The spy balloon becomes a political balloon

BET À DAY

NORAD, the aerospace command that is supposed to protect Canada and the United States, admitted that it failed to detect at least four Chinese balloons and when it did, it first thought they were UFOs!

It was only after classifying them as “unidentified aerial phenomena” that NORAD finally discovered during the last two years that it was Chinese balloons.

This is incredibly incompetent. The balloons are about 200 feet (60 m) in diameter, and with their large solar panels, their metal basket is about the size of a regional airliner.

After giving the ordered to shoot down the balloon, the White House was quick to reveal that at least three flybys of this type of balloon had taken place during Trump's tenure and a fourth at the start of Biden's term in February 2022.

What the balloon says about Americans

For me, what is most remarkable about this balloon affair is the absolutely hysterical reaction of the Americans.

The reality is that he could not have gathered more important information than the Chinese spy satellites that criss-cross the skies of the United States day and night. The Chinese balloon mostly flew over forests, farmlands, shopping malls, Walmart and Cosco.

It shows us how Democrats and Republicans can turn a minor issue, visually amplified by the media, into a major crisis and use it for their political ends.

Unfortunately, the media has embarked on the anti -Chinese. Sensational images help ratings. The fear and contempt of China in the United States is not new. This is probably why this harmless errant balloon, weather or a spy, arouses so much anxiety.

If these balloons were on a spy mission, as Washington claims, why did they fly over Canada and Latin America, where there are no nuclear missile bases?

< strong>Biden, Xi and the ball

Biden was able to take the tactical advantage of the case against the Republicans by showing Trump's MAGA base that he can be as tough as Trump versus the Chinese.

On the Chinese side, it suggests a lack of coordination between the organs of a sprawling bureaucracy. If it was just a weather balloon, why didn't the Chinese alert the United States before it flew over their territory? The Chinese government may be less coherent and less functional than we think. It raises doubts about Xi Jinping's leadership.

Biden's aggressive posturing on the Chinese ball has kept Republicans from scoring political points on the issue, though the delay in bringing him down has given him the opportunity to reproach him for his slowness in making the decision. Normal for an old man.

The ball affair allows Biden to achieve a bipartisan consensus by using the anti-China posturing of Trump and the Republicans to his advantage. Its challenge is to preserve its ability to cooperate with Beijing in areas that involve the future of the planet, the economy and world peace to climate change.