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A Scientist Investigates the

MYSTERIES OF UFOS

Stanton T. Friedman,MSc.nuclear physicist and coauthor of C&ptMYCtl!

-LibraryJournal

"This book will delight those who can't get enough of crashed saucers andgovernmentcover-ups."

-Booklist

"Cantheygetherefromthere?Ifso,havetheyalreadyarrived?Andwhatistheevidence?NuclearphysicistStantonT.Friedman,a50-yearveteran scientificufologist known for his impeccable research, shares his findingswith us.Amust-have for anyone who wants to know the truth with the documentedevidencetobackitup."

-Kathleen Marden, coauthor of Captured! The Betty and Barney Hill UFOExperience

"FriedmanhasbeeninvolvedinUFOresearchformorethanaquartercentury.Duringthattime,hehasstruggledtirelesslyagainstavastamountofresistanceonalmosteverylevel.Hehasuncoveredhoaxes,discoveredhiddentruths,andhas fought arrogant bureaucrats and fallacy-happy UFO debunkers, not tomentionotherresearcherseagertodiscredithimfortheirownends.HeisoneofthefewtrulyprofessionalUFOresearchers."

-Whitley Strieber, New York Times best-selling author of Communion and2012:TheWarforSouls

FLYINGSAUCERSAND

SCIENCEASCIENTISTINVESTIGATESTHE

MYSTERIESOFUFOS:INTERSTELLARTRAVEL,CRASHES,

ANDGOVERNMENTCOVER-UPS

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StantonT.Friedman,MSc.

Acknowledgments

IwishtogratefullyacknowledgetheMutualUFONetworkforsponsoringmynumerousappearancesatitsannualsymposia,forcingmetopreparepapersforinclusioninthesymposiaproceedings.

ThanksalsotoTheFundforUFOResearch,whichprovidedsomeresearchgrantstoassistinmyfieldinvestigationsrelatedtoRoswellandmyvisitstoanumberofdocumentarchives.

ToRobertBigelowforagenerousresearchgrantforRoswellandMJ-12relatedresearch.

TotheproducersofalargenumberofradioandTVprogramswhohavegivenmeaplatform.

Tothehundredsofcollegeswhohaveallowedmetostimulatecampuscommunitieswithlecturesandclassvisits.

Tomyliteraryagent,JohnWhite,whohassuccessfullypursuedpublishers.Toallthosebravewitnesseswhohavebeenwillingtospeakoutdespitetheantipathyfromnasty,noisynegativists.

ContentsForewordsbyDr.EdgarMitchell,ScD,andDr.BruceMaccabee,PhD..II

Introduction.........................................23

ChapterI:TheCasefortheETOriginofFlyingSaucers...........29

Chapter2:YouCanGetHereFromThere....................59

Chapter3:FromWhereDoTheyCome?.....................93

Chapter4:TheCosmicWatergate.........................103

Chapter5:TheCultofSETI.............................129

Chapter6:TheUFO"Why"Questions......................153

Chapter7:Science,ScienceFiction,andUFOs................175

Chapter8:UFOsandPublicOpinion.......................199

Chapter9:UpdateonCrashedSaucersatRoswell..............217

Chapter10:ThePressandFlyingSaucers...................243

ChapterII:TheOperationMajestic12Documents............257

Conclusion:WhatDoesItMatter?........................297

Bibliography........................................303

Index.............................................309

AbouttheAuthor....................................315

ForewordsbyDr.EdgarMitchell,ScD,and

Dr.BruceMaccabee,PhD

ThefactofanextraterrestrialpresenceonandaroundEarthforat leasthalfof the20thcenturyhasbeenincreasinglyacceptedintheUnitedStatesandmuchoftheWesternworldinrecent times, albeit slowly. This has happened in spite of continuous efforts of political,military, andcultural authorities in theUnitedStates andothernations toobscure andevendeny that fact through the releaseofdistortedand false informationpertaining to sightingsandotherreports.

Discoverythatwearenotalonein theuniversemustrank,forushumans,asoneof themostportentouseventsinourentirehistory.Onlyinthetimeofgenerationsnowlivinghasourowntechnologyprogressedtothepointthatwecanventureoffourplanet,andalsocreatethemeans necessary to view the vastness of the cosmos as no generations before us havedone.

Debateaboutthepropriety,morality,andevenlegalityofsuchofficialdenialandcover-up of these events in a free and open society will likely continue for some decades.Justifications involving national security, potential use of the knowledge by militaryopponents,publicunrest,andevenfearofpublicuprisingsmaybeinvokedbythoseseekingtodefendthesepolicies.Thefact that thenow-famousRoswellUFOcrashoccurredshortlyafterWorldWarII,themostwidespreadanddisastrouswarinhistory,andfollowingthefirstuseofnuclearweaponryinwar-weaponrythatwasinitiallytestedatthenearbyWhiteSandsProvingGrounds-providedamplegroundsformilitaryconcerns.

Whetherthesewerevalidconcernshasyettobedetermined.However,inthecontextofthecoldwarera, it isunderstandable that themilitaryand intelligencecommunitiesmighthavebeen concerned that the aliens were hostile, yet were unable to do anything about theirpresence,andthuswouldnotwantthepublictoknow.(ThefamousradioprogramWaroftheWorldshadbeenbroadcaston theEastCoastof theUnitedStates only a fewyears earlier,causingwidespreadpanic.)Additionally,inlightoftherecoveryofanaliencraftatRoswell,themilitary and intelligence communitieswould notwantAmerica's ColdWar enemies toknowwehadgainedaccesstoanadvancedtechnologythatmightbeusedbytheUnitedStatestodeliverweapons.Sotheremayhavebeensoundreasonsforenforcingacloakofsecrecy,denial,andmisdirectionaboutUFOs.

But if so, one must wonder why the policy continues today, when the public is wellinformedandlargelyacceptingofthesubject.

Irrespectiveofhowoneviews thepros and consof60yearsofofficial denial of alienpresenceonandaroundourplanet,thetruthhasslowlyseepedoutintopublicawarenessandacceptance, due in part tomany of the inane stories and contradictions offered by officialsources.Mostly,however,discoveryofthetruthhasbeenduetothededication,thoroughness,andcapabilitiesofahandfulofinvestigatorssuchasStantonFriedman.

A 40-year veteran in the pursuit of truth about UFOs, Stan Friedman has used hisknowledge of science, his training as a nuclear physicist, and his penchant for diggingpersistently to discover the facts, sifted from an excess of fantasy and misinformation, tobecome a major figure in the effort to disclose the presence and activities of our alienvisitors.Hisworkandhiswritinginthisfielddeservetheveryhighestacclaim.

-EdgarMitchell,ScD,CaptainUSN(ret.)

LunarModulePilot,Apollo14

Sixthmanonthemoon

"UFObelieversare9944/100%kooks."

The editor of the technical journalAppliedOpticswrote that opinion in a letter to meaboutpublishingmyshortarticleonthe then-internationallyfamousNewZealandsightingsofDecember1978.Despitehisreservationsabout"UFObelievers,"hedidallowpublication,even thoughmy article claimed that the light that had been seenwas unidentified. He alsoallowedpublicationofasecondarticlebyscientistswhodisputedmyclaim,andthenathirdarticle-byme-thatrebuttedthesecondarticle.Therearesomemoredetailsofthisfollowing,butthecompletestoryandthepublishedarticlesareavailableathttp://brumac.8k.com/NEWZEALAND/NZSB.html.

ThepublicationofthreeshortarticlesdiscussingoneoftheNewZealandsightingsisoneof the few times-orperhaps theonly time-that a specificUFOcasehasbeendiscussed in apoint-counterpoint manner in the refereed scientific literature. The reluctance to publishdiscussionsofUFOreportsandthepreviouslystatedopinionoftheeditorofAppliedOpticsillustratethelowopinionthatthegeneralscientificcommunity(butnotallscientists)hasofUFO sightings and "ufology" (the study and analysis of UFO sightings and associatedphenomena)ingeneral.

ThetendencyofscientiststorejectUFOreportsasbeingspurioussightingsbyuntrainedobservers, [claiming that sightings are] all explainable as misidentifications, hoaxes, ordelusions, goes way back to the beginning, in late June of 1947, when experienced pilotKennethArnold,whohadabout4,000hoursofflyingtime,reportedseeingmanyunidentifiedsemicircular-shapedobjects fly pastMt.Rainier andMt.Adams in the state ofWashington.Theyhadnorecognizableaircraftfeatures(nowings,noverticalstabilizers,noengines).Hesaid they flewwith awobbling or skippingmotion, comparable to that of a spinning disc

skippingoverthewater.(Anewspapermanconvertedthedescriptionoftheflightdynamicstoadescriptionoftheobjectsthemselvesandcalledthem"flyingsaucers."Thenamestuck,eventhoughArnolddidn't say they looked like saucers.)Withina fewweeksofArnold's report,whichwaspublished throughout theUnitedStates, therewere hundreds of other reports ofstrangeobjectsflyingthroughthesky.TheU.S.ArmyAirForcebegancollectingreportsandpublicly stated that "they aren't ours."Air Force spokesmen admitted that they didn't knowwhatwascausingthesightings.OverthenextfewyearstheAirForceclaimedthatmostofthesightingscouldbeexplainedasprosaicphenomena(weatherphenomena,birds,misidentifiedairplanes,starsorplanets,hoaxes,andsoon),andtheonesthatcouldn'tbeexplainedsimplydidn'thaveenoughinformationtoallowidentificationofthephenomena.TheAirForcealsosaidtothegeneralpublic(andtothescientificcommunity),"Don'tworry,weareworkingonit,andwehaven'tfoundanythingyet."Theyaddedthat thereseemedtobenoevidenceofathreatfromflyingsaucers.

The scientific community considered the sightings from twopoints of view: theoreticaland experimental. There was no theory that could explain the generally reportedcharacteristicsofsaucers:typicallycircularorsemicircularinshape,abilitytoalternatelyflyathighspeedorhover,littleornoevidenceofpropulsionmechanisms,andsilentornearlysilent when hovering or traveling. (Note: all high-speed flight we humans have achieveddependsupontherapidcombustionoffuel.Combustionmakesnoise,asinthecylindersofapistonengine,intheturbineofajet,orinthecombustorofarocket.Balloon-bornecraftcanbe very quiet, but they also don't move very fast.) Some of the Air Force scientists andengineersworkingon thenewestpropulsiondevices initiallyconsidered thepossibility thattheunexplainablesaucersmightbeatomic-poweredSoviet flyingmachines thatwerebasedon advanced designs developed by the Germans in WWII. They soon dropped this ideabecausetheywerecertainthattheSovietswouldnotallowsecret,advanceddevicestoflyoverthe United States, where they might crash and their secrets could be discovered. With"advanced Soviet devices" ruled out, that meant that the saucer reports resulted frommisidentifications,hoaxes,ordelusions.Therewasnotheoreticalreasontoallowforafourthpossibility: flying craft made "elsewhere" (in other words, not from Earth). The chieftheoreticalreasonagainstthispossibilitywasessentiallythatthedistancesbetweenEarthandotherhypotheticalplanetsaresogreat that"theycan'tgethere fromthere."The theorywasthat it would take too much time and energy to build a fleet of flying saucers (or"motherships"analogoustoaircraftcarriers)totravelfromsomeotherstarsystemtoours.

