Say the words “espionage” and “communism” to a younger generation and they might think you’re talking about spy novels and Cold War history.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo thinks both words describe contemporary threats. During a visit to a town made famous by the 1948 film starring Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lionel Barrymore and Lauren Bacall, Pompeo told me he believes the balloon incident is a test by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who he believes will say to himself, “My gosh, if they’re not going to stop a balloon over their country, they are certainly not going to stop me from invading Taiwan.”

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Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas’ new book “America’s Expiration Date: The Fall of Empires and Superpowers and the Future of the United States” (HarperCollins/Zondervan).

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