CNN Newsroom: Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) Discusses Chinese Spy Balloon
Interview
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Good to see you.
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Well, of course, we're concerned. But as we've learned more about these balloons, we've learned that there have been several balloons over the space of several years.
So whether or not we shot this balloon down on day one that we detected it or a little bit later when it was out over the ocean, frankly, wouldn't have made a difference.
There are other balloons that have been up there and going over sensitive airspace for some time.
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You did a good job at hitting on some of the key ones. What sort of information were they collecting? Were they able to transmit it in real time?
What actual capabilities does this balloon have? What communications networks were they using to get the information off the balloon? Those are obviously technical questions that we want to answer.
But there are also strategic questions. What do they intend to do with these balloons?
What I their broader purpose? Did they think they could get away with them being up there and never being detected, or had they planned that this might happen, and they were willing to take that risk?
Are they filling some gap in China's knowledge about the U.S. that they don't have?
These are really important questions that we want to answer to understand the real national security implications of this incident.
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I think it was a fantastic way to address this. Short and to the point. We're not intimidated by you, China. You gave us a problem, and we took care of it.
And the president followed the best military advice to take care of this balloon. And that's something that every American needs to know.
There's a lot of critics out there saying the president should have done something differently, should have shot it down earlier.
At the end of the day, what we learned is he listened to his top military advisers. That's exactly what we want a commander-in-chief to do.
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These amazing people like Shams, they are Afghan heroes, they're American heroes. They risked their lives for their country and for us and for America. We've got to get them home.
And the sad reality is that when we pulled out of Kabul, we left a lot behind.
Shams is very lucky to be here because they are not just at risk from the Taliban if they are still in Afghanistan. They are being hunted down by the Taliban every single day.
In fact, I recently learned of the story of somebody who was just about to get on the flight. The flights were postponed due to the World Cup and the Taliban found him while he was waiting and killed him before he could get out.
That is unacceptable. We've got to do more to get them home.
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I think everybody could do more. Congress needs to come together. We have a bipartisan group of veterans who are trying to advance legislation to help with this process.
But we don't have support yet from the Republican leadership. And I do think the administration could pick up the pace, too.
I think it was a mistake to postpone flights due to the World Cup. What's more important, watching a soccer game or getting these heroes out to safety?
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Thank you.
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