The Modern Shot Heard Around the World

On April 18, 1775, British troops set off from Boston toward Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts. They intended to seize weapons and ammunition from the colonists. At Concord, British troops began burning Colonist supplies. American militia leader, Lieutenant Joseph Hosmer, yelled to troops: “Will you let them burn the town down?” Minute Men began marching on the British troops. The British troops fired on the American militia, killing the column’s commander and another militiaman. Major Buttrick of Concord yelled: “For God’s sake, fire!” The American militia returned fire, killing three British. This was the “shot heard around the world” that started the American Revolution.

On February 4th, in what could be characterized as a modern “shot heard around the world,” a U.S. F-22 fighter jet shot down a Chinese spy balloon over the coastal waters of the east coast of the United States. Obviously, there are numerous differences between the “shot heard around the world” of the American Revolution against the British monarchy and the shot fired against the Chinese Communist Party spy balloon almost two weeks ago. However, what loosely connects these two events is that both were a “shot” against a foreign government operating within American territory.

Indeed, China has infiltrated the United States. Through platforms like TikTok and spy balloons and other espionage activities, China has “quartered” itself inside the United States – in our places of business, our universities, and our homes. The shoot-down of the CCP spy balloon is significant because it is the most public example of the United States’ attempt to remove China from our territory.

As we collectively watched the Chinese high-altitude spy balloon cross the entire United States territory on the cable news and social media, we should have collectively gasped at where the balloon maneuvered. Going beyond the questions around why the U.S. government chose not to shoot down the spy balloon at the beginning of its journey into the United States, one under-discussed yet notable feature to this story is the path of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) balloon as it traversed the United States.

House Intelligence Committee Chair, Mike Turner, provided us insight into the significance of the trajectory during an interview on Meet the Press just a day after the downing of the balloon:

“If you ask somebody to draw an X at every place where our sensitive missile defense sites, our nuclear weapons infrastructure, our nuclear weapon sites are, you would put them all along this path.”

It appears the CCP “marched” its balloon across the United States as a way to communicate to both our government as well as the American public that “we know how you protect yourself and from where.” Let’s take a further look at its path:
• The balloon was spotted hovering over Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana where, according to NBC News, the United States has more that 150 missile silos.

• The balloon, according to NBC News, also traversed Offutt Air Force Base where U.S. Strategic Command is housed, which oversees the United States’ nuclear forces.

• And the balloon maneuvered in the vicinity of Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, reported by NBC News, where the B-2 Stealth bomber is based, which has the capability to deliver nuclear bombs.
Could this be America’s awakening to the threat to the U.S. homeland from China? That is what Richard Fontaine, CEO of the Center for a New American Security, argued in a recent piece in Foreign Policy:
“If Beijing meant for its spy balloon to float across the United States undetected, then it could not have failed more spectacularly. The airship…looked less like a distant satellite and more like the Goodyear Blimp. And so, while no one could have predicted it, China’s balloon may well spur America’s awakening.”
I don’t know if this event spurred an awakening within the American public. But perhaps it created an awareness among the public that China not only has designs against the United States and our system, but it also has the potential to reach out and touch us.
China is an authoritarian system. I can think of no better metaphor for Chinese espionage than “eyes,” metaphorically speaking, floating across the United States continually watching us. It reflects the CCP’s authoritarian approach that has infiltrated the United States not only through a balloon and but also other, more nefarious means. This suggests the threat from CCP not only poses a risk to our military but also our entire society.
In the final analysis, the strategic challenge we face from China requires a whole-of-society approach. All the cities and towns that the balloon flew over are potential targets of the CCP – just as they are online.
We, therefore, need a way to move the public from awareness to awakening to action – not because of the threat that a spy balloon, in-of-itself, poses. But, instead, because of the brazenness that China’s violation of U.S. sovereignty suggests for our security.

Indeed, this “first shot” that brought down the Chinese balloon may well represent the first act in a new “long war” – the outcome of which will define the 21st Century.

Alex Gallo is the author of “Vetspective,” a RallyPoint series that discusses national security, foreign policy, politics, and society. Alex also serves as the Executive Director of the Common Mission Project, a 501c3, that delivers an innovation and entrepreneurship program, Hacking for Defense®, in the United States, which brings together the government, universities, and the private sector to meet the strategic challenges we face. He is also a fellow with George Mason University’s National Security Institute, an adjunct professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University, and a US Army Veteran. Follow him on Twitter at @AlexGalloCMP.