Bruce Jentleson, Duke professor of public policy and political science, says foreign tensions are too high for the U.S. to risk shooting a Chinese balloon out of the sky.
THE CLEAN THOSE STORIES AND MORE AT 5. ALL RIGHT, GENERAL, THANK YOU. ARE RIGHT NOW THE WRAL LIVE CENTER, NORTH CAROLINA SENATOR THOM TILLIS. >> HAS A LOT OF QUESTIONS FOR PRESIDENT BIDEN HAS THAT CHINESE SPY BALLOON SET TO BE OVER NORTH CAROLINA AT SOME POINT TOMORROW, THE TRAJECTORY BRING IT OVER FOR BRAGGING CAMP LEJEUNE IN BLUE HERE. PRESIDENT BIDEN'S DECISION NOT TO DESTROY IT EVEN AS IT PASSED THROUGH SPARSELY POPULATED AREAS IS PUZZLING. TILLIS SAYS AND WE DESERVE ANSWERS. LET'S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK RIGHT NOW WHERE THAT BALLOON SLOWLY IS MOVING. THIS IS THE LOCATION IS RIGHT NOW OVER MISSOURI. AND YOU TALK ABOUT LOOKING LIKE WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AND WHERE IT'S GOING NEXT. IT WILL BE RIGHT OVER NORTH CAROLINA IN SOME DIRECTION, NORTH OR SOUTH. BUT RIGHT OVER OUR STATE, ACCORDING TO MIKE MAZE IN THE WEATHER, FOLKS WITH THOSE WEATHER PATTERNS, IT LOOKS LIKE IT WILL HAPPEN AT SOME POINT TOMORROW. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, MARK. AND THIS IS THE BLOOM THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. THIS IS WHEN IT WAS SPOTTED OVER MONTANA AND THE PENTAGON IS REJECTING CHINA'S EARLIER CLAIM. THE BALLOON IS A, QUOTE, CIVILIAN AIRSHIP NOT JOINING US LIVE TO EXPLAIN THIS IS BRUCE JENTLESON. HE'S A DU PROFESSOR OF PUBLIC POLICY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE. PROFESSOR, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY. GOOD TO BE WITH YOU. SO THE PRESIDENT HAS BEEN BRIEFED. THE PENTAGON IS MONITORING AND CANADA IS AWARE. WHY IS THIS BALLOON GETTING SO MUCH ATTENTION FROM INTERNATIONAL LEADERS? >> NO, I THINK IT'S MORE BECAUSE IT'S SYMBOLIC SIGNIFICANCE AND A BIT OF A POLITICAL FOOTBALL. BUT ANY REAL STRATEGIC THREAT. ART SATELLITES OVER FLIGHT CHINA ALL THE TIME AND THERE'S OVER FLY ICE RUSSIAN THE SAME WAY AND THE CAPACITY THIS BALLOON TO GATHER INTELLIGENCE THAT THE SATELLITES CAN. IT'S MUCH LESS CAPABLE IN THAT SENSE. BUT WE ALSO ARE SEEING THESE IN MOVIES AND SPY NOVEL. SO, YOU KNOW, IT FEELS LIKE IT'S SOMETHING THAT REALLY GRAB THE PUBLIC'S ATTENTION BUT IT'S NOT THAT MUCH IS REALLY NOT A THREAT. I DON'T THINK PROFESSOR DO WANT TO BRING THAT THE CLIP THAT WE MARK HAMILL LIFE CENTER THERE SO THAT PEOPLE AT HOME CAN SEE THIS. BUT I WAS TALKING WITH OUR TEAM OF METEOROLOGISTS AND THEY'RE SAYING THAT THE WAY THIS IS TRAVELING AGAIN, IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE OVER NORTH CAROLINA ABOUT TOMORROW. ISH. >> SO IS THIS IS A DISCUSSION THAT SHOULD BE HAD AT THE STATE LEVEL, IF NOT ALREADY. >> WELL, I THINK IT'S VERY MUCH A FOREIGN POLICY DECISION. AND I THINK THAT GOVERNOR COOPER WILL PROBABLY FOLLOW THE LEAD OF THE WHITE HOUSE AND THE GENERALS, THE GENERAL MILLEY, THE HEAD OF THE CHAIR OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF SPECIFICALLY SAID THAT SHOOTING IT DOWN WOULD BE A MISTAKE THAT THE DEBRIS COULD FOLLOW FOLLOWER 20 BY 20 MILE AREA. AND IT ALSO WOULD ESCALATE SOMETHING THAT APPEARS TO BE INADVERTENT AND UNINTENTIONAL. AND WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH A COUNTRY, THE REAL PROBLEMS WITH IT, YOU WANT TO START GOING UP THE LADDER OF ESCALATION, WHICH YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO. >> OF COURSE, WHERE THERE'S ALREADY TENSIONS BETWEEN THE COUNTRIES AND AS YOU ALREADY KIND OF TOUCHED ON, YOU KNOW, SHOOTING IT DOWN. IT COULD BE, YOU KNOW, DEBRIS MIGHT COME DOWN AND OBVIOUSLY HER PEOPLE IN THE GROUND. AND THAT'S SOMETHING ALSO DIVE INTO BECAUSE THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT IS DESCRIBING AS A SIZABLE AND I DID SEE THAT SOURCES WERE TELLING ANOTHER NEWS OUTLET THAT THEY BELIEVE THAT THIS BALLOON IS THE SIZE OF 3 BUSES. BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT AN ACTUAL WEATHER BALLOON, AS CHINA IS CALLING THIS, I MEAN, IT DOESN'T QUITE MATCH UP THERE. AND SO SHOULD WE REALLY TRUST WHAT THEY'RE SAYING? >> I THINK WE HAVE TO TRUST THAT WE CAN DIAGNOSE A PRETTY WELL. WHAT ARE THEIR OWN CAPABILITIES ITS UNMANNED? WHATEVER INTELLIGENCE GATHERING IS A GOES OVER THESE, YOU KNOW, THESE AREAS YOU KNOW, HE'S JUST NOT THAT SIGNIFICANT. AND THE KEY THING HERE, WHEN YOU HAVE A SITUATION LIKE IS TO IS TO TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE TAKE CARE OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND SECURITY. BUT YOU ALSO DON'T NECESSARILY STARTED BACK AND FORTH WHERE, YOU KNOW, YOU REALLY RISK IT'S BECOMING MORE THAN JUST AN INCIDENT AND ESCALATE INTO A MILITARY CONFLICT OR OTHER VERY DANGEROUS SCENARIOS. >> OF COURSE, BECAUSE THAT COULD ESCALATE THINGS. AND OF COURSE, WE'LL BE FOLLOWING TO SEE WHAT EXACTLY COMES OF THIS, A BALLOON THAT'S FLOATING OVER THE UNITED STATES. PROFESSOR, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
