US Military Shot Down Unidentified ‘Object’ Near Alaska

A week after the Pentagon downed a Chinese balloon, it claims to have intercepted a much smaller "object."

The White House claimed the Pentagon downed an unknown object off the coast of Alaska. The Joe Biden administration downplayed the incident claiming the craft was only shot down as a precaution.

American officials could not confirm what kind of object the US fighter jet intercepted. White House Press Secretary John Kirby said President Biden ordered the military action. "President Biden ordered the military to down the object, and they did," he stated.

Kirby claimed the object was flying at roughly 40,000 feet and was "the size of a small car." The White House says it had no idea where the object came from, why it was off the coast of Alaska, or what kind of assignment the craft may have had.

The New York Times cited an unnamed American official who said the object did not present a threat. There were "no affirmative indications of military threat" to people on the ground from the object, the official assured. It is too early to know what kind of equipment may have been aboard the object.

Still, the White House ordered the object be downed similarly to a Chinese balloon that was intercepted by an F-22 over the Atlantic Ocean. The balloon, which Washington claims was a surveillance craft and Beijing says was a weather balloon, traveled over a large portion of the US.

China hawks in Congress capitalized on the balloon that the Department of Defense said posed no threat to Americans. Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) voiced, "it wasn’t a good idea to have a spy balloon fly over our country, it must come down." Across the aisle, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) Tweeted, "now #China is OPENLY spying on us and the Biden Admin does nothing. China is trolling us." He added, "they know Biden is weak."

Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com, news editor of the Libertarian Institute, and co-host of Conflicts of Interest.