Why Joe Biden, USA Waited to Take Down China Spy Balloon

The China spy balloon stayed over the continental USA for several days before President Joe Biden decided to shoot it down. The hesitation to shoot it down on its first reporting earned criticisms from the former Defense secretary and CIA director in the Barack Obama administration.

Leon Panetta told CNN's Jim Acosta that he believed the USA should have taken steps to prevent the balloon from entering its territory if it was a China spy balloon.

Panetta added that he is not sure that the United States should have allowed the China spy balloon to simply cross over the country above what were "obviously sensitive military sites."

Biden was in an infrastructure event and a fundraiser event on Tuesday when Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs Staff, informed the president that a China spy balloon was floating over Montana.

Some administration officials believed the timing was intentional, as it was floating over the U.S. the same week that Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due to leave for China for a supposed diplomatic discussion about USA-China relations.

China Spy Balloon Shot Down

Upon receiving information about the surveillance balloon, Joe Biden seemed to be inclined to take the China spy balloon down while asking Mark Milley and other military officials to offer contingencies.

Biden explained his delay in shooting down the surveillance craft, saying that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Milley told him to wait until they have "the safest place to do it."

The president also requested that the military should shoot it down in a way that would allow them to recover its payload. Officials said shooting it down over water also increased their chances of recovering its contents.

The Defense Department confirmed that its fighter jets shot down the balloon over U.S. territorial waters on Saturday. According to BBC News, the department officials said that the debris landed near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

The president then confirmed that fighter jets successfully took it down. However, Panetta noted that he understood there were debris risks but insisted that the U.S. government should have acted earlier if suspicions were valid.

China Spy Balloon Update

A congressional source noted that the Gang of Eight will receive a briefing as early as Tuesday regarding the China spy balloon, CNN reported.

The Gang of Eight is a bipartisan group of eight leaders in the House and Senate who receive information about classified intelligence matters in the United States.

House Republicans are eyeing to vote this week on a resolution condemning the Biden administration for its response to the surveillance balloon, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Biden administration's decision to shoot down the China spy balloon was "too late" and allowed China to "make a mockery" of the U.S. airspace.

Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz lauded Biden for "having the guts" to shoot down the suspected surveillance balloon. However, the decision to wait days showed "weakness."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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