Quote:
Originally Posted by shortstacker
I could be wrong, but I think with our technology we probably figured out quickly if the balloon was armed or not.
And you shoot it down while it's still over a sparsely populated region in Montana.
Although the animal "rights" crowd and assorted bureaucrats would be upset over the possible killing of wildlife without the written consent of the Department of the Interior.
Since they waited until the balloon was safely beyond range of land, I doubt this was the case. That is, either they thought there was risk shooting it down over land, or the balloon posed additional risk if it were to crash into the ground.
Offensive balloons are nothing new. The US developed those in the 50s. It's the perfect trolling weapon as most people think these things are harmless, as can be attested by near zero public perception of it as a threat.