(In more recent years, Stanton Friedman has disputed this theoretical objection toextraterrestrialsaucersinhislectures,andnowhedoesitinthisbook.)

IntheearlyyearsofUFOsightings(1947to1952andbeyond)thescientificcommunityalso relied upon the opinions or claims of those few scientists who actually studied andproposed explanations for individual sightings. These scientists took theexperimental/theoreticalapproach:Imagineeachsighting tobeanon-repeatableexperimentresulting in observational data, and try to find a phenomenon theoretically capable ofexplainingthedata.Thisapproachwouldhaveturnedupunexplainablesightings,exceptforone factor: anti-saucer bias by the mainstream scientists. This bias arose from the theorydiscussed previously ("they can't get here from there"). Hence these mainstream scientistsoften"force-fit"anexplanationontoasighting.Theywouldclaimthat theyhadexplainedasighting,withoutactuallyprovingtheexplanationwasvalid.Forexample,one"theory"oftheKennethArnoldsightingis thathesawa"mountaintopmirage."It isfineand"scientific" toconsidertheorysuchasthistoexplainasighting,butoncethetheoryhasbeengenerateditisnecessary todetermineexactlywhatpartorpartsofa sighting the theorymightexplain. Inthis case, mountaintop mirages are associated with mountains. Because Arnold reportedseeing the saucers nearMt. Rainier, this could be considered a (weak) point of agreementbetween the theory and the observation. However, further study of this theory shows noagreement with other aspects of the observation: mountaintop mirages are above themountaintops,butArnoldclaimedthesaucerswerebelowthetopofMt.Rainier(hesawthemsilhouettedagainstthesideofthemountain);mirageshavenolateralmotion-theystayabovethetopsofthemountainsbutArnoldsawthesaucerstravelingfromnorthtosouthatahighspeed(heevenmeasuredthespeedatabout1,700mph!);miragesaretypicallydim(inverted)images of the mountaintops, but Arnold said he saw bright sunlight reflections from theobjects.Sothemountaintopmiragetheoryhasonepointofweakagreementandthreepointsof strong disagreement. Itmust be rejected. Failure to agree with the observation did not,however, prevent this explanation from being published. Some people probably read theexplanationanddecidedthatArnoldsawamirage.

OnescientistwhoclaimedtohaveexplainedtheArnoldsighting,Dr.DonaldMenzel(whoisdiscussedinthisbook),proposedthatArnoldsaw"blastsofbillowingsnow"fromthesides

ofMt.Rainier.ThewindwouldcarrythesnowsouthwardfromMt.Rainier, thusexplainingthelateralmotion.However,itwouldlookwhite,likesnow,notlikeshinysemicircularmetalobjects.Furthermore,thewindsblowingthesnowwouldhavebeendetectedbyArnoldasheflewpast(southof)Mt.Rainierwhileheadingeast.YetArnoldreportedcalmconditions-nowind.Rejecttheblastsofsnow.Menzelalsoproposed"waveclouds"and"waterdropsonthewindshield," twomore explanations that failed. These theoretical explanations, and others,wereofferedforArnold'ssightingwithoutcarefulchecksagainstthesightingdetails.Notoneoftheproposedexplanationsprovidedasatisfactoryfittotheobservationaldata.

Because Menzel and others suggested so many potential explanations, the generalscientificcommunityseemedtoconcludethatArnold'ssightinghadbeenexplained.Butthisconclusion was arrived at without independent analysis of the data by other scientists.Apparentlyscientistsfeltthat,becausetherewasnotheoreticalreasontobelievesaucerscouldbe anything other than ordinary phenomena, there was also no reason to question theexplanationsproposedbyMenzelandothersthroughouttheyearssince1947.Thescientificcommunityhasalsofailed toquestion theexplanationsofferedforothersightingsbyotherscientists(andnon-scientists).

Anotherfactorduringtheearlyyears(1947-1960)thathasledthescientificcommunitytoavoidthestudyofUFOsightingsisthattheAirForcekeptcontrolofthebestsightingdatabymilitaryobserversthatinvolvedmultiplewitnesses,radar,andsoon.Civilianscientistsweregenerallynotsufficiently interested in thesightings to travel toWright-PattersonAirForceBasetoviewthesightingdata,sofewoutsidethemilitarywereawareofthebestsightings.AtthesametimetheAirForcewaseffectivelycoveringupthedata,itwasalsopubliclyclaimingthat,despitetheir"bestefforts,"theinvestigations[ProjectsSign(1948),Grudge(1949-1951),andBlueBook(1952-1969)]werefindingnoevidenceofunknowntechnology.Thus,intheearly years, a "tradition"was established that saucer sightings are not a result of unknownscienceortechnology,andcanallbeexplained.Itisthistraditionthatexplainswhytherehavebeen few UFO sightings (or perhaps only one-New Zealand), discussed in the refereedliterature.ItisthistraditionthatledtheeditorofAppliedOpticstomakethe"9944/100%"comment.AnditiswithinthistraditionthattheeditorofScienceMagazinewasactingwhen,in1974,herejectedmyfirstattemptatpublishingascientificarticleaboutaUFOsighting.

In1967itwas"legitimate"toopenlydiscussUFOsbecausetherehadbeenmanypubliclyreported sightings in themiddle 1960s, which caused Congress to order the Air Force tosupport an investigation independent ofProjectBlueBook. (This turnedout to be the two-year-long"CondonStudy"attheUniversityofColorado.)Duringthatyear,initsSeptember15 issue, ScienceMagazine published an article byWilliamMarkowitz with the title "ThePhysicsandMetaphysicsofUnidentifiedFlyingObjects."Thisarticlewasentirelyconsistentwiththetradition.Markowitzarguedthat,becausethereportedobjectsdothingsthatseemtoviolatesomelawsofphysicsandengineeringasweknowthem,andbecausehewasunawareof anyconvincingevidence in the formof sightingsorhardware,no flying saucerwas anextraterrestrialcraft.Threeyearslater(November6,1970),Sciencepublishedanotherarticleconsistent with the tradition, entitled "Status Inconsistency Theory and Flying SaucerSightings."InthisarticleDonaldWarrenarguedthatpeoplewhohaveinconsistenciesintheirlives (such as a personwith a sixth-grade education being the chief executive officer of alarge corporation, or a former bank executive who is now a janitor), may feel excessivestress,leadingtoalienationfromsociety,andsomaybemorelikelytoreportseeingaflyingsaucer.Sciencehasalsopublished letters to theeditor responding to theMarkowitz article,manyof them critical ofMarkowitz, so I felt that itmight be possible to get a "pro"-UFOarticleintoScience.

AftertheflapofUFOsightingsinthefallof1973Idecidedtomakemymove.Isubmittedan article with the title, "WhyMight a Scientist Decide to Investigate UFOs?" This articlepointed out that some sightings seemed unexplainable, and then offered as an example thedetails of a multiplewitness, long-duration sighting of a strange rocket-shaped object thathoveredaboveamountainneartheShenandoahValleyinVirginia.TwoweekslaterIreceivedaletterfromtheeditoradvisingmethathealreadyhadenougharticlestolastforsixmonths,soifIwantedtogetthearticlepublishedIshouldtrysomeotherjournal.Ofcourse,Iwouldhavebeenwilling towait ayear toget anarticlepublished inScience, so I took this as animmediateandfinalrejection.Thetraditionhadwonout.

Five years later, when I submitted my first letter to the editor of Applied Optics, thetraditionwasstillinforce.ThisfirstletterhadnothingtodowiththeNewZealandsightings-they had not yet occurred. Instead, this letter was in response to a tradition-based article

published in theNovember 1 issue of AppliedOptics, in which the authors suggested thatsome unexplainable UFO sightings were actually flying swarms of glowing insects. Theywere supposedly glowing because of electrical discharges from their pointed body parts(legs,antennae)astheswarmflewthroughastrongelectricalfieldthatcanoccurundersomecalmatmosphericconditions(notjustduringthunderstorms).Myletterdisputedthis"BuggyUFOHypothesis(BUFOH)."SeveralmonthslatertheeditorsaidhewouldpublishmyletterifI shortened it. However, during that time the New Zealand sightings occurred, and I hadcarried out an on-site investigation, had performed an optical analysis of the colormoviefilmof the lights, andhadmanaged to obtain a quantitative estimate of the power thatwasradiatedbyoneofthelights.IhadalsotriedtogetmyestimatepublishedinNatureMagazine,because Nature had carried a report on the sightings soon after they occurred. However,Naturehadrejectedit-notbecausetherewassomethingwrongwiththeanalysis,butbecausetheeditorofNaturehadexpectedamorecomprehensivestudy.Becausemypowerestimatewas,therefore,bothtimelyandunpublished,IproposedtotheeditorofAppliedOpticsthat,instead of publishingmy rebuttal of theBUFOH, hemight consider publishingmy opticalanalysisandpowerestimateasanindirectrebuttaloftheBUFOH(certainlythelightrecordedon the New Zealand movie film was not a swarm of glowing insects!). He agreed, but Ibelieveitwasnotbecausehewastakinganunbiased,scientificattitudetowardUFOsightings,but rather that he felt he "owedmeone"becausehehaddelayed so long in publishingmyletter about the BUFOH. Subsequently, he published a rebuttal tomy letter, and then, veryreluctantly,myresponsetotherebuttal.

Thepointhereisthat,evenunderthe"best"ofconditions,mainstreamscientistsacceptthetradition. In this book Stanton Friedman shows why scientists should reject the tradition.Instead,theyshouldlookforthemselvesatsomeofthemostpuzzlingsightingsinthelast60-plusyears.Heshowsthattheargumentsoftenmadetosupportthetradition,suchas"therearenovery interestingsightings thataren'texplainable,andnounexplainable sightings thatarereallyinteresting"(paraphraseofacommentbyCarlSagan),or"allUFOwitnessesarepoorobservers" (paraphraseofEdwardCondon), are justplainwrong. In theopen literature (asopposedtosecretgovernment"closed"literature,aboutwhichwecanonlyguess) therearesighting reports that combinemultiple witnesses (two or more) with long duration (manysecondstominutesorlonger)andrelativelylargeangularsizesoshapedetailscanbeseen(1/3ofthefullmoonsizeorlarger).Therearesomethatincluderadar(ground,airborne,orboth), some that include physical effects on machines (car stopping, effects on aircraft

controls),somethatincludelandingtraces,andmanythat includephotosorfilmorvideos.(The New Zealand sighting is the only one known to this author that combines multiplewitnesseswithair andground radar, aswell ascolormovie filmandaudiotape recordingsmadeduringthesightings.)

