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Great White North
General Says NORAD Missed Previous Chinese Spy Balloon Incursions During the Trump Administration
2023-02-07
[Breitbart] Gen. Glen VanHerck, commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and Northern Command (NORTHCOM), admitted Monday that the joint U.S.-Canada organization missed previous incursions of Chinese spy balloons, including during the Trump administration.

When asked during a press briefing whether NORTHCOM was involved in tracking previous Chinese spy balloon that flew into the U.S. airspace during the Biden and Trump administrations, VanHerck responded:
So those balloons, so every day as a NORAD commander it’s my responsibility to detect threats to North America. I will tell you that we did not detect those threats. And that’s a domain awareness gap that we have to figure out. But I don’t want to go in further detail.
He indicated that the intelligence community tracked those previous balloons after the incursions through "additional means."

"The intel community, after the fact — I believe has been briefed already — assess those threats to additional means of collection from additional means and made us aware of those balloons that were previously approaching North America or transited North America," he said.

The Biden administration had revealed last week that China had sent spy balloons into U.S. airspace during the Trump administration, implying that the most recent incursion was not a new occurrence and that the Trump administration did nothing about it. However, the fact that the U.S. military did not detect the incursions that happened under the Trump administration deflated that criticism.

VanHerck’s disclosure also raised questions as to how NORAD missed the previous incursions.
Heads need to roll for:
A) Missing three previous balloon intrusions?
B) Failing to notify Trump's Admin?
C) Making up this bullshit story

Posted by:Besoeker

#23   tracked those previous balloons after the incursions through "additional means."

People kept calling us, and we kept hanging up on them, until finally...
Posted by: KBK   2023-02-07 19:11  

#22  They can still whine about it and you know they will.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2023-02-07 15:25  

#21  ^ except its a state sovereignty issue. Same as death sentences for foreigners at the state level. There is an international convention on that which State signed but has never been implemented as a treaty by the Senate. Appeals on that have failed at SCOTUS.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2023-02-07 15:22  

#20  /\ You might not have to wait long.
Posted by: Besoeker   2023-02-07 15:21  

#19  Plans for Chinese owned corn mill near Grand Forks AFB denied.

Can't wait for Joe's DoS to weigh in.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2023-02-07 14:44  

#18  /\ Plugs and Hunter would have undoubtedly denied and signals interdiction or monitoring of a Chinese balloon. Very bad precedent for the crime family and most difficult to explain to an angry Xi


Posted by: Besoeker   2023-02-07 13:52  

#17  As an aside, the Bidet story that we interdicted the balloon systems from data transmission seems far-fetched at best, even if such a aerial transmission interdiction was possible absent any proximate airborne platform since none was evident. But more tellingly, if they were interdicting the transmissions from the balloon, why was Peking able to control its movements?
Posted by: NoMoreBS   2023-02-07 12:42  

#16  Based on our WWI experience, you can down a balloon with a biplane. I understand that these balloons were at a higher altitude.

NORAD air search radar cannot miss a target of that size unless they hired Epstein’s prison guards to sit at the console.
Posted by: Super Hose   2023-02-07 12:42  

#15  Lands at Obama's reserved for the day golf course.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2023-02-07 11:09  

#14  Ref #11: Vectored toward the coast and a lower altitude ?

Why not take it bit North and land it at Andrews AFB ?
Posted by: Besoeker   2023-02-07 10:45  

#13  OK. Now it really smells like shite.

-sets down coffee-
If you missed them, how would you know you missed them? An Urkel defense, of sorts?
Posted by: swksvolFF   2023-02-07 10:43  

#12  intelligence agencies had used “forensics” to identify the Chinese spy craft

So those were 'alleged" incursions. Little wonder the Trump folks didn't know about them.
Posted by: Bobby   2023-02-07 10:31  

#11  ^^#7
The balloon was at 100K feet earlier (too high to shoot down?) and moved down to 60K feet to be shot down. What was that all about?
Posted by: The Walking Unvaxed   2023-02-07 09:54  

#10  Doubling down on the lie. Part of the Dems playbook.
Posted by: 49 Pan   2023-02-07 09:45  

#9  /\ Merc gets it at #5 with "turd polishing."

Bottom line up front.
Posted by: Besoeker   2023-02-07 09:26  

#8  oh yeah another congressional investigation, these fools couldn't find their ass with both hands.
Posted by: Chris   2023-02-07 09:15  

#7  Another possibility none but myself has mentioned: What if the US air defense tried & failed to down the balloon in its early hours of US airspace incursion? That would be an even bigger issue. E.g. when the military high command told Biden it was impossible to shoot the balloon down early on, that could have meant they had already tried and failed to do so.
Posted by: Gromble Dribble4342   2023-02-07 08:21  

#6  From NYPost item today on this topic:

Later, VanHerck and NSC spokesman John Kirby clarified that US intelligence agencies had used “forensics” to identify the Chinese spy craft incursions only after President Biden took office in January 2021.

The claim was denied by Trump and several of his former administration officials.

The claim was denied by Trump and several of his former administration officials.

Kirby said the Biden administration would offer classified briefings to some senior Trump officials about the three balloons and how the intelligence community determined their existence so late.

Ric Grenell, the former acting national intelligence director under Trump, told The Post Monday that he wouldn’t accept any such briefing.

“They are scrambling to justify their lack of action,” Grenell told The Post. “If they believe a bureaucrat failed to notify politicals about a national security threat, then they should demand that the DOJ prosecute the individuals for treason — if the persons even exist.”

Time for a dedicated Congressional investigation into this particular issue, perhaps appointment of a special prosecutor.
Posted by: Gromble Dribble4342   2023-02-07 08:18  

#5  This is a back-down from "Trump let it happen."

As I said yesterday, they are polishing the turd as fast as they can.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2023-02-07 08:10  

#4  /\ Unless you think this Biden / Coup / DC Swamp employed General, decided on his own to go public. Then it is clear he was told by the WH and instructed to make this statement to keep his job.

Sorry, Ik volgde gewoon bevelen op (I was only following orders). Excuse me please. I am retiring soon and must get back to helping my wife clear quarters.

Posted by: Besoeker   2023-02-07 06:48  

#3  SUMMARY
Unless you think this Biden / Coup / DC Swamp employed General, decided on his own to go public. Then it is clear he was told by the WH and instructed to make this statement to keep his job.

Also, basically we have just been told.
IF the CCP floated balloons with attached Nukes / EMP's across the USA.
That NORAD currently stands less than a 50/50 chance of seeing the threat?
Posted by: NN2N1   2023-02-07 06:43  

#2  O7s and above are politicians in uniform.

*O as in officer.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2023-02-07 06:26  

#1  
"VanHerck’s disclosure also raised questions as to how NORAD missed the previous incursions."

But also "raises questions" as to why an intelligence failure, shortfall, or "Gap", would now (or at anytime) be disclosed.

Evidently Gen. VanHerck or whomever was in charge, simply failed to notify the National Command Authority of the failure.
Posted by: Besoeker   2023-02-07 06:16  

00:00