Ufology Handbook 080713/The UFO cover up

The UFO "Cover Up":

​ A considerable number of UFO researchers believe that the official policy of most governments of deeming all UFOs to be explicable (and publicly issuing statements to this effect) is, in actuality, a smokescreen utilized to "cover up" the "truth" about UFOs. The nature of this "truth" is sometimes claimed to involve the "fact" that official agencies are aware that some reports are truly inexplicable, but conceal this knowledge due to their inability to stem the tide of unidentifiable incidents. Other researchers allege that at least some governments know the true origins of UFOs, acquiring this knowledge either through direct official contact with aliens or via crashed UFOs and "extraterrestrial" cadavers which incidentally came into their possession. A variation of this concept claims some governments are directly responsible for most UFO events (which, in actually, involve classified spying missions and secret technology, even - in the case of abductions - illegal mind control experiments). It is further alleged that Project Blue Book (and the limited UFO report monitoring efforts of other countries, such as the UK) were (and still remain) a "public relations front" to conceal more covert and elaborate projects relating to UFOs.

The most prominent critic of the Air Force's UFO policy during the 1950's and 1960's was the writer (and NICAP director) Donald Keyhoe. Both in his books and through NICAP he espoused his suspicion that the government were fully aware that UFOs were extraterrestrial devices. He suspected that covert forces within officialdom (which he termed the "Silence Group") were attempting to conceal the truth about UFOs by falsely "explaining away" all sightings and controlling information on inexplicable reports. This was due, alleged Keyhoe, to governmental concern over the detrimental effects which official acknowledgement of extraterrestrial visitation could have on society. Others since that time have promoted revised conceptions of the "UFO cover-up", which in general essence differs little from Keyhoe's original interpretation of it.

It is clear from the historical record that the USAF projects did enthusiastically indulge in a policy of debunking, by attempting to explain all UFO sightings by any means possible. Debunking in its most detrimental sense did (and does) occur when totally inappropriate and improbable explanations are proposed for "account" for a specific UFO incident. But it is also equally clear that - most of the time - the USAF approach was actually valid. This is reflected by the fact that the majority of reputable UFO societies active today use the same methods of case evaluation as the USAF, which uncover the same causes for IFO events cited by Project Blue Book; astronomical bodies, weather balloons, aircraft and so on. Furthermore, the majority of civilian groups even arrive at a percentage of unknowns comparable with the old USAF sighting statistics! The only way which UFO groups differ in their approach to the USAF is in their conviction that the "Unknowns" represent extraordinary aerial events.

Hence, it is just as likely that official attitudes towards UFOs may not be the consequence of a sinister, world-shaking cover-up, but just a mistaken official interpretation of the evidence! The USAF attitude of explaining all sightings may have resulted from a predominant conservative social and scientific attitude towards such (at that time) novel and extreme events. This view would have seemed all too justified by the considerable number of IFO incidents received by (for example) the USAF. It may have equally arisen from Cold War-era fears of sightings being utilized in psychological warfare by hostile powers. It may have come about as the consequence of both these factors combined. This alone could well have resulted in some anomalous events being incorrectly "evaluated" or "overlooked", hence condemning any "true" UFO report to conceptual oblivion.

Whatever the truth, it is clear that the American government did have regulations whose intentions were to control the flow of UFO reports. For example, JANAP (Joint Army Navy Air force Publication) 146, issued in 1951, governed the reporting of any missile, submarine, aircraft or UFO. It made all those potentially covered by this regulation (both civil pilots and military personnel) liable to prosecution if they prematurely released such information to nonofficial sources. Another regulation issued in 1953 (AFR 200-2), required those involved with assessing UFO reports to reduce the number of "unidentified" reports to a minimum. It also forbade air-force personnel from talking to the media on UFO matters, stating that any queries relating to the subject were directed to Project Blue Book. Furthermore, it ruled that details of a sighting were not to be released until the Air Force was satisfied it was explicable. According to Edward Ruppelt AFR 200-5 was intended to encourage reporting of UFOs to Blue Book, as negative publicity about the subject were making witnesses reluctant to come forward.