Stan,havinggivenhundredsof lectures, literally throughout theworld, is very familiarwiththequestionspeopleask,andhehasansweredmanyoftheminthisbook.YouwillfindoutwhyhethinkstheSearchforExtraterrestrialIntelligence(SETI),whichattemptstodetectradioorlightsignalsfromothercivilizations,is"silly"andlikelytofailevenifthereareETcivilizations"outthere."Youwillfindoutwhyhebelievesthereisagovernmentcover-upor"Cosmic Watergate." You will find out where scientists have gone wrong in predictingphysics-based limitations on technological advances (for example, predicting that mannedflightinaheavierthan-airvehiclewasimpossiblethreemonthsbeforeitwasaccomplishedbytheWrightbrothers).Youwilllearnaboutthedisconnectbetweenufologyandsciencefictionwriters(whofullyacceptthe"tradition"),and,considering theufologicallynegativeaspectsofthe"tradition,"youmaybesurprisedtolearnwhatpublicopinionpollsshow.Youwillalsofind discussions of the most up-to-date information on the Roswell crash, the Betty andBarneyHillabduction,andtheinfamousMJ-12documents.

Thisbookshouldhelpyoubreak through the traditionbarrier,as Ididyearsago.Afterstudyingthissubjectformorethan40yearsIhavetoagreewithStan:AFCsarereal(whereAFC=AlienFlyingCraft).Wearenotalone!

-Dr.BruceMaccabee,PhD

Introduction

Itwaswaybackin1958thatIcasuallyorderedabookcalledTheReportonUnidentifiedFlyingObjects byAir ForceCaptainEdward J.Ruppelt. (I needed onemore book formyorderfromamail-orderdiscountbooksuppliertosavepayingshippingcosts.)Thebookhadbeenmarkeddownfrom$2.95to$1,whichwouldhavebeenthecostofshippinganyway,ifIhadn'torderedit.Thus, itwasfree.Ruppelt, theadsaid,hadbeeninchargeofProjectBlueBook. At the time I was working as a young nuclear physicist on nuclear airplanes forGeneral Electric near Cincinnati, and figured Ruppelt ought to know what he was talkingabout. The United States Air Force (USAF) was cosponsor of our program with the oldAtomicEnergyCommission. I thought,maybe ifUFOswere real, theywere usingnuclearpowerfortheircraft.Mightbeworthalaugh,anyway.Ireadalotbackthen.

Thebookintriguedme,and,withhindsight,IcansayitwasaveryluckyfirstUFObook.(Many I have since discovered aren't worth the paper onwhich they are printed.) I read abunch more, and discovered a very important volume called Project Blue Book SpecialReportNo.14attheUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeleylibrary.Itreallycaughtmeupshort(as I will describe fully in Chapter 2). I then joined two serious groups: The NationalInvestigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena, and the Aerial Phenomena ResearchOrganization(bothlonggone),togettheirnewslettersandreadalotmore.ItalkedwithmycolleaguesasIwentfromonecancelledgovernment-sponsoredclassifiedadvancedresearchand development program to the next, never dreaming that I would be writing my ownmagnumopusin2008.

Igavemyfirstlectureaboutflyingsaucersin1967inthelivingroomofawomanwhowasatechnicianatWestinghouseAstronuclearLaboratorynearPittsburgh,Pennsylvania.Weweredesigning,building,andtestingnuclearrocketenginesforpossibleuseasupperstagesindeep-spacepropulsionsystems.HerbookreviewclubwascoveringFrankEdwards'sbook,FlyingSaucersSeriousBusiness,whichwasabest-seller.IhadbecomefriendswithEdwardswhen living in Indianapolis working for General Motors on another eventually cancelled

nuclearprogram, andhad just recently read thebookhehad sentme.Onhis advice, I hadcalledKDKA,a50,000-wattClearChannelradiostation,totalktotheproducerofatalkshowcalledContact.Theytoldme,"Don'tcallus;wewillcallyou."Withinafewweeks theydidcallme,butonlybecauseaguesthadcancelledatthelastminute,andIlivednearthestation.Mybook-clubhostessheardtheshow,andtherestishistory.Ihavesincegivenmorethan700lectures in all 50 states, nine Canadian provinces, and 16 other countries. Some were toaudiences as large as 2,000 people.Most were at colleges and universities.Many were toengineering societies,management clubs, sectionsof theAmerican Institute ofAeronauticsand Astronautics, the American Nuclear Society, the Institute of Electrical and ElectronicEngineers, and the like. In addition, I have appeared on many hundreds of radio and TVshows.Ihavebeenincrediblyluckytohavebeenquestionedbysomanypeople.

As a result of those questions, I have felt there reallywas a need for a comprehensivebookthatcovers,indepth,manydetailsthattherewasnotimetocoverinasinglelectureorinterview or video documentary. Each of my previous books has focused on a relativelynarrow area: Crash at Corona: The Definitive Study of the Roswell Incident, with DonBerliner,ofcoursefocusedonRoswell,asIwastheinitialcivilianinvestigatorofthatcase.Mysecondbook,TOPSECRET/MATIC,wasconcernedwiththegenuine,controversial,andveryimportantclassifiedOperationMajestic12documents,aswellasanumberofphonyMJ-12 documents.My third book, Captured! The Betty and BarneyHill UFOExperience, wasprimarilywrittenbymycoauthor,KathleenMarden(Betty'sniece).Itprovidesagreatdealofnever-beforepublished informationabout theHillcase, including theattackson itbynoisynegativists,aswellastheveryimportantstarmapseenbyBettyonboardthecraft.IwasthefirsttowriteaboutthatveryexcitingworkbyMarjorieFish-andfirsttodealwiththecritics.

I finally decided it was long past time to provide an overview and a sort of ufologytextbookcovering in farmoredepth thematerial that Icouldonly touchon ina60- to90-minute lecture, or in one ofmymonthly columns in theMutual UFONetwork (MUFON)journal,UFOMagazine,oronmyWebsite,www.stantonfriedman.com.Afterall,at the ripeoldageof73,howmanymoreyearsofgoodhealth(andsoundmind)doIhaveleft?Beinganoptimistandhavinghadbothmyparentsliveuntiltheywere89,IdopresumeIwillhavesomemoregoodyearsleft.

In addition, I had written numerous medium-sized articles for my presentations at anumber of annual MUFON symposia. All speakers are required to submit a paper to beincludedinthesymposiumproceedingsdistributedattheconference.Minehadtitlessuchas"FlyingSaucersandPhysics,""DebunkingtheRoswellDebunkers,""RoswellandMajestic12intheNewMillennium,""StarTravel?YES!"andthelike.Ofcourse,Ididn'treadanyofthepapersoutloudattheconferences;Ispokeextemporaneously,usingslides.Eachsymposiumpresentationforcedmetothinkindetailaboutaparticularareaofufology.

Thisbookcovers,indepth,myanswerstosuchquestionsasIstherereallyanyevidencethat some UFOs are alien spacecraft? and covers the largescale scientific studies thedebunkers seem consistently to avoid. It deals at length with the question of whetherinterstellar travel within our local galactic neighborhood is feasible-drawing on my ownwork as a nuclear physicist on far-out nuclear airplanes, fission nuclear rockets, fusionnuclearrockets,andnuclearpowerplantsforspaceapplications. It isalsoeasy tomake thecasefordefinitemajor-andgenerallyeffective-effortsonthepartoftheU.S.governmenttocoverupthefactsandmisdirectthepressandscientificcommunitieswithliesandhalf-truths.There really is a Cosmic Watergate. Naturally, I will take advantage of my 14 years ofclassified nuclear work (my specialty seemed to be exciting, challenging, and eventuallycancelled government-sponsored research and development programs for majorcorporations),andmyvisitsto20documentarchives.

Itseemsnecessarytoconfrontthemassoffalseargumentsagainstflyingsaucerrealitybysuch stalwart science fictionwriters as Dr. IsaacAsimov, Ben Bova, Arthur C. Clark, andothers. In addition, I seem to be one of the fewwilling to throw down the gauntlet to thepractitionersofSETI(SillyEffortToInvestigate,Isay)whohaveprovidednoscientificdatato support their strange assumptions about alien technology,motivations, and actions, andhavebetrayed total ignoranceofactualUFOevidence.TheemperorsofsciencefictionandSETIhavedemonstratedthattheirattacksarebareofreasonandlackabasisinfactsanddata.Clearly,ignoranceisblissforthemandthosewillingtotakewhatevertheysayasthegospeltruth.

Itisalsousefultodealatsomelengthwiththeresultsofanumberofpublicopinionpollsthatclearlydebunkthenotionthatmostpeople-andespeciallymostscientists-don'tbelieveinflying saucers.Theacceptanceof these false notions has keptmanypeople from reportingtheir sightings, many scientists from teaching a course or sponsoring a thesis, and manyjournalists fromdoing theirhomeworkanddigginginto the topicof theCosmicWatergatethatflyingsaucersrepresent.

Because I have spent so much time on the Roswell Incident and on the Majestic 12documents, Iwill alsodeal separatelywithmanyof the falseattacksonboth stories.Thereseemstobenolimittothebaloneybeingservedupbythenasty,noisy,unenlightenedgroupofcriticswhohaveconsistentlybeenguiltyofignoringthefactsinbothsituations.

Because I have been asked more than 40,000 questions about UFOsmany of theWhy?variety-Ifeelcomfortabledealingwithahostofthese,suchas:

Whythegovernmentcover-up?

Why would aliens come here, out in the boondocks of the local galacticneighborhood?

WhyhavetherebeennolandingsontheWhiteHouselawn?

Thereisalsotheprovocativequestionastofromwherealienspacecraftmightoriginate.Beneath the ground? From other planets in our solar system? From other solar systems?Fromothergalaxies?Myideaforonestartingplaceforalienvisitors(aswouldbeobvioustothosewhohavereadCaptured!)isfromaplanetneareitherZetaIorZeta2Reticuli.Thesetwosun-likestarsinthesouthernskyconstellationofReticulum(meaning"thenet"inLatin)aretheclosest-to-each-otherpairofsun-likestarsinourentirelocalneighborhood.Theyareonly1/8ofalight-yearapartfromeachother,onlyabout39.2light-yearsfromhere,andareamind-bogglingbillionyearsolderthanoursun.Theyareveryspecial.ItisnowonderthattheSETIcultists tendto ignore them-exceptforasillyclaimthat theywere listened towith

radiotelescopesmorethanadecadeagoandnothingwasheard.Chapter6onSETIdetailsthefoolishnessofthatclaim.

Imustsay,Ihavehadanumberofsurprisesalongtheway.WorkingmywaythroughfiveyearsofcollegeasabusboyintheCatskillsofNewYorkstate,adishwasherinafraternityatRutgers,aunionwaiterataSouthsideChicagohotel,Ihadbeenunderthenaiveimpressionthatscientistsandjournalistswereseekersoftruth.Itturnsoutthatoften,theyarenot.Doingaweekly science commentary for six years for CBC Radio here in Fredericton, NewBrunswick, I frequently ran across bad science published in good journals. Speaking athundreds of colleges, I frequently hear comments about one or another aspect of theUFOquestion thatwasquite unscientific, even though the speaker had aPhD. Ignorance is oftenblissfortheacademics.Ialsolearnedtohavefactsinhandbeforeputtingmouth ingear.Agoodlessonforall.

