Like national borders, some information needs to be guarded, especially military information concerning U.S. nuclear weapons.
So why is the Biden administration allowing a Chinese balloon spotted floating over Montana to stay in the air?
Montana is home to Malmstrom Air Force Base and intercontinental ballistic missile fields.
The Pentagon said Thursday the floating object is a Chinese spy balloon. China acknowledged Friday it is responsible for the balloon but claimed it is “a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes,” according to The Washington Post.
The situation has some people very worried, and rightly so.
Take Republican Sen. Steve Daines of Montana. In a letter to President Joe Biden’s defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, dated Thursday, Daines demanded answers about the Chinese balloon flying over his home state.
Daines shared the letter on Twitter, saying the Biden administration has “failed to protect our border and now has failed to protect our skies.”
I am demanding answers from the Biden administration about the spy balloon that flew over our airspace.
The administration failed to protect our border and now has failed to protect our skies. pic.twitter.com/68ZRDhgwK9
— Steve Daines (@SteveDaines) February 3, 2023
In the letter, Daines characterized the high-altitude Chinese balloon as a “concerning event” and warned that the “fact that this balloon was occupying Montana airspace creates significant concern that Malmstrom Air Force Base (AFB) and the United State’s intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) fields are the targets of this intelligence gathering mission.”
The senator requested “a full security briefing from the administration on this situation” due to the “serious nature of the event.”
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