The REAL truth is....both of the forum idiots are OWNED.
-BOTH of them have no clue who their owner is.
-They are both card carrying narcissists.
^These are PROVED facts.

Chinese collusion at it's finest---with all the evidence of collusion the biden crime family has shown, when will it be brought out to the final end of prison for the traitors!

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Romans 8;18-32 John 3;16-18

y'all are triggered over anything

it is getting funnier
each time.
their panties bunch up
a little bit more
over a little bit less.

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"The truth is incontrovertible.
malice may attack it,
ignorance may deride it,
but in the end,
there it is." -Sir Winston Churchill

Joe China......

-------------------------
The REAL truth is....both of the forum idiots are OWNED.
-BOTH of them have no clue who their owner is.
-They are both card carrying narcissists.
^These are PROVED facts.

ya'll do understand the intelligence value of watching the spies watch us right?

-------------------------
"The truth is incontrovertible.
malice may attack it,
ignorance may deride it,
but in the end,
there it is." -Sir Winston Churchill

You do realize to take that thing down and analyze it has far greater value than watching it....right?!?!

Fool.



-------------------------
The REAL truth is....both of the forum idiots are OWNED.
-BOTH of them have no clue who their owner is.
-They are both card carrying narcissists.
^These are PROVED facts.

wrong.

I know far more about this stuff than you do.

-------------------------
"The truth is incontrovertible.
malice may attack it,
ignorance may deride it,
but in the end,
there it is." -Sir Winston Churchill

No you don't.

Fool.

-------------------------
The REAL truth is....both of the forum idiots are OWNED.
-BOTH of them have no clue who their owner is.
-They are both card carrying narcissists.
^These are PROVED facts.

Fish, please be sure to know that the GEEK worked behind the Black Curtains.



-------------------------
Dora Hates You

Yeah...I don't give a fuck what you THINK he did.

As for what is hanging underneath that balloon...I state VERY CLEARLY...he doesn't know ANYTHING more about it than I do.

It's not 'black curtain' material....as the Chinese would NEVER put anything like that on a turtle crawling slow moving balloon KNOWING we will have access to it any time we want.

Anyone thinking any different OR trying to claim any different is a moron of the same quality as the screwed in the head...wave geek.

You can take your ego AND his...and flush that CRAP right down the toilet.

Quit being a fool...I was just starting to think you had 1/2 a brain.



-------------------------
The REAL truth is....both of the forum idiots are OWNED.
-BOTH of them have no clue who their owner is.
-They are both card carrying narcissists.
^These are PROVED facts.

Edited: 02/03/2023 at 07:17 PM by Fish Killer

Try as you may to scream your way out of it, Gary- but WG's knowledge SHITS all over yours.

so just waddle off, shut the fuck up and

Hang Pussy, Lomtard



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Zzzzzzz.. Zzzzzzz.. Braaaaaapp!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Edited: 02/03/2023 at 08:41 PM by fishkller

Yeah...I don't give a fuck what you THINK he did.

As for what is hanging underneath that balloon...I state VERY CLEARLY...he doesn't know ANYTHING more about it than I do.

It's not 'black curtain' material....as the Chinese would NEVER put anything like that on a turtle crawling slow moving balloon KNOWING we will have access to it any time we want.

Anyone thinking any different OR trying to claim any different is a moron of the same quality as the screwed in the head...wave geek.

You can take your ego AND his...and flush that CRAP right down the toilet.

Quit being a fool...I was just starting to think you had 1/2 a brain.



-------------------------
The REAL truth is....both of the forum idiots are OWNED.
-BOTH of them have no clue who their owner is.
-They are both card carrying narcissists.
^These are PROVED facts.

Not "black curtain" Right, so not much value to be gained by shooting it down right away, plenty good data to be gained about what they are trying to do by by watching it, listening to the telemetry, recording it.


-------------------------
"The truth is incontrovertible.
malice may attack it,
ignorance may deride it,
but in the end,
there it is." -Sir Winston Churchill