As with all nonfiction books, Flying Saucers and Science is intended to stimulate,enlighten,andentertain.Itwillalsoprovidesomeone-stopshoppingforthosewithaseriousinterestinflyingsaucerswhoarebewilderedbythemassofinformationandmisinformationinbothdebunkingand"believer"books,ontheInternet,inso-calledTVdocumentaries,andonsomeradiotalkshows.

There is no general law against lying. As a physicist, I believe onemust ask the rightquestions,havealarge"graybasket"forthosequestionsaboutwhichthereistoolittlesolidinformationtoreachascientificconclusion,anddigdeeplyforanswers.

Finally,Iamespeciallyinterestedinthoseformermilitarypersonnelwhohavehaddirectexposuretoaliensandalienspacecraft,andwhofeelitisabouttimetotellitlikeitis,insteadof continuing the cover-up. Please contact me. My Website is www.stantonfriedman.com,which shows my address and phone number. Witness names will not be used without

permission.

Ithasbeenafascinating50years.

TheCasefortheETOriginofFlyingSaucers

One of the standard claims of UFO debunkers is that there is no evidence that anyunidentified flying saucers (UFOs) are intelligently controlled extraterrestrial spacecraft.After all, they say, we have only anecdotes, usually from uneducated people looking forpublicity. No scientists have seen UFOs; there are no radar cases; there is no physicalevidence; governments can't keep secrets; all that crash landed atRoswellwas an array ofMogulballoons;soonandsoforth.Asithappens,alloftheseclaimsarefalse.Thischapterwillreplacethesemythswiththefacts.

Istartallofmy"FlyingSaucersAREReal" lectureswith thesefourconclusions,whichI'vereachedaftermorethan50yearsofstudyandinvestigation:

1. The evidence that planet Earth is being visited by intelligently controlledextraterrestrial spacecraft is overwhelming. In otherwords, someUFOs areETspacecraft.Mostarenot-Idon'tcareaboutthem.

2.ThesubjectofflyingsaucersrepresentsakindofCosmicWatergate.Thatmeansthatsomefewpeopleinourgovernmenthaveknownsinceatleast1947,whenatleasttwocrashedflyingsaucersandseveralalienbodieswererecoveredinNewMexico, that indeed someUFOswere alien spacecraft. This does notmean thateverybody in thegovernmentknows.Theway tokeep secrets is to restrict theirdistribution to as few people as possible and stick by a strong need-to-knowpolicy.(InChapter5Iwillprovethattherehasbeenacover-up.)

3.TherearenogoodargumentsagainstconclusionsnumberIand2,despitetheveryvocalclaimsofasmallgroupofnoisynegativistssuchasthelateCarlSagan,aclassmate ofmine for three years at theUniversity of Chicago. The debunkingclaimssoundgreat.However,onceoneexaminesthedata,theycollapse,becauseof an absence of evidence to support them, and the presence of evidence thatcontradictsthem.

4.Flying saucersare thebiggest storyof themillennium:visits toplanetEarthbyalienspacecraftandthesuccessfulcover-upofthebestdata,bodies,andwreckage,formorethan60years.

Iwillbefocusingonevidence.Iseldomusethetermproof.SomepeoplehaveinsistedthatifIcan'tprovideapieceofasauceroranalienbody,thereisnothingtosupportmyclaims.IwasquitesurprisedduringmylastvisitwithCarlSaganinDecember1992,whenheclaimedthattheessenceofthescientificmethodwasreproducibility.Inactuality,asIwroteSaganlateron,thereareatleastfourdifferentkindsofscience:

1.Yes,thereisalotofexcellentsciencedonebypeoplewhosetupanexperimentinwhichtheycancontrolallthevariablesandequipment.Theymakemeasurementsand then publish their results, after peer review, and describe their equipment,instruments, and activity in detail so that others can duplicate the work and,presumably,come to thesameconclusions.Suchscience canbevery satisfying,andcertainlycancontributetotheadvancementofknowledge.However,itisnottheonlykindofscience.

2.Asecondkindofscience involvessituations inwhichonecannotcontrolall thevariables,butcanpredictsome.Forexample,IcannotprovethatonoccasionthemooncomesdirectlybetweenthesunandtheEarthandcastsashadowofdarknesson theEarth, because I cannot control the positions of theEarth,moon, or sun.Whatcanbedoneispredictingthetimeswhensucheclipseswillhappenandbeingreadytomakeobservationswhentheyoccur.HopefullytheweatherwhereIhavemyinstrumentswillallowmetomakelotsofmeasurements.

3. A third kind of science involves events that can neither be predicted norcontrolled,butonecanbereadytomakemeasurementsifsomethingdoeshappen.Forexample,anarrayofseismographscanbeestablishedtoallowmeasurementstobemadeat several locations in theeventofanearthquake.When Iwasat theUniversity of Chicago, a block of nuclear emulsion was attached to a largeballoon that would be released when a radiation detector indicated that a solarstormhadoccurred(somethingwecouldneitherproducenorpredict).Somebodywould rush to Stagg Field and release the balloon. When the balloon wasretrieved, the emulsion would be carefully examined to measure the number,

direction,velocity,andmasscharacteristicsofparticlesunleashedbythesun.

4. Finally, there is a fourth kind of science, still using the rules to attack difficultproblems.Thesearetheeventsthatinvolveintelligence,suchasairplanecrashes,murders, rapes, and automobile accidents.Wedonot knowwhenorwhere theywill occur, but we do know they will. In a typical year more than 40,000Americanswillbekilledinautomobileaccidents.Wedon'tknowwhereorwhen,sorarelyareTVcameraswhirlingwhentheseeventstakeplace.Butwecan,afterthe fact, collect and evaluate evidence.We can determine if the driver had highlevels of alcohol in his or her blood, whether the brakes failed, whether thevisibility was poor, where a skid started, and so on. Observations of strangephenomenaintheskycomeunderthislastcategory.

Inallthecategory-4events,wemustobtainasmuchtestimonyfromwitnessesaspossible.Some testimony is worth more than other testimony, perhaps because of the duration ofobservation, the nearness of the witnesses to the event, the specialized training of theobserver, the availability of corroborative evidence such as videos and still photos, or theconsistencyofevidencewhenthereistestimonyfrommorethanonewitness.Ourentirelegalsystemisbasedontestimony-rarelyisthereconclusiveproofsuchasDNAmatching.Judgesandjuriesmustdecide,withappropriatecross-examination,whoistellingthetruth.Insomestates,testimonyfromonewitnesscanleadtothedeathpenaltyfortheaccused.

Weshouldtakenoteofthefactthateveninstrumentdataisdependentontestimonyfromthe observer of the instruments, and on appropriate calibration and validation understandardizedcircumstances.Also,ourcourtsplacelimitsonrequirementsfortestimony,suchasthatagainstonespousebytheother.Furthermore,therearerulesabouthearsaytestimony,andrulesregardinglegalevidencearecomplexanddetailed.

Whenitcomestoflyingsaucers,wemustrememberthatthereasonmostsightingscanbedeterminedtoberelativelyconventionalphenomena,oftenseenunderunusualcircumstances,isthatmostpeoplearerelativelygoodobservers.Theproblemcomeswiththeinterpretation

ofwhatwas observed. Peoplewatching the sky late at nightmay get excited about a verybrightlightthatmovedveryslowly.Checkingonthepositionoftheplanetsatthattimemayreveal that that light was Venus, because we have good information as to the angle ofobservation, thedirectionofthelightfromtheobserver, therelativelyslowrateofmotion,the location ofVenus at that time, and so on.On three occasions,when living in SouthernCalifornia,Iwascalledbypeoplewhodescribedanunusualobjectmovingrapidly.ItriedtomakesurethatIanalyzedtheirobservations,suchas,whattimewasit?Inwhatdirectionwereyoulooking?Inwhatdirectiondiditseemtobemoving?Wasthereanysound?Whatwasitsapparentsize,say,ascomparedtothemoon(justcoveredbyanaspirinheldatarm'slength)?

Twoof thepeoplewantedtotellmethat theobjectwasjustover thenexthill. I stressedthat this was an interpretation, because even huge objects far away can seem to be smallobjects nearby. In all three cases, I felt thatwhatwas being described sounded similar to arocketlauncheddowntheCaliforniaCoastwhenthesunhadgonedown,butwhiletheobjectwas high enough to still be in sunlight. I had seen such a spectacular case once myself. Ichecked, in all three cases,withVandenbergAirForceBase,which launchesmany rocketsdowntheU.S.WestCoast.Indeed,therehadbeenalaunchattherighttimeineachcase.Onecasewasespeciallyintriguing,becauseseveralwitnesseswerelookingoutacrosstheoceanfromabeachareaanddescribedthethingtheysawassimilartoastringofpopcorn.Itturnedouttobethelaunchofaspecialweathersatellitewithextrasolidboostersbeingdroppedoffmultipletimes.

Thepeopleweregoodobservers.Tosaytheleast,itwouldbeirrationaltosaythatpeoplearegoodobserverswhentheirinputallowsustoidentifytheobjectbeingobserved,andyetpoorobserversifwecan'tidentifytheUFOassomethingconventional.

Categories

EveryUFOsightingcanbeplacedinoneofthreegroups:

A.ThosereportsofUFOsthateventually,aftercarefulinvestigation,turnouttobeidentifiedflyingobjects(IFOs).Thisisbyfarthelargestcategory.Subcategoriesinclude astronomical phenomena, aircraft, balloons, advertising planes,experimentalaircraft,unmannedaerialvehicles,flocksofbirds,andhoaxes.

B. Those reports of UFOs that provide insufficient data on which to base aconclusion. Sometimes for old reports, people aren't sure of the exact date andtime,forexample,orcan'trecallthedirectionofmotion,orthecolor,andsoon.Notmuchonecandowiththese.

C.TheUNKNOWNS.Thesearereportsbycompetentobserversofstrangeobjectsintheskyorontheground,whichcannotbeidentifiedbythewitness,andwhichremain unidentified after investigation by competent investigators, and whoseappearanceindicatesthattheyweremanufactured(thisrulesoutmostlights),andwhoseflightbehaviorindicatesthattheyweremadesomewhereotherthanEarth.WeEarthlingscan'tbuildthingsthatlookandactthatway.Ifwecould,wewould,becauseofthemilitaryapplicationsofsuchcraft.

Remember that the question is notAre allUFOs alien spacecraft?The question is, Areany?As shall be seen,myanswer isdefinitelyyes. If youwere to askme, "Are anyUFOssecret,government-sponsoredresearch-and-developmentvehicles?"myanswerwouldagainbeyes.

