What could be called “Balloongate” came to a melodramatic end this afternoon when US Air Force fighter jets shot down the wayward Chinese weather balloon off the coast of South Carolina.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued a statement saying in part, “The balloon, which was being used by the PRC in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States, was brought down above U.S. territorial waters. On Wednesday, President Biden gave his authorization to take down the surveillance balloon as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to American lives under the balloon’s path.” Austin also thanked the Canadian government for the support that it provided as the balloon transited across the North American continent.
