Have to say, some of the memes are pretty darn funny.
Just found this thread - the meme's are the BEST of any thread I ever read on this forum!
I don’t think there is anything at all humorous about an enemy conducting recon / surveillance over our territory. There is only one reason to conduct this kind of operation, and it has nothing to do with checking on the weather!
That's the stupidest thing about this whole thing - I haven't heard any suggestions that there is ANYTHING a balloon-based surveillance can accomplish that could not have been gathered better, quicker, and with greater precision by a satellite. Of which China has plenty.
When was the last time the US used balloons for surveillance?
WWI ??!?
en.wikipedia.org
I still think this was a stunt and any actual intelligence gathered from the balloon itself is secondary. The odd thing is the timing. This just screwed up a long-planned summit with Blinken.
For China to risk an operation like this -- considering the already heightened tensions between our two countries -- suggests to me that "hostilities" of some sort are for more imminent than most of the US would like to believe.
I recall recently reading a few articles on China, and how different cliques within CCP are jousting for power by claiming the mantle of being most "hawkish" or "Chinese nationalist" in front of Xi.
With Blinken's trip announced well in advance, sending a stupid balloon over US mainland to scupper the meeting might have crossed the mind of some Chinese hawks ...
Somehow I doubt it was Xi's idea.
There are simpler methods of cancelling a meeting.
Was Beijing trying to sabotage talks with the US, monitor the speed of its military response, or just test Joe Biden’s mettle?
www.theguardian.com