In 1974 (long after the termination of Project Blue Book) changes to the Freedom of information act in the United States encouraged a court action by Ground Saucer Watch, aimed at obtaining any UFO-related information held by either the CIA or the NSA (National Security Agency). By the early 1980's (after some considerable effort on GSW's part) several thousand pages of data had been released. This information included translation of foreign articles, copies of letters to and from ufologists, details of foreign UFO reports and internal memo's mainly dealing with the Air Forces' UFO projects. Some of these documents are heavily censored (many lines of text being overwritten with black "masking" pen). Furthermore, a considerable number of documents remained withheld on alleged national security grounds. These documents remain highly controversy and are open to a variety of interpretations. Some claim they prove the existence of a long-term UFO conspiracy by both the CIA and the NSA, others that they simply indicate the subject was monitored at a low level by these agencies.

Officially, the English political establishment has always been highly sceptical of UFOs (basing this attitude upon the findings of the Blue Book and the Condon Report). In England the Official Secrets Act controls the flow of classified information within military and governmental channels. Official documentation about various subjects (including UFO's) are, at the earliest, released 30 years from their date of origin. For particularly sensitive documents this interval ranges from 70 up to 100 years. It is believed, from statements made by M.P's and civil servants, that some early UFO documents (such as those relating to the 1957 Lakenheath/Bentwaters incident) were destroyed as part of a file-clearing policy enacted after every 25 years. However, other documents from the same era have resurfaced. Why these (and later discovered) items "survived" is currently unclear.

All the above makes it clear that official enquiries relating to UFO matters have been rated as "classified information" in some circumstances. It also indicates that claims and evidence which seemingly supports the reality of a "UFO cover-up" requires as much carefully assessment as the UFO reports themselves. Are the instances where the government has withheld information on UFOs attributable to some earth-shaking hidden knowledge about the subject? Alternatively, could it be due to more mundane reasons, ranging from unease about certain documents demonstrating official uncertainty as to the nature of UFOs, or fears that they may publicly reveal the infrastructure of military establishments, modes of communication and the capabilities of "sensitive" military technology? This is still very much an open question, although current evidence seems to suggest the latter possibility.

The Cover-up's Wilder Side; MJ-12 To "Area 51":

Before the mid-1980's, the majority of governmental cover-up allegations were relatively mild, involving the suppression of important cases and the misrepresentation of sightings. This changed drastically during the mid-1980's, when a series of astounding allegations were made which, if true, inferred that the American government's had considerable knowledge of the origin of UFOs. By the beginning of the 1990's these allegations had become highly influential aspects of popular ufology (and remain so today).

The most important of these relate to a supposed top secret American UFO study group called Majestic 12 (reputedly also known by the abbreviations "MJ 12" or "Majic-12"). Evidence of this alleged organization first surfaced in 1984, when a roll of an anonymously-submitted microfilm arrived at the residence of television producer Jamie Shandera. The group's name supposedly derives from its administration panel, which comprised of 12 high-ranking individuals with notable scientific, political and military backgrounds. It is said to have been founded in 1947, as a direct consequence of the so-called "Roswell incident". The "main" MJ-12 paper is a 5-page document dated the 18th November, 1952, and appears to be a "briefing" dossier issued to President-elect Eisenhower. This lists the members of this covert group and, additionally, gives information relating to the Roswell incident (and the UFO reports which preceded it). It describes in some detail the discovery, recovery and analysis of a crashed extraterrestrial device from that region, which the "dossier" claims contained 4 dead aliens. The second "core" MJ-12 document is a letter dated September 24th, 1947, addressed to alleged MJ-12 member James V. Forrestal and purportedly issued by President Harry Truman, outlining the project's brief. Some UFO researchers feel the MJ-12 papers are conclusive proof for the reality of extraterrestrial UFOs and the cover-up, and vindicate the "crashed alien spacecraft" interpretation of the "Roswell incident". Others state that the documents show many indications of being fairly recent forgeries. A steady flow of fresh documents relating to Majestic-12 have continued to appear throughout the 1980's and 1990's.

Following the appearance of the Majestic-12 "documents", several individuals came forward with yet more "revelations" concerning the American governments' alleged cover-up of UFOs. A host of astounding allegations were made by a variety of documents, mainly the so-called "Beta Report", "The Lear Document" and the "Dulce Papers", all of which first appeared in the late 1980's. These documents alleged that living alien "hostages" were being held by the American military establishment, and (more astounding) the American government had officially sanctioned extraterrestrial "harvesting" of UFO abductees and livestock. Detailed claims of alien bases upon the earth and secret deals between aliens and various world governments became commonplace during this period. Although all these allegations were (to say the least) fantastic and poorly substantiated, they indirectly formed the basis of a revamped extra-terrestrial belief system that would dominate public discussion of the UFO phenomenon throughout the 1990s.