Therearesomelogicaltrapsawaitingtheunwaryhere.Somepeoplewanttoclaim:"Isn'titreasonabletosaythat,ifmostUFOscaneventuallybeidentified,allcanbe?"Thinkaboutthatforaminute.Woulditbereasonabletosaythatbecausemostpeoplearenot7feettall,noone is?Becausemost isotopesaren't fissionable,noneare;becausemostpeopledon't haveAIDS,noonedoes;becausemostchemicalswillnotcureanydiseases,nonedo?Obviouslywelearn,earlyon,tofocusonthedatarelevanttothequestionathand.Thebasketballcoachiswellawarethattherearefarmorepeopleshorterthan7feetthanthosetallerthan7feet.Butheknowstherearesomeofthelatter.WhenIwasatRutgersUniversityinNewBrunswick,New Jersey, Dr. SelmanWaksman of the microbiology department collected soil samplesfromallaroundtheworldseekingchemicalswithanti-diseaseproperties.Oneofhismajor

discoveries, after checking onmany thousands of soil cultures,was streptomycin, the firstcurefortuberculosis.

HewontheNobelPrizein1952forthatwork.Otherantibioticswerelaterfound;mostofthe cultureswereworthless.Goldminers know that ore isworthmining if there is a half-ounceofgoldpertonofore;that'slessthan.001percentoftheore.

Ilearnedearlyon,whenworkingondesigningandtestingradiationshieldingforaircraftnuclearpropulsion systemsandother compactnuclear reactors, that by far themajority ofgammaraysandneutronsproducedinthereactorgetabsorbedinthesurroundingshieldingmaterial.But it is the tinypercentage thatpenetrates the shield thathad tobemy focus, if Iwantedtoprotectcrewmembers.Itisthecategory-Ccasesthatmatter:TheUNKNOWNS.

Theproblemthenbecomesfinding theUNKNOWNS.Manybooks talkabout individualcases;howcanareaderevaluatethem?Therearetensofthousandsofnewspaperarticlesandvideos about UFO cases, YouTube has loads of videos-the Internet is chock full of UFO-relatedmaterialmuchofwhichisworthless.Buthowcanoneevaluatethismassofunevenandusually uninvestigated cases? I think that, in general, the best place to search involves theseverallarge-scalescientificstudies...almostnevermentionedbytheUFOdebunkers.

ProjectBlueBookSpecialReportNumberl4

ThelargestofficialscientificstudyofUFOsperformedfortheUnitedStatesgovernmentwasreportedinProjectBlueBookSpecialReportNo.14.TheworkwasdonebyprofessionalengineersandscientistsattheBattelleMemorialInstituteinColumbus,Ohio.BMIisahighlyrespectedresearchanddevelopmentorganizationthatdoescontractresearchforprivateandgovernmentgroups.ThisstudywastheresultofacontractwithProjectBlueBook,aUSAFgroup at the Foreign TechnologyDivision atWright-PattersonAir Force Base in Dayton,Ohio.

The contracting agency has had many names throughout the years, including AirTechnicalIntelligenceCenterandAerospaceTechnicalIntelligenceCenter,andisnowknownas theNationalAir IntelligenceCenter (NAIC).BlueBook, in turn,was thecontinuationofProjectsSignandGrudge thathadpreceded it.At that time (mid-1950s)ProjectBlueBookwastheonlypubliclyacknowledgedgovernmentgroupconcernedwithUFOs.Wenowknowthattherewereothers.

ItwasBMI'sjobtoreviewalltheUFOsightingsintheBlueBookfilesfortheperiod1948through1953.Exactly3,201sightingreportswereeventuallycategorizedassomethingsuchasAstronomical, Balloon,Aircraft ... and UNKNOWN. Every report was also evaluated forquality:Excellent,Good,Doubtful,orPoor.Presumably, a sightingbyapriest, aphysicist,andapilot,ofsomethingobservedfor10minutesfrom50feetawayindaylightwouldhavebeenconsideredahigherqualityobservationthana4-secondobservationbythetowndrunkat4a.m.ofalightzippingbyinthesky.Obviouslythesearesubjectivejudgments,buttheyarecertainlymeaningful.Allsortsofdataabouteachcase(duration,speed,color,shape,andthelike)wasstoredonpunchcardssoitcouldbesortedwiththeprimitivecomputersystemsthenavailable.

The professionalswhoworked on the project established a number of sensible groundrulesanddefinitions.Forexample,nosightingcouldbe listedasanUNKNOWNunlessallfourFinalReportevaluatorsagreeditwasanUNKNOWN.Anytwocouldlabelitasanythingelse.

The BBSR 14 definition for UNKNOWN (My category C) is: "This designation in theidentificationcodewasassignedtothosereportsofsightingswhereinthedescriptionoftheobject and its maneuvers could not be fitted to the pattern of any known object orphenomenon."

Their definition of Insufficient Information (My category B) is: "This identificationcategorywasassigned toa reportwhen,uponfinalconsideration, therewassomeessentialitemof informationmissing, or therewas enoughdoubt aboutwhat datawere available todisallow identification as a common object or some natural phenomenon. It is emphasizedthatthiscategoryofidentificationwasnotusedasaconvenientwaytodisposeofwhatmightbecalled`poorunknowns,'butasacategoryforreportsthat,perhaps,couldhavebeenoneofseveralknownobjectsornaturalphenomenon."

Psychological Manifestations: "This identification category was assigned to a reportwhen, although it was well established that the observer had seen something, it was alsoobvious that the description of the sighting had been overdrawn. Religious fanaticism, adesireforpublicity,oranoveractiveimaginationwerethemostcommonmentalaberrationscausingthistypeofreport."Thisincludesthecrackpotreportsthatsofascinatedebunkers.

It isworthwhile tonote that,before tabulating their findings,UFOdebunkershaveoftenmadenegativestatementsaboutUFOevidence,suchasthefollowing:

"Thereliablecasesareuninterestingandthe interestingcasesareunreliable.Unfortunatelytherearenocasesthatarebothreliableandinteresting."

-Dr.CarlSagan,astronomer,CornellUniversity,OtherWorlds

"Almost every sighting is either amistake or a hoax. These reports are soriddledwithhoaxes, and the flying saucer enthusiasts have somany cranks,freaks, and nuts among them that Hynek is constantly running the risk ofinnocentlydamaginghisreputationbybeingconfusedwiththem."

-Dr.IsaacAsimov,author,"TheRocketingDutchman,"FantasyandScienceFiction

"Allnon-explainedsightingsarefrompoorobservers."

-Dr.DonaldMenzel,astronomer,Harvard

University,PhysicsToday

"The Unexplained sightings are simply those for which there is too littleinformationtoprovideasolidfactualbasisforanexplanation."

-BenBova,writer,editor,Analog

"Thenumberofpeoplebelievinginflyingsaucersremainsatabout6percentoftheadultpopulation,accordingtoGallupPolls."

-Science

"A two-year-old Gallup Poll reported that more than 3 million Americansbelieveflyingsaucersarereal.Butthatstill leaves98percentof thecountrysomewhatdoubtful."

-LosAngelesTimes

"...[L]ikemostscientists,heputslittlecredenceinUFOreports."

-ScienceNews(speakingofCarlSagan)

"OnthebasisofthisstudywebelievethatnoobjectssuchasthosepopularlydescribedasflyingsaucershaveoverflowntheUnitedStates.Ifeelcertainthateven the unknown 3 percent could have been explained as conventionalphenomena or illusions if more complete observational data had beenobtained."

-DonaldA.Quarles,secretaryoftheU.S.AirForce

Thesestatementshaveseveralthingsincommon:

1.Noneincludesanyaccuratereferencestodataorsources.

2.Allaredemonstrablyfalse.

3.Allareproclamations,ratherthantheresultofevidencebasedinvestigations.

4. All are many years old, but my 40 years of lecturing and hundreds of mediaappearanceshaveindicatedthatmanypeoplestillshare theseviews,despite theirinaccuracy.

TogethertheycertainlyillustratethefourbasicrulesofthetrueUFOnonbelievers:

1.Don'tbothermewiththefacts;mymindismadeup.

2.Whatthepublicdoesn'tknow,Iamnotgoingtotellthem.

3.Ifonecan'tattackthedata,attackthepeople.Itismucheasier.

4.Doyourresearchbyproclamationratherthaninvestigation.Noonewillknowthedifference.

Amajor reason for these falseclaimscanbe seen in thecomments in thepress releaseissuedonOctober23,1955,bytheU.S.AirForce,inconjunctionwiththesupposedreleaseofProject Blue Book Special Report No. 14. Surprisingly, there is no mention of theorganization that did the study: theBattelleMemorial Institute. There is nomention of thenamesoftheauthorsofthereport.Thereisnomentionoftheactualtitleofthereport,thoughit was not classified. If it had been noted, surely some journalist would have asked whathappened to reports1 through13?Theanswer, if it hadbeenhonest,wouldhavebeen thattheywereallstillclassifiedatthetime.Althoughalargesummarywasprovidedinthepressrelease,amazinglyitincludesnodatafromthemorethan240charts,tables,graphs,andmapsthatareinthereport.Howcoulditbecalledasummary?

ThekeyquoteisgivenfromDonaldB.Quarles,thenthesecretaryoftheUnitedStatesAirForce:"EventheUnknown3percentcouldhavebeenidentifiedasconventionalphenomenaorillusionsifmoreobservationaldatahadbeenavailable."

Therewouldappeartobetwofactualstatementshere:

1.ThepercentageofthesightingslistedasUNKNOWNwasonly3percent.

2.TheseUNKNOWNSweresimplyreportsforwhichtherewasn'tenoughdata(mycategory2).

Inthatcase,"thereisnothingtoflyingsaucers"wouldbeareasonableconclusion.

However,thesestatementsarebothflat-outlies.Table1onpage41shows the tabulationof the categorization of the 3,201 cases investigated. This table, somehow, is not actuallycompiledinthereport.

NoticethatthepercentageofUNKNOWNSwasactually21.5percentofthecasesstudied-seventimesasmanyasstatedbythesecretaryoftheUSAF.Noteespeciallythecategorylistedas"InsufficientInformation":9.3percent.Nosightingsforwhichtherewasinsufficientdata,bydefinition,couldbelistedasUNKNOWNS.Clearly,both"factual"statementsbySecretaryQuarleswerebunk.Moreaccurately,heliedbigtime.

It is tempting to think thatperhaps itwasonly thepoor-quality reports, those4-a.m., 4-secondobservationsbythetowndrunk,thatwerelistedasUNKNOWNS.ThisproclamationisclearlydestroyedbythedatainTable2.Itshowsthatthebetterthequalityofthesighting,the more likely it was to be an UNKNOWN, and the less likely it was to be listed as"InsufficientInformation."Thisisnotsurprisingatall,thoughitisexactlytheoppositeoftheunsubstantiatedandfalseclaimsofthe"truenon-UFObelievers,"asIcallthem.Itisexactlywhat one would expect, if the UNKNOWNS were really different from the knowns. ThistabulationisalsonotshownexplicitlyinPBBSR14.

Notice that35.1percentof theexcellent caseswere listedasUNKNOWN,but only18.6percentofthepoorcaseswere.Inotherwords,thebetterthequalityofthereport,themorelikely to be unexplainable. Another proclamation often made by the debunkers is that theunexplainedsightingswereofshortduration-certainlynot longenoughtomakeascientificdetermination as to what was observed. Table 3 on page 43 provides information on thedurationofobservation.

