 Defense &
National Security |
Defense &
National Security |
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Biden says UFOs were 'most likely' from private companies, institutions |
President Biden is not apologizing for his orders to take down the Chinese spy balloon and three other objects spotted flying over the U.S. and Canada this month. |
Biden signaled he agreed with what the National Security Council said earlier this week, stressing the UFOs the military shot down over the weekend were probably there for commercial or research reasons. "We don't yet know what these three objects were," Biden said, adding "the intelligence community's current assessment is that these three objects were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions studying weather." This position hasn't done much to ease concerns from some lawmakers, who have questioned why no company or institution has come forward to claim the mysterious flying objects. Biden on Thursday said the UFOs had to be taken out because they posed a threat to civilian aviation, regardless of whether they were benign or not. And regarding the suspected Chinese spy balloon his administration also downed earlier this month, Biden said he has no regrets ahead of an expected conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "I hope we're going to get to the bottom of this, but I make no apologies for taking down that balloon," Biden said. The revelations of a sprawling Chinese spy balloon program across five continents has stymied attempts from Biden and Xi to manage tensions from spiraling out of control. Tim Bergreen, a former staff director of the House Intelligence Committee Democrats, told The Hill "the U.S.-China relationship at the moment is bad in pretty much every possible dimension." "And that includes the military one," Bergreen added. |
Welcome to The Hill's Defense & National Security newsletter, I'm Brad Dress — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. |
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How policy will affect defense and national security now and in
the future: |
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Revelations of a global Chinese balloon spying program have upended fledgling attempts by President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to manage tensions that risk spiraling into confrontation and conflict. Lines of communication between Washington and Beijing remain in flux as the US has repeatedly scrambled fighter jets to take down unidentified flying objects over the U.S. and Canada over the past week. |
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The long-feared Russian winter counteroffensive has finally begun in the eastern part of Ukraine. Tens of thousands of new Russian conscripts are flowing into the war-torn country ahead of the war's one-year mark, with Moscow looking to overwhelm Ukrainian troops and retake huge swaths of territory lost last autumn as spring warms the region, according to experts. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg this … |
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U.S. fighter jets intercepted four Russian warplanes near Alaska on Tuesday, the second time Kremlin aircraft were in the area in two days. The Alaskan Region of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) "detected, tracked, positively identified and intercepted four Russian aircraft approaching the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ)," the command said in a Thursday statement. The Russian … |
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Upcoming things we're watching on our beat: |
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Branch out with a different read from The Hill: |
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DOJ, Commerce Department strike force to fight technology threats from adversaries |
The Justice and Commerce departments launched a strike force on Thursday to oppose the threats posed by technology from adversaries like Russia and China. The Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a release that the Disruptive Technology Strike Force will gather experts from the FBI, Homeland … |
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Events in and around the defense world: |
- The Center for Strategic and International Studies looks at the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine during an online event beginning at 10 a.m. ET.
- Georgetown University Center for Arab Studies hosts a hybrid event at 12:45 pm ET to discuss the aftermath of the deadly earthquake in Syria.
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News we've flagged from other outlets: |
- Russia's losses around Vuhledar renew questions about its ability to sustain a fresh offensive (The New York Times).
- Ukraine pounded by missiles, Russia eyes capturing Bakhmut by April (Reuters)
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Two key stories on The Hill right now: |
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Republican lawmakers are wary of their party’s propensity for self-inflicted wounds and are hoping for more discipline heading into the next … Read more |
| Walmart has announced the closure of seven locations in 2023 alone. Read more |
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