ALBAWABA - The White House said that the three objects, which were shot down in the past few days, were "benign" and could be commercial balloons, although they had flown over sensitive federal government areas.
The strategic communication coordinator at the National Security Council, John Kirby, said the intelligence community is considering as a leading explanation that the flying objects "could just be balloons tied to some commercial or benign purpose."
BREAKING: White House Says Downed Objects are for 'Commercial or Benign' Purposes.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 14, 2023
The Spy Balloon was so humiliating the WH is trying to distract you by claiming they are shooting down commercial objects.
We are under attack & they won't admit it.https://t.co/0JJvnkwylJ
According to the White House, in the beginning, the three objects were shot down as they were marked dangerous or could have originated from a hostile state or even from outer space. But they turned out to be harmless.
Kirby highlighted the possibility that the objects could belong to the U.S. government, adding that there is no indication they were connected to China’s spy balloon program, which was shot down earlier this month, CNN reported.
The country's Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also confirmed that the U.S. had not been able to retrieve the objects as they are in "difficult terrain." He maintained that it will take some time, but "we'll get them eventually."