TheaverageUNKNOWNwasobservedforlongerthantheaverageknown:63.5percentoftheUNKNOWNSwereobservedforlongerthan1minute;36.1percentwereobservedforlongerthan5minutes,and12.9percentforlongerthan30minutes.SomuchforthenonsensethatunexplainableUFOsareonlyobservedforafewseconds.SomedebunkersliketoclaimthatonlynuttypeoplereportseeingUFOs.Noticethatonly1.5percentofthesightingswerelistedas"PsychologicalManifestations."TheAmericanPhysicalSociety,towhichI(andmostotherprofessionalphysicists)belong,hassaidthat2percentofthepaperssubmittedtoitforpublication by physicists are crackpot papers. This suggests that there aremore crackpotsassociatedwithphysicsthanwithflyingsaucers.Fortunately,Iamnottheonlyphysicistwithafoot in each camp.Finally, comments areoftenmade by the true nonbelievers that there isreallynodifferencebetweentheUNKNOWNSandtheknowns.Thatbeingthecase,whypayattentiontotheknowns?TheUNKNOWNSmustsimplybemissedknowns.Theprofessionalengineersandscientistsdoing theworkpresented in thePBBSR14wereclearlyconcernedaboutthispossibility,sotheysoughtanswerstothequestion,"IsthereanydifferencebetweenthecharacteristicsoftheknownsandtheUNKNOWNS?"

Tobe technical about it, theydid aChi-square statistical analysisbased on six differentcharacteristicsof theUFOs:apparentsize,shape,speed,color,durationofobservation,andnumber of objects seen. They found that the probability that the UNKNOWNS were justmissedknownswaslessthan1percent!UNKNOWNSwerenotmissedknowns.

Obviouslythisdoesn'tprovethattheUNKNOWNSarealienspaceships.Itdoesshowthatno matter how much they manipulated the data, they couldn't get a match between theUNKNOWNS and the knowns. It is important that one of the crucial characteristics of theUNKNOwNs-maneuverabilitywasn'tconsideredinthispartoftheBMIeffort.

MyreasonforsayingthatsomeUNKNOWNSareintelligentlycontrolledextraterrestrial

spaceships is very simple: Witness reports clearly indicate that the observed objects aremanufactured,andbehaveinwayswecan'tduplicate.Generallytheyaresmall,10-footto40-foot disc-shaped vehicles without wings, tails, or visible external engines. Frequently theydemonstratehighmaneuverability-right-angleturnsathighspeed(asobservedonradar),theability toflystraightupandhover,andtogoforwardandthenbackwardwithoutmakingabig turn.Usually there isnosound,noexhaust,andoften there isaglowaround theobject(not the observer). A much smaller number of observations are of huge "mother" ships,perhaps1/2 to Imile long. In recent years there have been a number of triangular objectsobservedaswell.IfweEarthlingscouldmakethingsthatlookandactasdescribed,wewould,becausetheywouldmakewonderfulmilitaryvehicles.Therehavebeenseveralwarsinwhichwehaven'tusedsuchcraft.Soiftheyweren'tbuiltonEarth,theywerebuiltsomewhereelse.Thisdoesn'ttelluswheretheyarefrom,whytheyarehere,orwhytheydon'tbehavethewaysomeEarthlingswouldwantthemto.

Despite all the data available in theBlueBook report, its summary contains none. Thepress releasewas given verywide distribution,whereas the report itselfwas available forreviewinonlyafewplaces.ItisperhapsnowonderthatquotesfromthetotallymisleadingpressreleaseappearedinnewspapersacrosstheUnitedStatesandinotherpartsoftheworld.Thedeceptionwasclearandeffective.NonewspaperthatIhaveseennotedanyoftheactualreport,andthefalsecommentshavebeenrepeatedoverandoveragainbythenewsmediaandso-calledscientistsasiftheywerefactsinsteadoflies.

Thereadershouldnotget the impression that I lookuponPBBSR14asaperfectstudy.Thereweresomeseriousproblems,besidesthetotallymisleadingpressrelease,suchasthefailuretonoterelevantdata,andthetitleitself.Forexample,therewasashamefuleffortmadetoput together a composite picture of aUFObased on 12 cases-that is, frankly, ludicrous,with drawings that would make any sensible artist ashamed. There is no section ofrecommendationsastohowtogetmoreandbetterdatawithalltheavailableresourcesoftheArmy,Navy,andAirForce.ThereisnodiscussionofthemilitaryandsecurityimplicationsofalienspacecraftviolatingU.S.airspacewithimpunity.Thereisnotevenanindicationofthemanyhighlyclassifiedmilitaryreports thatmusthaveexisted.Afterall,aJanuary31,1949FBI memo stated that the Army and USAF considered the subject of flying saucers TOP

SECRET.Where is all the data obtained by theAirDefenseCommand?These data are allbornclassified.Newspapersdonotreceivelistingsofmilitaryaircraftbeingscrambledtogoafter"uncorrelatedtargets"-amuchlessintriguingtermthanflyingsaucersorUNKNOWNS.

USAFGeneralCarrollBolender,inamemodatedOctober20,1969,statedthat"ReportsofUFOswhichcouldaffectnational securityaremade in accordancewith JANAP146andAirForceManual55-11,andareNOTpartof theBlueBooksystem." Ina laterparagraph,discussingtheimpactofclosingBlueBook(itwasclosedbecauseofhismemo)anddenyingthepublicaplacewithinthegovernmenttowhichsightingscouldbereported,hestated,"Asnoted above, reports which could affect National Security would continue to be handledthroughthestandardAirForceproceduresdesignedforthispurpose."Thepublichasneverbeenofficiallytoldthattheimportantcasesdidn'tgotoProjectBlueBook-itwasn'tevenonthedistributionlistforthecasesreportedthroughJANAP146orAFManual55-11.ImanagedtolocateandspeakwithretiredGeneralBolender,whocertainlyunderstoodtheimplicationsofhavingaseparatechannelforthemostimportantcases.Then,whenIshowedacopyoftheBolendermemototheformerProjectBlueBookscientificconsultant,Dr.J.AllenHynek,in1979,hewasveryupset, and felt thathehadbeenbadlyusedby theUSAF:The best casesdidn'tgotoBlueBook!

Blue Book, throughout its existence, did not comprise a high-level technical group.Typically therewasamajorandasergeant,somesecretaries,andamonthlyvisit fromDr.Hynek,aprofessorofastronomy,bynaturenot aboat-rocker.NeitherdidBlueBookhavesophisticatedinstrumentationorcommunicationsystems.Anditdidnothaveaneed-to-knowforclassifieddatacollectedbytheAirDefenseCommand.

WeknowofonlytwofullyclassifiedTOPSECRETdocumentsconnectedwithUFOs:OnewasareportofafascinatingobservationintheSovietUnionbyU.S.SenatorRichardRusselland associates in 1955. This was finally declassified in 1985. The other is AIR (AirIntelligenceReport)No. 100-203-79, datedDecember 10, 1948. The objective of this jointUSAFandU.S.Navy reportwas to evaluate thepossibilityofUFOsbeing from the Soviet

Union,andtheimplicationsfornationalsecurityifthatwerethecase.Ahistoryofsightingsisgiven in these documents, but clearly, the authors did not have a need-to-know for TOPSECRETinformationaboutsucheventsastherecoveryofacrashedflyingsaucerandalienbodiesoutsideRoswell,NewMexico, inJuly1947,orof thedestructionofU.S.aircraft astheytriedtoattackflyingsaucers.Ihavequietlyheardofseveralexamplesofsuchdisastrousevents, and the cover-up that followed. (As an aside, it tookmany years forAmericans tofinallyfindoutthat166aircraftcrewmembershadbeenlostinU.S.planesshotdowndoingreconnaissancemissions tooclose to theUSSR,China,orNorthKorea,asdescribed inByAnyMeansNecessarybyWilliamE.Burrows.)

From the larger viewpoint of a scientist interested in obtainingmeasurements of UFOcharacteristics, it is themost classified observations by ourmost sophisticatedmonitoringsystems (such as the several radar networks, the spy satellites, and the web of observingsystemsoperatedby theNationalSecurityAgencyand theNationalReconnaissanceOffice)thatareofmostinterest.Thelatter,ofcourse,didn'tcomeintobeinguntilafterProjectBlueBook Special Report Number 14. But where are the TOP SECRET cases? Is there anyprecedentofBMIbeing involved inhighlyclassifiedwork thatcouldnotbe revealed inanunclassifiedreport?

I suspect that there are many examples, but I can certainly provide one from my ownprofessionalexperience.Intheearly1960sIwasemployedbyAerojetGeneralNucleonicsinthewalnutorchardsofSanRamon,California,southofWalnutCreek.Theareaisnowwall-to-wallhousing. Iwasproject engineerona contracted studywith theForeignTechnologyDivision of the Air Force with the title "Analysis and Evaluation of Fast and IntermediateReactors forSpaceVehicleApplications."Onekeywordwasmissing in the title:Soviet. Itwasessentiallyaone-manproject.EverymonthorsoIwouldgobacktoDayton,meetwithmy contract monitor, and usually spend time at BMI over in Columbus. They had a hugecollection of Soviet technical literature in translation. I could give them key words andauthor'snamesand/oraffiliations,andwouldgetabstractsofaslewofrelevantpapers.Iwasfamiliar with American technology related to compact nuclear reactors for spaceapplications,andcollectedlargebibliographiesofSovietpublicationsineachareaofinterest,such as reactor physics, radiation shielding, liquidmetal heat transfer, and such. It was an

educational project for me, not only about advanced Soviet technology, but it alsodemonstratedthatSovietscientistsandengineersandtheirAmericancounterpartsbothwantedto publish, even when the basic reason for their often difficult research was related to anunnamedfar-outtechnology.

I put together two final reports. One was a large, unclassified bibliography of Sovietpapersinalltechnicalareasofinterest.Theother,ofcoursenotmentionedinthefirstreport,wasahighlyclassifiedreportgivingmybottom-linejudgmentastowhattheirworkmeant.IwasprobablytheonlyscientistinNorthAmericawhowaspleasedtohearofthereentryintheNorthwestTerritoriesofCanadaof theCosmos954 spacecrafton January24, 1978. It hadcontainedwhatwastoutedasthe13thSovietnuclearreactortooperateinspace.

Myanalysishadcorrectlyconcludedthatalltherightkindoftechnicalworkwasgoingonfor theSoviet development of such systems.TheUnitedStates has operated only one suchreactor,andnotaverygoodsystemat that. Itwasalsoof interest that,despiteall thepresscoverageof the crash of the radioactivematerial, none of themany articles noted that themostsignificantaspectwasthattheSovietshadmuchmorepoweravailabletotheminspacethanwe had.The power could be used for sideband radar tomonitor ships at sea, particlebeam and/or laser weapons, and more. Instead, the coverage focused on the possibleradioactive contamination of the caribou in the desolate area. (As a side note, theU.S.AirForcelaterboughtoneoftheRussiansystems.)ThelastnumberIheardwasthattheRussianshad launchedmore than three dozen advanced space nuclear reactors. The recovery of thedebris, as reportedbyOperationMorningLight, also, not surprisingly, established that theU.S. government had access to recovery teams that could immediately go into action torecoveritemsdeemedofinterest-includingacrashedsaucer,ifsuchaneventtakesplace.Infact, during World War II, military intelligence had made a substantial effort to acquirecrashedenemyaircraftfortechnicalevaluation.

