Politicians are concerned that without more information, the U.S. population will panic over these aerial shoot downs and perhaps think that the government is covering up an invasion from outer space!
When the alien invasion from outer space comes, they won't be using balloons. Trust me on this.
@lauren I don't know, I've played a lot of Kerbal Space program and if there's one thing that taught me, it's sometimes you need to wrap up your long stellar voyage with a parachute and no way to get home. ;)
