The Pentagon offered the usual government vague press conference when confronted with important questions.
Defense Department spokesman Brig. General Pat Ryder confirmed the Chinese lied when they said the balloon was a weather balloon:
“So first of all, we are aware of the PRC statement. However, the fact is we know that it’s a surveillance balloon. And I’m not going to be able to be more specific than that. We do know that the balloon has violated U.S. airspace and international law, which is unacceptable. And so we’ve conveyed this directly to the PRC at multiple levels,” he told reporters, a day after the department disclosed it was aware of the incursion.
Of course, they don’t have any new information, but promised the balloon isn’t a threat:
RYDER: “In regards to our announcement last night regarding the high altitude surveillance balloon, I’m not going to have much new information to provide other than to say that the North American Aerospace Defense Command continues to monitor it closely. While we won’t get into specifics in regards to the exact location, I can tell you that the balloon continues to move eastward and is currently over the center of the continental United States.”
The Pentagon won’t give the American people the balloon’s location. Their advice? Go outside:
REPORTER: “I understand it might be inconvenient but as the public not have a right to know if the ballon is over the state –“RYDER: “The public certainly has the ability to look up in the sky and — and see where the balloon is.”
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