The Republican Party on Tuesday urged the President of the United States, Joe Biden, to explain to the population about the cases of the Chinese ‘spy balloon’ and three other unidentified flying objects shot down this month.
This request came after a ‘briefing’ that took place behind closed doors, where representatives of the Pentagon and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad) provided Republican and Democratic senators with the most recent data on this matter.
“As usual, we had another confidential meeting where we didn’t learn anything we didn’t already know. So I want to stress again that President Biden owes the American people an explanation,” said Republican Tom Cotton.
The Chinese “spy balloon” was located at the end of January over US airspace and shot down over Atlantic waters on February 4, after days flying over different areas of the country, such as the state of Montana (northeast), where one of The three existing nuclear missile silo fields in the United States are located.
In the last week, three other flying objects were also shot down in US territory and Canada, the origin of which so far the US authorities have not been able to confirm.
“Americans are concerned, they have an interest and a right to know why Biden made the decisions he did,” added Cotton, for whom the president should “speak before the cameras today.” [terça-feira]”.
For the leader of the Republican minority in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, it is “deeply worrying” that Biden focuses his attention on issues outside of the current “threats” and that he has “little to say” about the various flying objects detected: We hope that this happens in the next few days”.
For his part, the leader of the Democratic majority in the upper house of the US Congress, Chuck Schumer, defended that although “there are still many doubts” on this matter, “everything possible is being done” and the US population should have done it. “a lot of confidence” in the way in which the Army and the intelligence services manage the security of the country.
“During the weekend we verified that if they see something that is a threat to the United States or to the American population, they will take the corresponding measures,” he guaranteed, also defending the option of demolishing the objects.
But on the Democratic side there are also those who advocate greater transparency.
“The American people deserve and need to know more. I am not afraid that we are under threat of attack or physical harm to our homeland. That is my sentiment. But the public needs to be reassured with more facts,” said Richard Blumenthal, a representative from Connecticut, after the briefing.
The United States admitted on Wednesday that it currently has “no evidence” that the three flying machines shot down recently by the US military are of Chinese origin or have espionage functions, according to the spokesman for the US National Security Council. House (Presidency of the United States), John Kirby.
Questions about these “objects” persist, to the point of having forced the White House, on Monday, to officially deny any “extraterrestrial” origin.
As for the Chinese balloon, shot down on February 4, the US authorities continue to insist on the version that it was a Chinese balloon equipped with surveillance equipment, which was part of a vast global spy program by China, despite Beijing’s refusals.
Source: TSF
