Former CIA officer weighs the value of a suspected Chinese spy balloon

With all eyes on the sky this week watching a suspected Chinese spy balloon fly over the United States, TCU professor, former CIA officer and FBI Special Agent Tracy Walder couldn’t help but reflect on her past career.

At the CIA, Walder often teamed up with image analysts and satellite intelligence missions.

Later, as an FBI special agent, she specialized in Chinese counterintelligence.

“My job was to catch Chinese here in the United States,” Walder said.

She said her first reaction to news of a potential spy balloon was surprise.

“I think the public does not realize that so many countries, China, we, Russia, have satellites in space that are spying. We just don’t see it every day with the naked eye. how this invasion of our airspace in such an obvious way was very unexpected for me,” she said.

Walder said that while people who could see the balloon from their backyard may have feared for their privacy, he probably didn’t take pictures.

“The reality, I think, is shocking to a lot of people. Many satellites can see your car’s license plate. We don’t really need a visual like this to see it. So I’m not sure what he photographed. I think that in fact he was collecting something called MASIT, that is, measurements and intelligence of signals, ”Walder said.

Although Walder is not involved in the research of the balloon, judging by its height, she believes that he was trying to read radar and sonar signals.

She said it was likely the US took steps to block its ability to do so in the days leading up to Saturday, when an F-22 fighter jet fired a missile that penetrated and shot down a suspected spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina.

Walder said the government is now likely working on extracting the balloon’s payload or surveillance equipment.

She hopes that this highly visible event has opened the eyes of the Americans.

“I’m very concerned about the damage China is doing and the espionage they’re doing,” Walder said.

She urged people to keep a close eye on what happens next.

“I think we really need to think about how we deal with foreign players who get caught doing this because the reality is that it makes Americans feel insecure and then it becomes very problematic,” she said.