Theater on two fronts:
1) If not for civilians spotting the spy balloon and making it national news, the Biden admin. would’ve said and done nothing, knowing full well it was up there from the beginning. And no one would’ve known about it. So shooting it down was for public consumption, not to eliminate a national security threat.
2) China knew the admin had to shoot it down after the outcry here, so their statement was for public (and world) consumption in an attempt to keep them from looking weak. General Milley probably called his Chicom comrades, apologized for all the trouble, and told them what we’d be doing and that there’s no hard feelings.
Gotcha. Thx.