UFOs, Balloons, and Cold War Hysteria
We should all be skeptical about the timing and the framing of these so-called UFOs as our government has a long and extensive history of being dishonest with the American public.
Last weekend the U.S. military shot down three unidentified flying objects (UFOs) in the span of just a few days. The first object was shot down over Alaska, the second over the Yukon in Canada, and the third was shot down over Lake Huron in Michigan. Naturally, the U.S. military taking down a cluster of literal UFOs caused quite a stir, and as of this writing the objects are yet to be conclusively identified.
All of this took place shortly after the U.S. shot down what was deemed to be a Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean after it drifted over the continental U.S. for several days. While the concept of UFOs has become more mainstream in the last few years — the Pentagon officially released videos of “unidentified aerial phenomena” (UAP) in 2020 and Congress held a hearing on UFOs last year, for example — the fact that a Chinese balloon recently flew across the U.S. caused most of the speculation about these UFOs to be centered around the idea that they were just more surveillance aircraft from China.
The Chinese government has admitted that the balloon was in fact theirs, but maintains that it was a civilian airship used primarily for meteorological research and that it accidentally entered U.S. airspace. The U.S. government originally refused to accept that explanation but recent statements from U.S. officials have given it much more credibility.
If you think about it, the idea that the Chinese government intentionally sent a literal spy balloon, flying low enough that it could be seen with the naked eye, into the American heartland — which caused Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a diplomatic trip to China at a time when U.S.-China relations are already at a low point — always seemed a little ridiculous, especially when you take into consideration that China has access to other methods such as satellites which are far less obvious yet just as effective.
It’s also ridiculous that the balloon caused such an uproar, as this sort of thing is fairly common; at least common enough that it does not warrant sending multi-million dollar fighter jets to take down balloons using missiles that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has attempted to portray the U.S. government's response as an overreaction by stating that the U.S. has sent ten similar balloons into Chinese airspace since last year. As Antiwar’s Dave Decamp put it:
While the White House denied that it sent surveillance balloons to China, and [Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin’s] claim isn’t confirmed, there are indications the US has deployed such devices or was at least planning to.
In July 2022, POLITICO reported that the Pentagon was planning to deploy surveillance balloons to use against China and Russia. The report said: “The high-altitude inflatables, flying at between 60,000 and 90,000 feet, would be added to the Pentagon’s extensive surveillance network and could eventually be used to track hypersonic weapons.”
Another noteworthy response to this situation came from General Glen VanHerck, the head of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), who mentioned that three similar Chinese balloons entered our airspace during the Trump administration, but they weren’t detected until after Trump was out of office. (VanHerck also recently caused headlines when he said he hadn’t “ruled out” the possibility that the UFOs the U.S. shot down were extra-terrestrial in origin.)
The fact there were other Chinese balloons to enter U.S. airspace in recent years along with the allegations from the Chinese Foreign Ministry showcase how commonplace these aircraft are, and they’re likely used just as often for research as they are for surveillance if not more so.
Before former President Donald Trump and his administration withdrew from the Open Skies treaty, this type of flyover surveillance wasn’t seen as such a threat. The treaty allowed “35 nations, including Russia, to conduct unarmed surveillance flights over each other’s territory in order to assure that nations are not preparing for military action,” according to CNBC. China isn’t a signatory to the treaty, but the fact that both Russia and the U.S. were showed that there is a precedent for allowing oppositional governments to conduct that sort of surveillance.
Considering all of that, it’s very likely that the three UFOs the U.S. military recently shot down were all balloons of some kind, a possibility that has been acknowledged by the White House. In fact, it has recently been reported that the object that was shot down over the Yukon was likely a hobbyist balloon. The reason that it seems like they appeared all at once is that, after the incident with the Chinese balloon, the U.S. military adjusted its radar systems which led to an increase in the detection of smaller and more obscure objects. As General VanHerck said: “With some adjustments, we’ve been able to get a better categorization of radar tracks now. And that’s why I think you’re seeing these overall. Plus, there’s a heightened alert to look for this information.”
That means it’s very possible that none of the three objects were from China, and President Biden himself has stated that there is no evidence to support the claim that they were. Personally, I think the most likely explanation is that these objects were some sort of harmless aircraft, such as weather balloons or whatever else, and once they were noticed the Biden administration was quick to shoot them down due to the backlash they received for allowing the Chinese balloon to fly over the U.S. and waiting for it to be safely over the Atlantic Ocean before shooting it down.
With that being said, the debris from these objects is yet to be recovered, which leaves the door open for speculation about what they might be. While I don’t personally think that they’re alien spacecraft, I can’t say it’s impossible. According to a recent report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, out of the 366 reported UFO sightings used in the report, 171 of them are still unexplained. Not only that, but days after the U.S. shot down the three UFOs, the Chinese government said it was also preparing to shoot down a UFO and the Russian government reportedly shot one down last month.
