The intelligence head for the Biden administration predicted Friday that “high-altitude vehicles” will become commonplace in the future.
At a visit to the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines briefly addressed the rumors of a Chinese spy balloon. The head of US intelligence, Haines, has commented on the “crazy” nature of recent events.
What the heck, that’s an insane plan. She likened the predicament to a scene from Veep, an HBO political comedy series starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
The dispute started almost two weeks ago when the United States shot down what it alleges was a Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina. China said that the balloon was a civilian weather balloon that had gotten blown off course after flying over a large portion of the United States, and it accused the United States of overreacting by shooting it down.
Haines concluded after discussing the varying reactions of several countries when their spies were revealed.
When a country is discovered spying openly, it must be evident. She argued that varying reactions to the news story among citizens of different countries were to be expected. You have probably heard stories about the Chinese spy balloon supposedly floating over US soil. In my opinion, it’s OK to respond forcefully and directly to such an assertion.
Next, almost like something out of “The Jetsons,” Haines discussed the issues that might arise in a future where flying automobiles were normal.
Haines speculated that the proliferation of high-tech gadgets and “high-altitude vehicles” would increase the frequency with which such incidents occurred. Not only that, but we’ll need to figure out how to handle it.
President Biden made his first public comments on the Chinese balloon and the three UFOs shot down by the US military over North America in the days that followed on Thursday. “the general assessment in the United States intelligence community is that the three objects were most likely balloons related to commercial activities, recreation, or academic institutes monitoring weather or other scientific inquiries,” he said.
The United States, according to President Biden, needs “sharper guidelines” for dealing with “unidentified objects moving ahead, differentiating — discriminating between those that are likely to pose safety and security issues that demand action and those that do not.”
Haines agreed with Biden that updating partners is “a very typical and appropriate method to manage” the issue.