How? By demanding they take their balloon back? We have been tracking it since it approached Alaskan air space. There is zero chance it is any kind of threat.
Looks like at 60,000 ft but concern over debris field if shot down. "Military assets had been mobilized to potentially shoot the balloon down, but Ryder said so far the decision has been made to let it float in part because “any potential debris field would be significant” and a threat to people on the ground. He repeated that at 60,000 feet, the balloon is far above civilian air traffic, and said it does not pose a military or physical threat. Thursday the Pentagon said it had moved to shield sites from the “collection of sensitive information.” If the decision is made to bring the balloon down, Tom Karako, a missile defense expert at the Center or Strategic and International Studies, said he suspects the US has a range of options to take it out “if we really want to.” “We’ve got missiles that can reach there. There’s probably other things that are non-kinetic,” he said. “[At] the very least, we could be jamming the heck out of it.”" https://breakingdefense.com/2023/02...gon-pushes-back-on-prc-weather-balloon-claim/
This whole balloon business is brilliant trolling on the part of China. They probably predicted the whole outcome before they even launched it. They probably assume if we do nothing about something so provocative, we might not do anything about them invading Taiwan. But then how do you explain to someone why it was necessary to shoot down a harmless balloon when the result was their house being destroyed and family killed by the debris? That's the sort of risk analysis going on in the White House right now.
no, is that what you would do? ask them to take it back? just letting it continue to waltz through US air space does not seem to be a good idea find a way to bring it down examine it and send any weather related data it gathered to China, since they claim it’s a weather ballon Keep the rest
what was the chance it was gonna fall on a house if we brought it down while it was still in Montana ? since we let it continue on its way, over more populated areas it becomes more problematic Maybe a body of water might do for a splash down?
The report yesterday was that they were waiting to see if it goes over an unpopulated area and then they might take action. Let's see if it flies over Tallahassee. Maybe they could take it down and take out Ron DeSantis at the same time. Then they find out it was a weather balloon collecting climate change data and the effect electric cars have had in the climate. Oh and the "spying" they are doing (the balloon does double duty,those clever Chinese) is about trying to steal the formula for American Pizza. Fortunately, they never made it to...(insert your favorite pizza), but only managed to capture the "recipe" for Papa John's and that Hawaiian garbage. They tried to steal a large pan pizza/casserole from Pizzeria Uno's in Chicago, but it was too heavy and they had to release it, or the balloon would be weighed down and grounded. Finally, it will be discovered that the Chinese were working with Congress critters from Alaska, Montana, the Dakotas (yes, there are still two Dakotas) and it was a Republican operation. Meanwhile, Fox will report that the Republicans were actually working heroically with the Chinese in a plan to stop the evil Democratic plot to install drag performers in every school story time, insist on teaching Critical Race Theory in kindergarten, and force kids to eat the "sexy M&M's." Think of how many threads on BigSoccer P&CE would be covered!
Latest is were waiting for it to drift over the Atlantic to take it down. Which begs the question - is the Air or Space Force trained for spy balloon takedowns?
Of course we were going to shoot the ********ing balloon down. Calm down everyone. The Chinese ********ed up and gave away some surveillance technology. We've retaliated enough. Remember twenty years ago when we killed one of their fighter pilots? Did we cause WW3 then? Jesus everyone go touch some grass.
Or it could've been exactly what they claimed it was: a WX balloon that went off course -- albeit a very large one. We might've just blown the solution to global warming out of the sky...
Something tells me that the Chinese aren't likely to be getting good data from that balloon regardless of what it was actually doing.
The US government needs the weather data more desperately than the Chinese do. Probably the main reason they shot it down.
We interrupt this report on why not taking down the Chinese spy balloon is bad for Biden with this breaking news on the balloon being shot down. Next on Fox, why shooting down an innocent weather balloon is bad for Biden.
So what you're saying is the technology on the Chinese WX balloon was just a collection of old pinball machine parts?
Of course I believe them. Have they ever lied to us before? And, it seems like another one of their “weather balloons” has strayed over Mexico and Costa Rica somewhere.
Think about it. What sort of intelligence-gathering technology do you think they have that works better on an unguided balloon than on a satellite or human source? I realize MTG, Vance, and the rest of the MAGA gun strokers are having a virtual conniption fit over this, but what really are you afraid of?
You really need to put your conservative conspiracy theory hat on. Covid was just a manufactured trial. The weather balloon is dropping a virus that only attacks English speakers.
congressional gop will launch an inquiry into the balloon meanwhile tucker and musk are on calls with Putin to get the real truth on this