BUCKLING UP

Biden Forms Team to Figure Out What to Do With All These Flying ‘Objects’

The unprecedented shootdowns of unidentified “objects” in recent days have raised questions about what the U.S. policy ought to be when such objects are detected.

After days of tracking and shooting down unidentified “objects” over North America, President Joe Biden directed an interagency team be established “to study the broader policy implications for detection, analysis, and disposition of unidentified aerial objects that pose either safety or security risks,” White House National Security Council coordinator John Kirby said Monday. Biden will coordinate the team through national security adviser Jake Sullivan with the aim of determining how the U.S. should respond. A Chinese spy balloon and three “objects” have been shot down just this month, raising questions about what the U.S. policy ought to be when “objects” are detected if they don’t appear to pose a threat to civilians. The Pentagon said it had concerns that at least one of the “objects” had “potential surveillance capabilities,” but it’s still unclear what the objects’ purposes were. Efforts are ongoing to recover debris to uncover what their capabilities are, Kirby said. It has been “difficult to find” the debris, however, since some objects were shot down over remote terrain or ice, he said. The U.S. is continuing to monitor for more objects but as of Monday afternoon, there are “no active tracks,” Kirby said.

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Shannon VavraNational Security Reporter

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