On Wednesday, Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) called on the Pentagon to disclose its knowledge of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) spy balloon to Congress. The balloon, which was spotted in Montana in August, is believed to be part of the CCP’s efforts to monitor the United States and its allies.
In a letter to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Rosendale said, “I am writing to express my deep concern about the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) deployment of spy balloons in the United States and to request that the Department of Defense (DoD) provide an assessment of the threat posed by the CCP’s activities.”
Rosendale went on to note that the balloon was spotted near the Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, which is home to a number of nuclear missiles. He argued that the balloon could have been used to gather intelligence on U.S. military operations, and that it is “imperative that the DoD provide Congress with an assessment of the threat posed by the CCP’s activities.”
The balloon was first spotted in August by residents of the small town of Cut Bank, Montana. The balloon was later identified by the Department of Defense as being part of the CCP’s intelligence gathering operations.
The balloon was the focus of a recent episode of Steve Bannon’s War Room: Pandemic, in which Bannon and his guests discussed the implications of the CCP’s activities. Bannon argued that the balloon was a sign of the CCP’s ambition to become the world’s dominant superpower and that the U.S. must take steps to counter it.
The Pentagon has yet to respond to Rosendale’s letter, but the issue is likely to be a topic of discussion in Congress in the coming weeks. As the U.S. continues to grapple with the CCP’s growing influence, it is clear that Rosendale’s call for transparency is a necessary step in understanding the potential threats posed by the CCP’s activities.
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