Biden says objects shot down over North America last week appear to not be part of China’s spy balloon operation – By Maegan Vazquez and Sam Fossum (CNN) / Feb 16, 2023
(CNN) – President Joe Biden on Thursday said that the United States has no indication that the three objects shot down in North American air space are tied to China’s spy balloon program and are likely from private entities.
“We don’t yet know exactly what these three objects were but nothing right now suggests they were related to China’s spy balloon program or that they were surveillance vehicles from any other country,” Biden said in his first formal remarks on the objects shot from the sky last weekend over Canada and the US. “The intelligence community’s current assessment is that these three objects were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions studying weather or conducting other scientific research.”
Biden’s White House speech to address the matter four days after the last known object was shot down comes after the president faced increasing pressure in Washington to be more transparent about the situation and his decision making as commander-in-chief.
Biden emphasized that there hasn’t been evidence to suggest “a sudden increase in the number of objects in the sky.” And although the most recent three objects appear to have been benign, Biden warned, “If any object presents a threat to the safety and security of the American people, I will take it down.”
CONTINUE > https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/16/politics/president-biden-downed-objects/index.html
