Balloon episode sparks speculations of aliens

WASHINGTON: With few confirmed details from the White House, the downing of unknown aerial objects by US fighter jets has triggered wild speculation about what they were and where they came from. It even fell to his press secretary on Monday to announce earnestly there was no indication of “aliens or extraterrestrial activity”.

President Joe Biden has offered little reassurance or explanation of what to make of it all, following the discovery of a Chinese spy balloon crossing the country and the unprecedented peacetime shootdowns that followed.

Officials said they still know little about the three objects downed Friday off the coast of Alaska, Saturday over Canada, and Sunday over Lake Huron. But those shootdowns have been part of a more assertive response to aerial phenomena following the balloon episode blamed on an ongoing Beijing espionage programme.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre did have at least one definitive statement to try to tamp down unrestrained theories: “I know there’s been questions and concerns about this, but there is no — again, no — indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity.”

Biden’s decision to shoot down four objects over North America in eight days — when combined with the officials’ efforts to publicly downplay the foreign threat — has furthered the dissonant messages being sent about sensitive efforts to protect the homeland.

US officials acknowledge the confusion, saying the administration wants to keep the American public from becoming unnecessarily worried while also trying to maintain a tough posture toward China.