MypointhereisthatmyexperienceindicatedthattheBattelleMemorialInstituteandtheForeign Technology Division of the Air Force could together produce an unmentioned

highlyclassifiedtechnicalreport,andanunclassified technicalcompanionreport thatdidn'tmentiontheclassifiedreport.IbelievethatsuchareportwasBlueBookReport13,producedby the same two groups. Two people have each quietly toldme of seeing a copy of it inclassified files. The Air Force has variously said there was no Report 13, or that it wascontained in PBBSR 14. The oldNational Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena(NICAP)actuallypublishedReports1through12.NobodyIhavespokenwithhasacopyof13. Based on my 14 years of professional scientific work on classified projects, I amabsolutelyconvincedthatsecretscanbekept.Chapter5goesintomuchmoredetailabouttheCosmicWatergate,which,unlikethepoliticalWatergate,hasbeenverysuccessful.

OnemoreimportantfactaboutProjectBlueBookSpecialReportNumber14isthatwhenIcheckmylectureaudiencesaftertalkingaboutit,Ifindthatfewerthan2percenthavereadit,even thoughpresumablyanaudiencecoming tohearmespeak isbiased in thedirectionofbelieving in flying saucers. I should also note that I once compiled a list of 13 anti-UFObooksbysuchdebunkersasDonaldMenzelandPhilipKlass.Noneof thebooksmentionedthereport,thoughIcanprovetheywereallawareofit.Theruleis:Whatthepublicdoesn'tknow,Iwon'ttellthem.EventheUniversityofColoradostudy,despitehavingalongchapterongovernmentinvolvementinUFOstudies,doesn'tmentionit.IhadpersonallywrittentoDr.Condonaboutitandevenreceivedaletteracknowledgingmine.

TheUFOEvidence

Richard Hall, who is still an active ufologist, compiled another outstanding report onUFOsfortheWashington,D.C.-basedNICAPinMay1964.The184-pagelarge-formatreport,TheUFOEvidence,has informationon746UNKNOWNS-or16percentof the4,500casesinvestigatedby the (mostly) professionalmembers ofNICAP.There are entire chapters onsightingsbymilitaryandcivilianpilots,bypoliceofficers,andbyscientistsandengineers,andnotasevidenceforintelligentcontrol.TherearespecialsectionsonthemajorUFOwaveof1952,andonofficialUFO investigations. It is trulyanoutstandingvolume;copiesweregiven toallmembersofCongress.Again, fewer than2percentofmy lectureattendees areawareofit.Hallputoutahugeupdate,volume2,TheUFOEvidence:AThirtyYearReportin2000. It has 681 fact-filled pages. There is an 87-page comprehensive section on UFO

abductions, and a 10-page overview of the Roswell Incident. The book has very extensivebibliographies,andreallyshouldbeinalllibraries,butisn't.

CongressionalHearings

ThanksprimarilytotheeffortsofDr.JamesE.McDonald,anatmosphericphysicistattheUniversity of Arizona, the U.S. House Committee on Science and Astronautics held aSymposiumonUnidentifiedFlyingObjectsinWashington,D.C.,onJuly29,1968.McDonaldhadbecomeinterestedinUFOsinthemid-1960s,andwasshockedwhenvisitingProjectBlueBookinDayton,Ohio,tofindahostofsightingreportsofveryinterestingcases.Henotedthattheexplanationsoftenmadelittlesense.HebecameupsetthatDr.Hynekhadnotcalledtheattention of the scientific community to the wealth of data in the files. (Their battle isdiscussed in detail in the excellent book byAnnDruffel: Firestorm: James E. McDonald'sFight for UFO Science.) Six scientists testified in person. They were Dr. J. Allen Hynek,chairmanof theastronomydepartmentaNorthwesternUniversity inEvanston, Illinois (andProjectBlueBookconsultantforalmost20years);Dr.CarlSagan,professorofastronomyatCornell University; Dr. James E. McDonald, professor of physics at the University ofArizona;Dr. JamesHarder, professor of civil engineering at theUniversity of California,Berkeley;Dr.RobertL.Hall,headofthedepartmentofsociologyattheUniversityofIllinois,Chicago(andRichardHall'sbrother);andDr.RobertM.L.Baker,seniorscientistforSystemSciencesCorp.inElSegundo,California.

In addition, the printed 247-page proceedings (available on the Internet atwww.project1947.com/shg/symposium/index.html) included written submissions from sixmore scientists. They were Dr. Donald Menzel, astronomer at Harvard University inCambridge,Massachusetts;Dr.R.LeoSprinkle,psychologistattheUniversityofWyominginLaramie;Dr.GarryC. Henderson, senior research scientist for Space Sciences at GeneralDynamicsinFortWorth,Texas;Dr.RogerN.Shepard,departmentofpsychologyatStanfordUniversityinPaloAlto,California;Dr.FrankSalisbury,headoftheplantsciencedepartmentat Utah State University in Logan; and myself, then a nuclear physicist at WestinghouseAstronuclearLaboratoryinLarge,Pennsylvania.IhavetakenpridethatIwastheonlyoneofthe12withoutaPhD.Inmyopinion,thebestpaperbyfarwasthatfromJimMcDonald.He

presented information on 41 separate cases, including multiple-witness radar-visual cases,sightings over big cities, sightings by scientists and astronomers, and clear indication ofintelligentcontrolofsomeUFOs.Hispaperalone is71pages long,andshouldberead byanyonewho thinks there arenogoodUFOcases. JohnFuller,whoearlierhadwrittenTheInterrupted Journey, the story of the abduction of Betty and Barney Hill, and Incident atExeter, also wroteAliens in the Skies, which includes most of the papers, but without thereferences.

Quitefrankly,Ihavefoundthroughouttheyearsthatveryfewpeoplehavereadthisveryvaluablevolume,theSymposiumonUFOs.TherewardforIndianaCongressmanJ.EdwardRoush,whopresidedoverthesession,wasthatinthenextelectionhewasGerrymanderedoutofhisdistrict.Anothermemberof theCommitteeonScienceandAstronauticswasDonaldRumsfeldofIllinois,wholaterbecameSecretaryofDefenseunderGeorgeW.Bush.Hynek,alsofromIllinois,oncetoldmeofapproachingRumsfeldmuchlater,sayinghethoughthehadaneed-to-knowforwhatwashappening.Rumsfeldtoldhiminnouncertaintermsthathedidnot.Thereisasubstantialdifferencebetweenthefactualcontentofmostofthepapersbypeople who had really dug into the facts, and those of Menzel and Sagan, whose papersrevealed a lack of concern with facts and data, instead full of proclamations and littleinvestigation.IfJimMcDonaldhadlivedmanymoreyears,insteadofdyingin1971,Ibelievethe situation today would be very different. He spoke to many sections of the AmericanInstitute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and many other professional organizations, andused hard-nosed science to destroy the often foolish explanations of Menzel (who oftenproclaimed"temperature inversions"withoutdoing the required computations that Jimdid)and Philip Klass (who often proclaimed "plasma explanations"-again without doing thescientificcalculationsthatJimdid,whichdestroyedthoseproclaimedexplanations).

TheCondonReport

ThereisnodoubtthatthelargestandmostpublicizedstudyofUFOsisthe965-page,1968ScientificStudyofUnidentifiedFlyingObjects.ItseditorwasDanielS.Gillmor,andthestudywas done under the direction of Dr. Edward U. Condon, a professor of physics at theUniversity of Colorado in Boulder, with funding from the Air Force Office of Scientific

Research. Many universities had been approached by AFOSR in response torecommendations from the O'Brian Panel (established after the big fuss about Hynek'sswamp-gas explanation for sightings inMichigan in 1966).Condonwas known as a toughcookie,andmuchearlierhadtakenontheHouseUn-AmericanActivitiesCommittee.

Problems with the Condon study have been described in many places, well after itspublication. At the time, early 1969, it was lauded by the press primarily because of theintroduction by Walter Sullivan, science editor of the New York Times, and thecomplimentarycommentsbyaspecialpaneloftheNationalAcademyofSciences(NAS)-whodidnotinvestigateanycasestoevaluateCondon'swork.Ofcourse,hehadn'tinvestigatedanycases either, and had made a number of negative comments along the way. Not enoughattentionwaspaidtothefactthatCondonwashimselfamemberoftheNAS,aself-electingbody. What might be described as a minority report was later published by Dr. DavidSaunders(UFOs?YES!WheretheCondonCommitteeWentWrong),whohadbeenfiredbyCondon.JohnG.FullerhadwrittenaLookMagazinearticleentitled"FlyingSaucerFiasco"onMay 14, 1968, pointing out, among other important aspects of the unscientific study, aletterfromRobertJ.Low,anassistantdeanattheUniversityofColorado,describinghowtheprojectwouldbemadetolookscientific,butofcoursewouldnotbe.IntheAugust9,1966memohesaid:

Ourstudywouldbeconductedalmostentirelybynonbelievers,who,althoughtheycouldn'tpossiblyproveanegativeresult,couldandprobablywouldaddan impressive body of thick evidence that there is no reality to theobservations.Thetrickwouldbe,Ithink,todescribetheprojectsothattothepublic, it would appear a totally objective study, but to the scientificcommunitywouldpresent the imageofagroupofnonbelievers trying theirbest to be objective, but having an almost zero expectation of finding asaucer....

There is much more, and the article is on the Internet (at www.project]947.com/shg/articles/f"iasco.html). The public wound up paying more than half amillion dollars for this so-called study.As a young scientist, Iwas angry about thewholebusiness,andthepraisegiventhestudybythepressandtheNationalAcademy.Ihaveoften

wondered in howmany other controversial areas the public has been so betrayed bywhatpassesforanobjectivescientificcommunityandanobjectivepress.

As was the case with Project Blue Book Special Report 14, the press coverage wasgenerally based on the press release and on the first chapter-Condon's summary andconclusions-andnotonthefactsinthereport.Frankly,IgottheimpressionthatCondonhadn'tevenread the rest of thevolume. It comes as a great surprise tomany that, according to aUFOsubcommitteeof theworld's largestgroupofspacescientiststheAmerican InstituteofAeronautics and Astronautics-one could come to the opposite conclusions as Dr. Condonbasedonthedatainthereport.Anyphenomenawith30percentunidentifiedclassificationsiscertainlyworthfurtherinvestigation,astheAIAAnoted.IamamemberoftheAIAA,buttheywouldn't allowmeon thecommittee (Imustbebiasedbecause Ihad reacheda conclusion!Onewould think that after 11 years of effort I would be expected to have a bias, and thatignoranceistheworstbias.)Indeed,30percentofthe117casesstudiedindetailcouldnotbeidentified.

