A former US Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter in a recent interview ridiculed the US’ move of sending an F22 fighter jet, at the cost of roughly $2 million, to destroy an alleged Chinese “spy balloon”, which in fact was a civilian aircraft mainly used for meteorological research.
“It’s clear that there is virtually no threat posed by this balloon. If it’s a surveillance balloon designed to collect intelligence, I would welcome the Chinese to get all their intelligence capability and just put it on a balloon. —AP
