Retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt told Newsmax that China is at war with the U.S. and has been for a long time.
"China is at war with us," he said Friday on "Wake Up America." "They've been at hybrid war with us for the longest time. They're killing 100,000 Americans per year with their fentanyl. ... That's an act of war in my book."
Holt's remarks came while discussing China's spy balloon which was shot down last week after it had floated across the United States.
"China just proved that the administration has some level of compromise because they did this," he said. "If I was in Taiwan right now, I'd be very, very concerned."
Holt was shown a 2015 video clip of Gen. Mark Milley, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, saying China was not an enemy to the U.S. Holt was asked if the right people were in charge in Washington. He replied: "No, they're not."
Also appearing on the show was China expert Gordon Chang, who criticized President Joe Biden for how the U.S. handled the spy balloon.
Chang was asked if he agrees with Biden's assessment that the spy balloon was not a major breach of U.S. national security.
Chang replied: "I certainly do not agree. The important thing here is the way the world has viewed this. Regardless of whether Biden was right or not, the world views the United States as incapable of defending its own air space.
"That fits into the Chinese narrative that the United States is finished as a great power. This leads to a further breakdown in deterrence. The Chinese have been telling us for about 2½ years that we no longer deter them.
"The one thing it did help us, though, is it showed the American people that the Pentagon is, at this moment, not able to defend the Unites States. I hope there's a sense of panic inside the five-square building and that they are actually starting to realize that this is real."
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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