>

Source?
Maybe we should send a super sophisticated "weather" balloon over China and see what they do with it. >

Make it shaped like Winnie the Pooh >

I support this idea with my tax dollars. >

The 9.2 trillion dollar balloon was inflated by Raytheon. >

I wonder how they'd feel about America letting one of those ballons float over to China? Probably not too thrilled. >

Are satellites not a thing anymore?  What are we all excited about? >

In one of the many posts about this someone was commenting that because of the lower altitude they would be able to “scan” deeper into the crust. The theory makes sense but idk if it checks out. >

I’m confident enough in our military (the seeming one competent government institution) that if there was any real additional risk allowing it to continue as opposed to taking the balloon our days ago, then they would have taken it out days ago.
Really not sure where this story arc is going though tbh. Recent news they may have sent three during the last administration?  Maybe they allowed it to go just to see how China would react? There was some rationale to not taking it out before, curious as to what that is >

If they just took it out right away, the Chinese would get to see our standard response time, tactics, and monitor our comms while we do it. By delaying we got to feed them false information, observe their technological capabilities, potentially identify who they were communicating with, and more. 
Even as it was, the Chinese no doubt got some info on the F22 and the sidewinder. >

Also if the US shot it down immediately, it would be a side story that lasts a day tops. The US can milk this story internationally for days and make it the headline for other countries to be aware of the antics that China pulls. US let it traverse and linger over military sites as a way of further evidence that this was no ordinary balloon. >

Except it probably really was just a weather balloon 🙄 gotta spew the pro-war propaganda
Haha everyone downvoted me because they want to see war. How sad >

And what does China propose as an appropriate reaction beyond letting it linger for a week and shooting it down over the water as it is apparently out of control? >

If it was over the water, then that means it has completely drifted over the states, right?
Any information it could have theoretically collected if it was a spy balloon is complete. We could have just let it keep drifting since the United States apparently failed miserably to stop a balloon that can be seen with the naked eye on the ground. >

What are you arguing here? That the most advanced and well funded military on the planet was unable to deal with a balloon?
Please take your tinfoil hat off for a moment and consider that perhaps the US military took steps that we civilians couldn't see, and that they waited til it was over the water so it didn't cause any damage or kill someone by landing on them. >

Not to mention it's probably be easier to recover and study the wreckage when you don't have to comb through miles of grassland for it >

You think it's easier to recover electronic equipment from the bottom of the ocean than from a dry grassy plain? >

It landed in 47 feet of water, and a lot of those parts wouldn't likely sink immediately. >

Nuts here! Dry roasted nuts here! What's that thing in the sky, it looks like a long, hard... >

No dumbass, declaring war for invading our airspace would be an overreaction. >

Aw we hurt Pooh's feelings he can't see our honey stockpiles anymore >

Oh the theater of it all >

The balloon had a device though! And we didn't know what it was. 
WW3 started over top secret China spy balloon. 
WW4 started over an 8-track tape. >


A-Track tape

dont you mean an 8-track tape? >

WW5- Revenge of the laserdisc >

WW6 - Return of the Bluray >

Maybe the US should return the favour and lets see how China responds? >

The thing is China already thinks the US has returned the favor tenfold with American military presence all around China. The panic this caused some people in the US is the same panic some in people in China have felt for decades... Putin is another person who likely feels the same way and even claims it's a reason why he invaded Ukraine. >

We aren't actually in or over China though. Just nearby. It's like if we freaked out because China had dealings with the Bahamas or Costa Rica >

It's hard to sympathize with China, considering how politically aggressive they've been in the past decade >

I hope it doesn't seem like I'm sympathizing. I'm mainly pointing out that people's reaction of political aggression towards the balloon is analogous to China's own political aggression which you're right has been ongoing for the past decade plus >

Weren’t we doing them a favor, by stopping their “out of control weather balloon”? >

What worries me the most about this whole story is, why would China ever admit the balloon was theirs? They could just stay silent and deny, and people would start blaming Russia eventually >

They know we know, they just want to use it as propaganda to rile their people up for war. Our intelligence already publicly told us to expect one by 2025.