By Joshua Arnold
The Washington Stand
Official government ignorance about the mysterious drones flying over sensitive sites in New Jersey and surrounding states is just as preposterous as it appears, according to retired U.S. Brigadier General John Teichert. “It is very easy, based on all the tracking systems that we have, to go to that point of origin or point of destination and very quickly get to the bottom of all of this,” he said on “Washington Watch” Friday. “The fact that we apparently have not done so is a huge concern to me and should be to the American people.”
“While a lot of people are talking about immediately engaging these drones,” Teichert added, “I believe you can get a lot more information from where they launch from and where they are going to. That can tell our federal government definitively what’s going on, instead of just telling us that there’s no indication that there’s a threat or a risk.”
Indeed, government officials continue to deny that the drones pose a threat, despite their inability to identify them in the first place.
“We have not been able to — and neither have state or local law enforcement authorities — corroborate any of the reported visual sightings,” claimed White House national security spokesman John Kirby. “To the contrary, upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully. … There are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted airspace.”
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas repeated the same line Friday on CNN. “We know of no threat or nefarious activity, and I want to repeat that if we learn of any cause for concern, we will be transparent in our communication.” This is the same man who told America in 2021, “The border is closed. The border is secure.”
“I’m most bothered by how dismissive John Kirby and others have been,” responded Teichert. “You can’t tell us that there’s no risk, or that it’s not a threat, if you don’t know what these things are and where they came from.”
“We’ve got this robust aviation and aerospace system in the United States that can allow us to track objects of all sorts,” added Teichert. “Why the federal government has not scrambled to both where they came from and where they are going, to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible, is something that is lackadaisical at best and negligent at worst.
The government has reached for simplistic explanations in the unexplained drone sightings, including misidentification and sightings of registered commercial drones. While these explanations could reasonably explain one or two isolated occurrences, they cannot explain the sudden increase in reports — especially from military bases, local law enforcement, and congressmen.
The drones have not only been spotted around New Jersey but also around Langley Air Force Base in Virginia and several air bases used by the U.S. Air Force in the United Kingdom.
“It is very clear that drones are the future of warfare,” explained Teichert, “and drones of this size — maybe reportedly about six feet in diameter — can carry a variety of payloads. Those could be payloads that spy. Those could be payloads that release something onto the ground.” In other words, the drones could indeed represent a real threat if loaded with the proper equipment.
“My concern is that, if these are foreign adversary drones, then they are doing probing activities to see how we respond,” Teichert continued. “And, much like the Chinese spy balloon from two years ago, the federal government would rather ignore it instead of do something about it — until the public clamors long enough that they’ve actually got to do their job and protect our sovereignty.” Family Research Council Action President Jody Hice responded, “If they have been gathering information, it’s a little too late [to stop them]. Information will have already been gathered.”
“Either the government massively lacks transparency to the American people about what is going on, or they’re frankly not competent,” Teichert concluded.
In just over a month, the government will change hands, and the new crew seems more willing to tackle the drone issue head-on. For instance, Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), whom President-elect Donald Trump tapped to be his national security advisor, has criticized the Biden administration’s lackadaisical approach. “I think Americans are finding it hard to believe we can’t figure out where these are coming from,” he remarked. “It’s pointing to gaps in our capabilities and in our ability to clamp down on what’s going on here. And we need to get to the bottom of it.”
Originally published at The Washington Stand!