In recent years much attention has been being focused on the Nellis test range complex, a large area of highly-restricted (and heavily-secured) land in Southern Nevada, USA, used to develop various classified aircraft. Past examples of devices tested and perfected in this locale include the U2 spy plane, the SR-71 and the F-117A and B-2 stealth aircraft. Sites within this region (semi-officially termed "Area 51") include Groom Lake Air Force Base. Film taken from just outside the bases' parameter show lights moving in an anomalous manner; performing turning manoeuvres which would render unconscious any human pilot contained within such a device). However, most Ufologists feel that (at least) the majority of this footage depict UAVs (remotely piloted vehicles) developed at Groom Lake, which (due to being teleoperated or robotically controlled) can perform manoeuvres impossible for a manned aircraft. The USAF refuses to make any detailed comments concerning their activities at Area 51. The mystery surrounding this region deepened with the allegations made by Bob Lazar, an individual who claimed to have worked as an outside technical contractor on an installation called "S-4" (reportedly located some 16 kilometres from Groom Lake AFB) during the late 1980's. Lazar and others were supposedly employed to "back-engineer" nine disc-shaped devices of alien origin, said to fly via "amplified gravity-wave" propulsion units and anti-matter power plants!

The Government (or someone) is watching...

A few UFO researchers allege they are (or have been) "monitored" by governmental agencies; citing possible instances of mail-tampering and 'phone-tapping as evidence to support their assertions. Documents have surfaced (the majority of which are probable forgeries) claiming certain Ufologists are government "plants", who's aim is to spread false information about this subject. However, it is a matter of record that several American UFO researchers have openly claimed to have acted in this capacity on behalf of certain intelligence agencies.

UFO witnesses have (from many countries) have claimed visits by one (usually more) individuals alleging to represent various government departments. Usually, such visitors appear to be what they claim. A few such claims refer to visitors who appear or behave outlandishly. They may act in an idiotic manner, ask strange questions, dress in out-of-date outfits and/or drive decades-old (but "showroom fresh") cars. They may give military credentials which, following later enquiries, turn out to be false. In some instances they confiscate - or attempt to confiscate - UFO photographs or other "evidence". They are also claimed to "advise" witnesses not to discuss their sighting, often issuing "B-Movie gangster"-type threats in the process. It is to this peculiar category of pseudo-official visitor that Ufologists gives the title Men in Black, or MIBs (named after their supposed preference for dark attire).

These so-called "Men in Black" made their first appearance during the early 1950's in a sensationalist book written by Albert K. Bender (who, incidentally, founded one of the first civilian UFO groups) called "Flying Saucers and The Three Men". Most ufologists dispute the (very) wild allegations made in this tome, but it set a precedent for such visitors. Views about the true nature of MIBs vary from them being direct representatives of aliens, government agents from a secret UFO governmental study group or merely eccentric UFO buffs passing themselves off as officials in order to get access to witnesses.

Recent Trends in Ufology.

The belief in a UFO cover-up (along with other, more extreme, aspects of the subject) has been markedly popularized (and doubtlessly reinforced) in recent years by several media conceptions and innovations. Equally, these same trends may have also contributed to its decline during the first decade of the 21st century.

In 1993 British television first broadcast a horror/Si-Fi series called the "X Files". Upon its initial showing many TV critics wrote the programme off as badly-acted "escapist" garbage. Even those involved in its production (such as its creator, Chris Carter) believed it would not even last a single series! But (against all expectations) the "X Files" became a global phenomenon, succeeding largely by reflecting the beliefs, concerns and ideals of contemporary culture. The "X Set in the present day, the "X Files" deals with the adventures of several FBI agents who's brief is to investigate unexplained phenomena. Many episodes featured stories based around UFO sightings, crashed flying saucers and alien abductions, loosely derived from actual claimed experiences. In regards to UFOs, the "X Files" underlying narrative is that UFOs are from outer space and covert forces within the government are involved in a secret "war" to suppress evidence capable of proving their existence, by any possible means. This programme is thought to have largely instigated the current 1990's obsession with the paranormal. The "X Files" further resulted in bring many previously obscure Ufological claims to the attention of a mass TV audience, thereby allowing them to permeate mainstream society. However, by the time the show ended in 2002 (after nine seasons) interest in Ufology had experienced a marked global decline.

