‘AN UNACCEPTABLE MISTAKE’: Media reports quoting anonymous U.S. officials suggesting the Chinese spy balloon that traversed the United States from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4 was able to collect more intelligence than the Pentagon admits has irked Republican lawmakers, who are demanding more answers from the Biden administration.
“We have consistently learned more from press reports about the Chinese surveillance balloon than we have from administration officials,” fumed Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee. “These revelations clearly demonstrate that the administration made an unacceptable mistake.”
According to NBC News, China controlled the balloon so it could make “multiple passes” over some sensitive military sites, “at times flying figure-eight formations,” while beaming “electronic signals,” including “communications from base personnel,” back to Beijing in real time. CNN reported that the U.S. has not been able to rule out the possibility that the Chinese could wipe the balloon’s data remotely, which would limit the extent the U.S. could assess the intelligence damage.
In a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Wicker asked a number of pointed questions and requested that the answers be provided in an unclassified format so they can be shared with the American public. “I intend to hold this administration accountable,” Wicker said.
CHINESE SPY BALLOON WAS ABLE TO GET INTELLIGENCE ON US MILITARY SITES: REPORT
‘LITTLE ADDITIVE VALUE’: At the Pentagon, deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh insisted that the undisclosed “precautionary steps” taken to limit Chinese intelligence collection were largely successful.
“Because of the steps that we were able to take, we were able to prevent transmission of - of certain aspects of our sites to be transmitted,” Singh told reporters at an afternoon briefing. “But in terms of transmission back to the PRC and what was able to be transmitted back, I just don't have further information for you at this time.”
“As of right now, we're still doing an assessment of what exactly the intel was that China was able to gather,” Singh said. “But we do know that the steps that we took provided little additive value for what they've been able to collect on from satellites before.”
In a conference call with reporters, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said he could not confirm reports that the balloon intercepted communications from sensitive military sites, nor would he say if the balloon flew in figure-eight patterns over U.S. bases.
“I'm not going to get into confirming all its movements one way or the other, but it absolutely had self-maneuvering capability from remote operators,” he said. “I mean, we said at the time, that this thing had a propeller, it had a rudder, it had the ability to speed up and slow down and turn. It had maneuverability. And we were very honest about that from the very beginning.”
“It's entirely likely that we will not be able to, for understandable reasons, share with you or with the public much of the detail of what we learn,” Kirby added. “But I don't want to get ahead of where we are in that process. That analysis is still ongoing.”
PENTAGON DOWNPLAYS INTELLIGENCE GATHERED BY CHINESE SPY BALLOON SURVEILLANCE
BALLOON WASN’T TAKING IN ‘MONTANA’S WONDERFUL SCENERY’: The balloon loitered over Malmstrom Air Force Base and Montana’s ICBM fields, according to Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), who accused the Biden administration of misleading Congress about the severity of the Chinese spy mission.
“The administration’s explanation that the balloon had ‘limited additive value’ is little comfort to Montanans and the American people and weak spin on an issue the administration mishandled from start to finish,” Daines said in a press release. “This is just the latest national security embarrassment from an administration that continues to project nothing but weakness on the world stage. Unfortunately, when it comes to national security, it has real-world consequences.”
“The Chinese Communist Party didn’t send a spy balloon over one of our nation’s nuclear missile bases to give folks a view of Montana’s wonderful scenery,” Daines said. “The NBC News story confirms what Americans knew all along: the Chinese Communist Party was spying and gathering intelligence to use against us.”
CONGRESS INQUIRES ABOUT CHINESE SPYING RISKS FROM CARGO CRANES: REPORT
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/media-revelations-on-chinese-spy-balloon-spark-gop-outrage-in-congress
No comments:
Post a Comment