The Vietnam War, the Ukraine War, and the Status of the American-Dominated Dialogue on the Friday, April 21st, 2005, Balloon Issue

As we said last week, we will act to protect our country if China begins to threaten it. And we did,” Biden said, referring to the moment Saturday when a US jet fired a missile that burst the balloon off the US east coast, after it had spent days wafting across the continental US and Canada.

Finally, what is the political impact of this string of incidents. Biden was criticized by Republicans for citing the possibility of injury to civilians or damage to buildings on the ground for waiting so long to shoot down the Chinese balloon earlier this month. He warned China that he would defend the sovereignty of the United States. Since then, his aides have styled his response to subsequent incidents as those of a decisive commander in chief. The White House comprehends the political peril in wait if Americans perceive he is not doing everything to defend the homeland.

Moments later, in an ad-libbed addition to his speech, Biden specifically named Xi, as he slammed autocracies and argued for the superiority of democracies.

Biden’s speech mostly concentrated on domestic issues. But his address came at a moment of geopolitical turmoil, when the United States is simultaneously confronting another nuclear rival: Russia. He hailed the Western effort to counter President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and vowed to Kyiv’s ambassador, who was in the audience: “We are going to stand with you as long as it takes.”

The campaign of Trump promised to block Chinese access to US secrets and to put restrictions on Chinese ownership of US assets. It was not immediately clear how Trump’s plans would differ from efforts already underway. Biden and Trump don’t acknowledge the deep ties between the US and China that would cause a full removal of tariffs on each side. A direct military confrontation or full-scale war would be even more ruinous to the global economy.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken was careful to say he was postponing his trip to Beijing, not scrapping it altogether. But there is no sign yet that conditions have stabilized to a point at which a trip, which had been meant to address the kind of tensions the balloon issue exacerbated, can take place any time soon.

It isn’t clear, but it appears to be large. Since last week, when the news broke that a Chinese balloon was in the airspace of the US, there have been new details about the Chinese balloon and what they were doing.

After Trump Shot Down the NSA Spy Balloon: Biden and the U.S. Senate Appropriately Replied to Pompeo

His remarks on Russia immediately proceeded those on China, making it impossible to miss the symbolic synergy between his policy toward both nations as he laid out what might be seen as a Biden doctrine of standing with democracies against autocracies and increasing attempts by nations like Russia and China to apply their power outside their borders.

President Joe Biden said in a new interview that the recently recovered Chinese spy balloon that traversed the continental US did not damage bilateral relations between the two countries.

Biden said shooting the balloon down sent a clear message that the violation of our sovereignty was unacceptable. We’ll act to protect our country and we did.”

US officials registered their objections to Chinese officials while the balloon was in flight. The balloon was shot down, they communicated with Chinese officials.

Biden administration officials have stressed that the meeting was not canceled, but instead delayed until a later date. That date has not yet been set.

Earlier this week, former President Donald Trump accused Biden of having “surrendered American airspace to Communist China.” Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Biden of causing “global shame” with his response. Three balloons flew over the United States during the Trump administration, though it seems that the officials weren’t aware of them. Even Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal emerged from a classified briefing for senators on Tuesday and said, “I have a better understanding, but the American people deserve and need to know more.”

The Biden administration has said they were able to mitigate the intelligence collection capacity of the balloon, and have countered that they will end up benefiting from the ability to collect intel during and after the balloon’s flight.

The House will vote Thursday on condemning the Chinese Communist Party’s use of a high-altitude balloon over the US as a brazen violation of American sovereignty.

Republicans have criticized Biden for waiting several days before shooting the balloon down, and Sen. Marco Rubio said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that the president waiting to tell Americans about the balloon was a “dereliction of duty.”

Why the DIA Tip to Russia wasn’t a Threat to the US, but a Challenge to the United States and the Cold War

Last year, he told Xi of the warning the US gave to China not to give military assistance to Russia.

The “tipper” sent by the DIA also goes out across government channels routinely, and although US officials have access to these reports, whether they read them or whether those reports are included in briefings to senior policymakers is a matter of discretion.

Instead of treating it as an immediate threat, the US moved to investigate the object, seeing it as an opportunity to observe and collect intelligence.