It’s possible that some or all of these events are related to actual aliens, but I think it’s much more likely that they’re all either benign objects or advanced weaponry that terrestrial governments are still trying to keep secret from their adversaries as well as their general populations. As for the three objects the U.S. shot down (I don’t know enough about the supposed UFOs in China and Russia to really speculate on them) it’s also possible that they were weather balloons or outdated drones that the U.S. government intentionally sent up and then shot down — shortly after shooting down the Chinese balloon — as a way to drum up support for the new cold war between the U.S. and China.
Whether all of this was intentional or not, it still served the purpose of manufacturing consent for heightening tensions with China. Senate Republicans used the Chinese balloon as an excuse to prevent any discussions about cutting defense spending. Even the more MAGA Republicans — who have been somewhat sensible when it comes to fighting a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine — considered the balloon to be an act of aggression that warranted a much harsher response, and are using it as a way to support more escalations against China. This is all within the context of the U.S. acting increasingly hostile toward China in recent years. One would think the same people who are opposed to risking a hot war between the U.S. and Russia would realize that it’s just as dangerous to risk a hot war between the U.S. and China, especially over a stupid weather balloon.
One of the more radical theories when it comes to aliens from outer space is that world leaders and other elites intend to stage an alien invasion as a way to usher in a one-world government, which would be sold as a solution to such an existential threat. I don’t doubt that global elites would be willing to attempt something like that if it meant they would profit from it in some way, but I doubt that they’re competent enough to pull it off. However, considering that some people still buy the official narrative when it comes to Covid-19, maybe that level of psyop would rely less on the competency of our elites and more on the gullibility of the masses.
To be clear, I’m not saying these recent UFOs are a staged alien invasion; I’m also not saying Covid-19 was fake. However, it’s very possible — or dare I say, probable? — that Covid-19 was manufactured in a taxpayer-funded bio lab. Whether it was intentionally released or not, governments all over the world exaggerated its dangers as a way to expand government control and erode individual liberty. I think it’s very possible that regardless of what these objects were, the establishment will use them as an opportunity to gain whatever it can — just like it did with Covid-19 — such as a new line of war propaganda or a convenient distraction from stories that may be damaging to their agendas.
To reiterate that last point, these UFOs, regardless of what they end up being, as well as the “Chinese spy balloon”, have indeed served as distractions from much more important stories. A few examples of such stories are:
A recent article from esteemed journalist Seymour Hersh that alleges the U.S. government intentionally blew up the Nord Stream pipelines that carried natural gas from Russia to Germany.
An ongoing environmental disaster caused by a train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, while carrying toxic chemicals. Oddly, this story has gone severely underreported despite the fact that our government and corporate media constantly spread alarmism about climate change and have spent the last three years pretending to care about public health.
The recent earthquake that has killed thousands of people in Turkey and Syria and the role that U.S. sanctions have played in hindering humanitarian aid to Syria in the aftermath of such a devastating natural disaster.
The release of documents pertaining to the deceased human trafficker Jeffery Epstein, including the names and other “salacious” information of his associates.
An anti-war rally, which was put together by a coalition of groups that span the political spectrum, advocating for an end to the U.S. government’s role in prolonging the war in Ukraine which is being held in Washington D.C. this Sunday.
These recent UFOs are likely nothing to be concerned about, and the Chinese balloon that made its way over the U.S. was also likely far less of a threat than it has been made out to be. No matter what the explanation for these objects ends up being, the response to them from the American public has already served establishment interests. These may have been more Chinese balloons, either for surveillance or research; they may have been commercial or civilian aircraft and our response was an extreme overreaction; this whole situation may have been a false flag to serve some nefarious agenda; or they may have been literal alien spacecraft. As of right now, we don’t know, but regardless of what they were, the result will be the same.
In the words of independent journalist and commentator Caitlin Johnstone:
It is a very safe bet that whatever the US government determines these objects to be, the response to that determination will feature increased militarism and the advancement of pre-existing Pentagon agendas.
We should all be skeptical about the timing and the framing of these so-called UFOs as our government has a long and extensive history of being dishonest with the American public. A situation like this doesn’t necessarily have to be staged in order for the establishment to benefit from it, and after seeing the response to the Chinese balloon and the objects that followed it, it appears as though they already did.
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Yeah, I was a bit skeptical of the official narrative surrounding the first “spy balloon.” As you point out, it doesn’t make much sense that the Chinese would purposely orchestrate such a stupid act.
Ultimately, as you illustrate, all this nonsense serves the interests of the elite in some way or another. It’s unfortunate that many Americans are falling for it.