Nonetheless, while it lasted, the popularity of the "X-Files" alerted TV producers to (the then notable) substantial interest in UFOs and the paranormal within the general viewing demographic. Prior to the 1990's UFO documentaries were few and far between, with nearly all that did appear adopting a highly sceptical approach towards the subject. But, in the wake of the "X-Files", UFOs began to be covered on a more regular basis. With VCR (and later DVD players) followed by internet based digital formats) becoming commonplace in most English households a wave of special interest productions dealing with UFOs began to appear; the number currently available now being quite considerable. The rise of digital TV during the early 21st century and the consequential mushrooming of new TV channels provided further incentive for the production of UFO themed series and one-off documentaries.

The scientific (and sceptical) community have, however, expressed concern over many of these prolific "new wave" of UFO "documentaries", due to their marked tendency of avoiding balanced discussions of the UFO phenomenon (with any negative evidence relating to a specific case being usually ignored or, at best, played down). The majority unquestionably advocate an extraterrestrial origin for those "UFO" events they deem to be "unexplained". Even more controversially, many utilize speculative dramatized "reconstructions" of notable UFO cases, which often give the viewer no reason to doubt they truly involved phenomena of a highly anomalous nature. As a result, many UFO sceptics condemn these programmes as being mere "paranormal propaganda", whose aim is not to inform, but to deliberately pander to the pseudo-mystical yearnings and credulity of the public.

At around the same time, various glossy newsstand magazines dealing with UFOs appeared on the market. Although there had been previous attempts at producing a publicly - available UFO magazine, few such efforts lasted more than a few issues, no more than one ever appeared in a specific moment of time and, in the main, their circulation tended to be quite limited. However, in the "X-Files era" a prolific number of competing UFO journals lined the magazine shelves, some remaining in circulation for several years or more. Like many contemporary TV and video UFO documentaries, the majority of these publications were notably uncritical and tended to be predisposed towards an extraterrestrial-based interpretation of the subject. By the early 2000’s they had all ceased newsstand publication, although a number of new (relatively short lived) UFO magazines have subsequently appeared over the past two decades.

This marked popularization of UFOs coincided (or, perhaps, was aided by) the rise in usage of the Internet; a global computer-based communication medium which has had a major influence upon Ufology in recent years. Prior to its general availability it was virtually impossible to circulate "fringe" ideas among a mass audience; the associated printing and distribution costs involved rendering this an impossibility. With the arrival of the Internet and powerful, compact mobile computers the need to physically "print" ideas is now no longer required. The Internet can curate and display textual, visual and audio data in an easily updatable format, making such information swiftly available on a global basis. The fact that most Internet providers exercise little control over what can be uploaded (regardless of how loathsome or spurious) has greatly aided the mass dissemination of various Ufological and other "fringe" topics; albeit at the cost of flooding such topics with a torrent of low quality information.

As a consequence, conspiracy theories once deemed so ridiculous as not to merit discussion (such as speculation that the moon landings were hoaxed by NASA) now receives mass public exposure via this medium, and, as a consequence, appears more often in other media (such as TV, magazines and books). It has provided an easy conduit for once fringe conspiracy theories to reach an audience of millions. These theories have become so prevalent in society that they attract a similar (if not greater) degree of interest as UFOs did during the late 1990's. Most of these claims represent virtually omnipotent governments who only experience negative events either because they directly plan them or due to the opposition of an equally powerful secret group (for which little evidence usually exists). Some of these claims infer various world governments are working for - or are directly controlled by - extraterrestrials; the most prolific of these claimants being the New Age writer David Ike. As consequence, conspiracy theories have come to dominate discussion of UFOs over the past decade.

The Internet has also had a notable effect in making information on UFOs directly available for virtually little cost, through discussion forums and internet-based mailing lists; often working in conjunction with other "web-able" digital technologies such as pdf data files and flash/mpeg video excerpts. This trend has accelerated the decline of mass-membership UFO societies, once a notable part of the subject from the 1960's but who began to fade from existence by the late 1980's. Some of these bodies, such as the British UFO Research Association (BUFORA), have survived this trend by becoming limited membership societies composed of active researchers and investigators, who use websites as their main communication medium. This latter approach mostly avoids the need to physically print information, replacing it with a cheaper media format capable of the inexpensive reproduction of high quality copy such as colour images.