She said the spy balloon from the PRC was different because they knew what it was. These objects don’t pose a military threat, but their path in proximity to sensitive DoD sites could be a hazard to civilian aviation and thus raised concerns.

Officials familiar with the original DIA report conceded Rubio’s point that they didn’t see the balloon as an urgent threat until it was already over US territory –  even as fresh revelations have emerged about what the US knew about Chinese spy balloons.

The political blame game is heating up. The incursions of US air space were linked to Republican claims that Vice President Biden is failing to protect the southern border, and the head of the House Intelligence Committee complained about not being briefed enough. And he also adopted a novel critique of Biden given claims that the president didn’t act quickly enough before.

The North American Defense Command sent fighter jets to identify a balloon that entered the US airspace near Alaska in January according to defense officials.

Military officials said it is not surprising that the president did not get briefed until January 31, because he had expectations for the balloon.

As more information about the administration’s decision-making process on the balloon has continued to trickle out, Congress has taken a keen interest.

What do we want to know about Alaska, the United States, and why do we need to do more about it? CNN reveals the frustration of the Biden administration

A Senate Republican aide told CNN that there are still a lot of questions about Alaska. “Alaska is still part of the United States – why is that okay to transit Alaska without telling anyone, but [the continental US] is different?”

One pilot took a selfie in the cockpit that shows both the pilot and the surveillance balloon itself, these officials said – an image that has already gained legendary status in both NORAD and the Pentagon.

Turner said he prefers the US to shoot down objects over North American airspace to allow them to cross the country.

The US military shot three airborne objects over the course of three days this past weekend, at the direction of President Joe Biden. But as Americans confronted an extraordinary series of headlines about those missions, the president offered no explanation – or reassurance – to the public over the weekend.

Turner told CNN that the Biden administration appeared to be more laissez-faire than they were when the Chinese spy balloon came over some of the most sensitive sites.

I think this shows that we need to declare our intent to defend the airspace, which is probably more important to the policy discussion here. And then we need to invest,” added Turner. “This shows some of the problems and gaps that we have. We need to fill those as soon as possible because we certainly now ascertain there is a threat.”

“This is particularly annoying about this administration. He said that the Biden administration needs to stop briefings by television and come and brief Congress. There needs to be more engagement between the administration and Congress.

Do three high-altitude objects have been shot down by the U.S. military? Deputy secretary of defense and Hemispheric affairs, Bennet, and Eyre

The assistant secretary of defense for Homeland Defense and Hemispheric affairs told reporters that they were taken down out of an abundance of caution.

High- altitude objects can be used by companies, countries, and research organizations for legitimate purposes.

“The American people deserve timely answers about the objects that were shot down over Lake Huron, Alaska, and Canada this weekend,” Bennet said. “We need to understand the nature of the threat to our national security. As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I expect to be briefed on these incidents early this week.”

Canada’s chief of defense staff, Gen. Wayne Eyre, also made mention of a “balloon” when describing instructions given to the team that worked to take down the object.

Echoing other officials, Biden doubled down that there is nothing right now that suggests that the other three objects are related to China’s spy balloon program or that they were surveillance vehicles from any other country. He said the three aerial objects shot down by U.S. military were most likely tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions.

The findings have allowed the US to develop a consistent technical method for the first time, which they have used to track the balloons in near-real time across the globe, the sources said.

What the heck is NORAD going to do after the Chinese Balloon Crisis and what we can do to protect ourselves from future censorship?

As officials work to fully understand the sequence of events and objects, new speculation and criticism may be premature. CNN’s Natasha Bertrand reported on Sunday that NORAD had recently readjusted the filters it uses to sift data, which had previously concentrated on spotting fast-moving objects below a certain altitude. Early warning filters had previously been set to avoid picking up other objects, including birds and weather balloons, a source briefed on the matter said.

If the latter situation is the case, is NORAD now picking up more objects that are potentially hostile given a state of heightened alert after the Chinese balloon crisis? Do you know if there is a sudden increase in such flights or if they have been flying with impunity in the past? This is a new problem that the aviation industry ought to be concerned with, given the increased threat to civilian aircraft.

