Senators were visibly angry as they pressed Pentagon officials on when they learned of the Chinese spy balloon, and why they waited so long to shoot it down.
Visibly angry senators at a committee hearing Thursday grilled Defense Department officials on the reasoning behind the Pentagon's response to the Chinese spy balloon.
Rear Admiral Fred Kacher, director for operations of the Joint Staff, during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023.WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate held its first public hearing on the Chinese spy balloon Thursday, at which visibly angry lawmakers grilled four Defense Department officials about when the military learned of the balloon and why they waited a week to shoot it down.
"As an Alaskan, I am so angry," said Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski. "Alaska is the first line of defense for America... It's like this administration doesn't think that Alaska is any part of the rest of the country!" she shouted. "If we had taken it down over the state of Alaska ... it would have been a very different recovery operation," she said, noting that the deep, freezing water of the Bering Sea "would make recovery and salvage operations very dangerous."
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