Hullabaloo over a balloon

Punctured: The remnants of the so-called ‘spy balloon’ drifting above the Atlantic Ocean after it was shot down on Feb 4 by a missile from a fighter jet whose contrail can seen below it. — CHAD FISH/AP

I WAS wringing my hands last week over the ruckus raised as a Chinese “spy balloon” drifted across the United States until it was shot down.

Western media has decried Chinese surveillance and condemned the infringement of US sovereignty. US politicians are baying for blood, with Republicans pressing the White House for answers to why a spy balloon was allowed into the country’s airspace and whether national security had been compromised.