The Pentagon said that a US F-16 fighter jet shot down an object over Lake Michigan at the direction of President Joe Biden.

“Because we have not yet been able to definitively assess what these recent objects are, we have acted out of an abundance of caution to protect our security and interests,” said Melissa Dalton, assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and hemispheric affairs.

A senior administration official tells CNN that an object was 20,000 feet high over Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It was “octagonal” with strings hanging off and no discernible payload, according to the official and another source briefed on the matter.

CNN reported that Slotkin got a call from the Department of Defense saying the US military had a close eye on an object above the lake.

Legislators on Capitol Hill have questions. The news of more objects being shot down with a range of responses was met by politicians on both sides of the aisle.

Turner’s Democratic counterpart on the Intelligence panel, Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he had “real concerns about why the administration is not being more forthcoming with everything that it knows,” before adding, “My guess is that there’s just not a lot of information out there to share.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, meanwhile, said Congress needs to investigate why it took so long for the US to catch on to the Chinese government’s use of spy balloons.

One person familiar with the administration’s deliberations said that as of the weekend, US officials were simply still trying to gain an understanding of what exactly those objects are, including their country or countries of origin, and whether they pose a serious concern. A person told me that Biden’s presence in front of the cameras would expose him to a lot of risk, particularly if he had to speak before his top officials had a better idea of what happened.

With China and the US at odds with each other and Russia in a proxy war with the West, the intrigue is also unfolding.

Jon Tester said on the Sunday show that what happened in the last two weeks was nothing short of crazy.

So the events of the last few days do provoke serious national security and political questions that stretch far beyond the often narrow political battle in Washington, and that can only be assessed once more details are understood.

Are these strange objects flying over North America linked to a hostile power such as a corporate or private entity? Are they even connected to one another or are they simply the result of coincidences at a time of heightened awareness and tensions?

Biden’s reaction to the shooting of three high-altitude objects over Alaska and the results of an investigation into their possible collusion with the public

“I think one thing that this shows is certainly the fallacy of the argument of the Biden administration saying that the height of the Chinese balloon caused them to have no concern because certainly, as we know, whatever goes up can come down.”

As of Sunday night, there was no indication from the White House that Biden planned to address the nation about the developments – silence that has begun to worry even allies of the president, according to multiple sources.

“They are getting lots of positives that they did not get before. Kayyem is a former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security.

“What we can’t answer now is, is this bigger aperture picking up lots of stuff that has essentially been forgiven, around in the skies, because it didn’t pose a threat, or is it part of something organized for whatever surveillance?”

Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana appeared to make a direct link Sunday on “CNN Newsroom” between the Chinese balloon and the latest objects, even if there is no confirmation so far that they are connected.

He said that it didn’t give him a lot of safe feelings knowing that the devices are smaller. I am worried about the data being collected. … I need some answers, and the American people need answers.”

One lawmaker who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee told CNN on Monday morning that they had not received any communication from the administration over the weekend about the objects and that they did not expect to get much information until the fallen debris was recovered and assessed.

But the lawmaker said they believe that Biden needs to address the public with what he does know so far about the downed objects – even if that isn’t much.

“Ambiguity is fuel for conspiracy theorists, and I hope information is shared expeditiously,” the lawmaker said. “Something truthful is more important than something reassuring. Trust in government requires communication from government.”

Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee and he is looking forward to hearing more about the situation.

The last time Biden directly addressed any of the recently shot down objects was on Friday, when he answered a question from CNN about the operation to shoot down a high-altitude object over Alaska, saying, “It was a success.”

And officials had been wary of having the president speak publicly about the objects until more information was gathered about the three unidentified objects that were downed last weekend.

The president’s public schedule on Monday is empty and he was expected to receive regular updates on what officials are learning about the objects as they analyze debris collected after the shoot-down

CNN Views of the Sputnik-1 Attack on Washington, D.C. Eisenhower, and the Other Sixteen Years of Freedom in the United States

A professor at Princeton University, Zelizer is a CNN political analyst. He is the author and editor of 25 books, including the New York Times Best-seller “Myth America: Historians Take on the Biggest lies and legends about our Past”. Follow him on Twitter @julianzelizer. The views expressed in this commentary are not those of his employer. View more opinion on CNN.

