Is Biden looking out for the American population or is the country headed for an escalating crisis with China?
“SHOOT THE BALLOON DOWN” Trump wrote in his usual shouting capitals on Friday on his new social media platform Truth Social. By that time, days before, Joe Biden had already given orders to the US Air Force to shoot down the balloon when there was no danger of destruction or loss of life.
“By ordering the spy balloon shot down, Biden appeared strong—the opposite of weak and indecisive. To the individual American, it is important to have a sense of living in a country where the president has his or her safety at heart.
It sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, but it is apparently not uncommon for both the US and China to spy in each other’s airspace with giant balloons – they have been doing that since the Cold War. As a side note, another spy balloon is hovering over South America right now.
The spy balloon is the size of three school buses and can be seen with the naked eye. People in the United States are following the development and the news are updating us on the latest developments live with input from various professionals. China is furious. Maybe they thought they could talk their way out of having their balloon shot down and keep their military secrets. But when that didn’t work out, the rhetoric became frighteningly hostile.
On Fox News they talk about a declaration of war and a threat from China, on CNN the tone is turned down a few decimals. However, all news media have cleared the surface in trying to understand what is unfolding before our eyes. It is not often that the population is united on the same topic.
In many ways, the shooting is a gift to the Democratic President of the United States, Joe Biden. The Democrats are usually accused by Republicans for not prioritizing the defense of the United States, for being too “weak” to use one of Donald Trump’s preferred words. Contrary to this sentiment, Biden showed an ability to analyze the situation from various angels before making a decision, that he can keep the cards close to his chest, and with a calm hand on the stearin wheel look protect the Americans – in contrast to Trump, who as usual screams his impulses into the airwaves without consideration for human life or the country’s security.
By ordering the spy balloon shot down, Biden appeared strong—the opposite of weak and indecisive. To the individual American, it is important to have a sense of living in a country where their president has his or her safety at heart.
This crisis highlights two competing ideologies. The American identity rests on an idea that they stand for democratic values and the freedom of the individual, that they enjoy international security and capitalist freedom due to a strong military and an economy based on a free market – they see themselves in direct opposition to anti-democratic, Communist China, which repeatedly violates human rights.
This is a fast-moving story. Right now, the navy and the coast guard are collecting wreckage from the sea. Afterwards, the parts will be shipped to an FBI lab so that they can learn as much as possible about the Chinese’s spy skills and equipment.
The American population is worried. China has a huge population from which they can draw from when sending their men and women to war, they have huge amounts of military equipment, and they have imperialist dreams – just look at their incursions into Africa, the fake islands they are building, and their position on Taiwan. Maybe this play into their provocative behavior towards America. Maybe they ‘just’ made a massive mistake. Or perhaps, the balloon’s presence above a strategically important military base was carefully timed to coincide with Antony Blinken´s scheduled trip to China.
The United States had no other choice than to shoot down the spy balloon – to send a signal domestically to the American population and internationally to – China and others who might want to enter American airspace without permission.
The idea of an escalated crisis between the US and China is nerve wracking. Personally, I hope the whole ordeal will turn out to just be hot air…
Spionballon er en gave til Biden
Passer Biden på amerikanerne eller er landet på vej ud i en eskalerende krise med Kina?
Danish-American Eyes on Society 