If we take the Biden administration’s statement and the Esper-Bolton-etc. denials as true, we’re invited to conclude that Pentagon personnel knew that Chinese spy balloons were in U.S. air space during the Trump administration, but did not inform the president and key administration officials. …
In any event, there seems to be no dispute that Chinese spy balloons have entered our air space in the past and that, at some point prior to the latest episode, the Pentagon learned of this,. Therefore, it’s fair to ask why the Biden administration didn’t handle last week’s incursion better. As Bolton says:
The very fact, if it is a fact, that the Chinese tried this before, should have alerted us and should have caused us to take action before the balloon crossed into American sovereign territory.
[Again, the Biden administration floated out the it-happened-under-Trump-too narrative to a willing and allied media, which then got burned by the denials afterward. But we don’t grade on a curve, especially when it comes to national security. And if the Biden administration knew of prior penetrations, their lack of preparation for this incident is even more indicative of incompetence, or worse. — Ed]
Join the conversation as a VIP Member