Administration officials used cryptic descriptions to describe the three objects, with one said to be an octagonal object with strings hanging off it, sparking more confusion and questions of extraterrestrial activity (which the White House press secretary ruled out on Monday).

There hasn’t been a big increase in the number of objects in the sky. There have been three objects recently, but Biden warned, “If any object presents a threat to the safety and security of the American people, I will take it down.”

None of this is to say there aren’t also terrible reasons for secrecy in national security. For a reason, transparency is important in our democracy, and there is a long history of American presidents withholding information or doing wrong things, as was the case with President Richard Nixon who authorized secret bombing of Cambodia in 1969. In 1976, Democratic Sen. Frank Church campaigned to expose the way American presidents had relied on illegal domestic surveillance, attempted assassinations and helped overthrow foreign governments in their efforts to advance the US’ national interest.

Sometimes presidents want to avoid fueling hysteria. The Sputnik-1 satellite was launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957. Eisenhower worked diligently to contain fears as public alarm mounted over the launch. Speaking to the press days later, Eisenhower downplayed any concerns by saying there was “no additional threat to the United States … they have put one small ball in the air.”

Eisenhower underestimated the emotional impact Sputnik would have on the public, however, and Democrats weaponized the moment, comparing it to Pearl Harbor and claiming the Republican administration was not doing enough in the Cold War.

But Eisenhower’s response reflected his general disposition when it came to foreign policy and national security, as Evan Thomas documented in his book, “Ike’s Bluff.” He sought to do everything possible to avoid escalating the possibility of nuclear conflict.

Even as congressional Democrats ramped up their rhetoric about an alleged “missile gap” attributed to administration policies, Eisenhower held the line on military spending, focusing instead on investment in research and secret U-2 reconnaissance flights.

Presidents have also held back information for strategic reasons. It was certainly true in October 1962, when the images of Soviet missile sites being built in Cuba were initially concealed by the President. This allowed the US ambassador to the UN to publicly confront the Soviet ambassador and dramatically reveal concrete evidence of what the Soviets had undertaken. The moment was important, giving the US the upper hand in persuading other countries that the Soviets were to blame for the dangerous standoff.

And then there are instances when presidents are trying to refrain from acting or making public statements in haste — to avoid unnecessary military provocations, figure out the best military path to take and be able to adjust their stance as a situation unfolds. While we valorize firm and decisive decision-making, sometimes being an effective president means being willing to learn and change as new facts and opportunities emerge.

This was certainly true with President Ronald Reagan, who after 1985 displayed considerable flexibility and caution as negotiations with the Soviet Union eventually culminated in 1987 with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). It was not always easy to move through many ups and downs over a two-year period, as he needed to prevent the right wing from subverting progress. Indeed, Reagan had to withstand fierce criticism from conservatives who accused him of falling for a trap set by old Kremlin hard-liners and practicing the sort of appeasement he built his career opposing.

The Interagency Review of Unidentified High-Altitude Objects: Sensitive Response to U.S. Airborne Aerial Collisions

Jake Sullivan, the president’s national security adviser, will lead the government-wide effort for how to address future encounters with high-altitude objects.

Administration officials from the Pentagon, State Department and intelligence community have briefed lawmakers on Capitol Hill on the initial Chinese spy balloon in recent days.

The president said that on Friday, the U.S. put restrictions on six firms that directly support the Chinese army and aerospace program, denying them access to U.S. technology.

“Our intelligence community is still assessing all three incidences. They’re reporting to me daily, and I’ll be able to communicate that to the Congress.

In a recent interview with All Things Considered, Susan Collins said that she did not find the Biden administration’s classified briefings very informative.

The National Security Council said it expects to have new guidance in the coming days on how the U.S. government should treat unidentified aerial objects going forward, spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday.

The FAA and intelligence agencies have reviewed video from the fighter pilots that flew over the objects before they were shot down because of the high speed of the jets and their relatively small size, Kirby said.

Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan is conducting the interagency review and is likely to have “a set of parameters” for making decisions about how to handle the kinds of objects shot down by U.S. fighter jets in the past several days, Kirby said.