The recent sighting of a Chinese spy balloon over the United States and Canada should prompt Americans to ask why Beijing is engaging in espionage of this nature. China claims the balloon is a weather "airship" that simply got lost, however their assessment has been roundly discredited by the U.S. military. In addition to collecting meteorological data, it appears to be part of a calculated political warfare campaign intended to remind Americans of their nation’s vulnerability to attack.

The balloon carries an even more powerful message because of the historical context: in 1945, Japanese-launched balloons with incendiary explosives tragically killed several Oregonians, and a separate incident almost caused severe damage at the Hanford facility producing plutonium for atomic tests. This could explain why China sent the balloon in the first place.

Furthermore, China's hypersonic vehicle and fractional orbital bombardment system tests in 2021 strengthen the message to the Biden