Therearesomegoodsectionsinthereport,andIhavetalkedtosomeold-timerswhosaytheywereturnedontothesubjectofUFOsbysomeveryinterestingunexplainablecases.Onecanonlywonderinhowmanyfieldstheexceptionalwasrejectedbecauseonly30percentofthecasesexaminedcouldnotbeexplainedaway-thinkcuresforcancer,andgreatmusiciansandathletes.Myson-in-lawworksattheDiavikDiamondMineintheNorthwestTerritoriesofCanada.Itisarichdiamondmine,producing3.5karatsofdiamonds(lessthanahandful)pertonofore-anothercaseofhavingasmallpercentage,buthighvalue.

BothHynekandMcDonald(andseveralothers)havewrittenfactualnegativereviewsoftheCondonreport.Condonlatermadepublicstatementsthatthefilesofthestudyhadnotbeenpreserved, yet I found them at theAmerican Philosophical Society library in Philadelphia.Whylie?Fearofacriticalreview?

TheUFOExperience

Dr.J.AllenHynekhadbeenaconsultanttoProjectBlueBookforabout20years,startingat theOhio StateUniversity in Columbus,Ohio (close to Blue Book inDayton), and thencontinuing later when he became chairman of the astronomy department at NorthwesternUniversityinEvanston,Illinois.HehadaPhDfrommyalmamater,theUniversityofChicago(1935),asdidCarlSagan(1960).JimMcDonaldwasaresearchphysicistattheUniversityofChicagoin1953and1954whenSaganandIwerethere.AsfarasIknow,Sagandidn'tknowhimthen,andneitherdid1.InordertomeetwithHynekIhadtopassmusterwithanassociateofhis,alsoattheUniversityofChicago,whoattendedmylectureattheUniversityofIllinois,Chicagocampus,in1968.Ipassed,andwastakenuptoEvanston.Hynekwas58yearsoldatthe time, the same age as my father. I was 33. His first question was, "Why haven't youreceivedaPhD?" Inoted that Ihadworkedmyway throughcollegeas aunionwaiter at aChicagohotelmylastthreeyearsandwasanxioustogetoutintherealworldofindustrytoworkonexcitingandchallengingprograms.Wesaweachother at conferences andwhen IwasgoingthroughChicago,orinSouthernCaliforniawhenIlivedthere.Weexistedinverydifferentworlds and had very different personalities. I did arrange a press conference andmedia appearances for him in L.A. when he published The UFO Experience. It was likepullingteethtogetbackgroundinfoforthepressrelease.HesuggestedIlookinWho'sWho,whichcontainedavery smallbio.When I finallygot something fromNorthwestern,UFOswerebarelymentionedinit.

Allen'sbookhasinformationaboutroughly70goodsightingsthatcouldn'tbeexplained.ItcontainsthedefinitionsforCloseEncountersofthefirst,second,andthirdkinds.HewasaconsultantontheverysuccessfulmovieCloseEncountersoftheThirdKind,andhadacameorolehimself.HealsomadesomefairlystrongcommentsabouttheinadequacyoftheCondonReportandsomerecommendationsastowhatshouldbedone.HeestablishedtheCenterforUFOStudies,whichstillexists,totrytoaccomplishsomeofthosegoals.Hehadagoodsenseofhumorandevencollectedsomeofthecartoonsthatwerepublishedabouthisswamp-gasexplanation.Thebookiswellwrittenandservesasagoodintroductiontothesubject,butIdowishhehaddonemorelookingatinterstellartravelandatmosphericpropulsiontechnology,amongothertopics.

TheCOMETAReport

Idecidedtoincludethisreporteventhoughitisnotbooklengthbecauseitismuchmorerecentthananyoftheothervolumes,wasdoneinFrance,andcomesatthesubjectfromalessacademic viewpoint,which gets closer tomany ofmy views.The actual title inEnglish is"UFOs and Defense: What Should We Prepare For?" It is 90 pages long, and originallyappearedinaspecialissueofthemagazineVSDinFranceinJuly1999.ItisanindependentreportonUFOswrittenbytheFrenchassociationCOMETA,presentingtheresultsofastudybytheInstituteofHigherStudiesforNationalDefense.TheforewordisbyProfessorAndreLebeau, the former chairman of the FrenchNational Center for Space Studies. This is theFrenchequivalentofNASA,butitishardtoimagineNASAleadershiphavingthecouragetospeakoutaboutUFOs.

The report covers anumberof excellent cases fromFrance aswell as from theUnitedStates, and gives a good overview of various non-ET explanations-but is quite willing toseriouslyconsidertheextraterrestrialhypothesis.ItdiscussesRoswell,and,also,inasensiblefashion, the reasonswhy theUnited Stateswould keep things secret and not sharewith itsallieswhatscientistshavelearnedfromtheexaminationofRoswellwreckage.TheauthorsofthereportseemtodefinitelyunderstandwhyitcouldnotbesharedwithAmerica'senemies.

TheFundforUFOResearchpaidtohavethereporttranslated.Unfortunately,theFrenchgroup leaders, for reasons still unknown, were very upset when I offered copies of thetranslation for purchase. They also rejected the notion of letting the Fund distribute it orcollecting royalties. This came about only because, when the report became a topic ofconversationontheJeffRenseradioprogram,ImentionedIhadacopyofit.Rensesaid,"Ofcourse you are going to make it available, right Stan?" I hesitated, and then said yes. AssomeonewhohasbeencomplainingabouttheCosmicWatergatefordecades,Icouldhardlysaynoandbecomepartofthecover-upmyself.Later,myWebsitepeoplewerethreatened,soitisn'tlistedthere.PerhapstheFrencharesensitivebecausethereportiscriticaloftheUnitedStatesfornotrevealingmoreinformationtotheirsupposedallies.Ihavedistributedcopiesof

Project Blue Book Special Report Number 14 for the same reason. It is a governmentdocument,soitcannotbecopyrighted.Icouldhardlysay,"Itisaveryimportantreport,butyoucan'tseethedata...justtrustme."

Fortunately, one of the best investigative journalists about UFOs in the United States,LeslieKean,managedtoprepareacomprehensivearticleabout theCOMETAreport,whichappeared in the Boston Globe and a number of other newspapers. She has continued herefforts, taking on NASA about their attempt to hide information about the Kecksburg,Pennsylvania,UFOcrashandretrievalofDecember9,1965.ShealsohelpedsetuptheveryimportantNationalPressClubpressconferenceonNovember12,2007,inWashington,D.C.She and JamesFox, a documentary film producer, arranged for pilots andmilitary peoplefrommanycountriestospillthebeansabouttheirownexperiencesattheconference,andarepreparingadocumentary.

AstatementworthrepeatingabouttheU.S.UFOcover-upappearsneartheendofthe1999COMETAReport:"Onlyincreasingpressurefrompublicopinion,possiblysupportedbytheresultsofindependentresearchers,bymoreorlesscalculateddisclosures,orbyasuddenriseinUFOmanifestations,mightperhapsinduceU.S.leadersandpersonsofauthoritytochangetheirstance."

OtherSources

Atrulyenormousamountofmaterialhasbeenwrittenaboutflyingsaucers.Somepeopledon't even want me to use the term, but I use it to make an important distinction: Flyingsaucersare,bydefinition,unidentifiedflyingobjects,butveryfewunidentifiedflyingobjectsare flying saucers. I am interested in the latter, not the former. As an example, all great-grandfathersaremen;onlyasmallpercentageofmenaregreat-grandfathers.

I can't possibly take note of all the relevant literature here.However, the studies I havelistedmake an excellent starter kit. Iwould add thedozen or so PhD theses that have beendone on UFOs, and the many excellent books done on UFO abductions (though there aresomethatareveryunscientific,suchasDr.SusanClancy'sAbducted:HowPeopleCometoBelieve They Were Kidnapped by Aliens). I have a detailed review on my Website, atwww.stantonfriedman.com. Ido recommendbooksbyBuddHopkins andDr.David Jacobs.An excellent overview with 11 essays is the book UFOS &Abductions: Challenging theBordersofKnowledge,editedbyDr.DavidJacobs.IwouldalsopointtotheoutstandingworkdonebyTedPhillipsconcerningphysicaltracecases.PhillipswasaprotegeofAllenHynek,andhasformorethan40yearscollectedinformationaboutmorethan4,000suchcasesfrommorethan70countries.Thesearecasesinwhichaflyingsaucerisobservedonorneartheground,andwhere,afterthesaucerhasleft,onefindsphysicaltracesinthedirtorvegetation.Inabout1/6ofthesecaseshumanoidsareobserved.Phillipsstillhasn'twrittenabookabouthiswork,buthehasbeendoingamonthlycolumnfor theMUFONjournal for some time.The next time debunkers claim that there is no physical evidence, refer them to Phillips'swork.

Twoother topics Iamnotcoveringherearecropcirclesandanimalmutilations.Theseareinmy"graybasket"-theyareinteresting,butitisnoteasytofindadirectconnectiontotheflyingsaucerphenomena.

YouCanGetHereFromThere

AsnotedinChapter1, themostcommonargumentagainst theideathatsomeUFOsareintelligentlycontrolledextraterrestrialspacecraftisthatthereisnoevidencetosupportsucha"crazy"conclusion.Thisargumentisfalse.Thereisanenormousamountofgood,soliddataindicating that indeed someUFOs are "flying saucers," or ET spacecraft. That conclusioncannot,byitself,answerotherkeyquestions,suchasthesourceofthevisitors,theirpurposeincominghere,whythegovernmentsofplanetEarthhavebeenunwillingtotellEarthlingsthefactsaboutvisitations,howthealienspacecraftwork,andsoon.

The secondmost frequent anti-ET argument is that one can't get here from there. Thedistancesaremuchtoogreat,theysay;itwouldtaketoomuchenergy;humankindisforeverisolatedonplanetEarth;andsoon,adnauseum.

As with the not-enough-evidence arguments, these claims are often made by well-educated,sometimeswell-intendedscholars,suchasacademicastronomerswhoknowagreatdealaboutastronomyandnothingaboutaeronauticsandastronauticsorthepracticalaspectsofflight.Unfortunately,theyneverseemtohavedoneenoughhomeworktorecognize theirignoranceintherelevantareasofscienceandtechnology.Thereisnosurprisehere.Afterall,the history of the development of science and technology clearly shows that such noisynegativists have always been with us. The one underlying crucial fact is that, almostinvariably, real technological progress comes from doing things differently in anunpredictable fashion. The future, technologically speaking, is not an extrapolation of thepast. One has to change how one does things. Lasers are not just better light bulbs; verydifferentphysicsisinvolved.

In1903,Dr.SimonNewcomb,oneofthetopAmericanastronomersofthe19thcentury,publishedapaperinwhichheshowedthatflightbymanusinganythingotherthanaballoon(alighter-than-airvehicle)wasimpossible.HispaperclearlyshowedthatheknewmuchlessaboutflightthandidtwobicyclemechanicsnamedWilburandOrvilleWright,whofirstflewa heavier-than-air vehicle atKittyHawk,NorthCarolina, onDecember 17, 1903, less thanthreemonthsafterNewcomb'sarticlewaspublished.Whennotifiedaboutthishistoricevent,he,similartomanyothers,hadtroublebelievingthatsuchaflighthadoccurred-therewerenoTVorradioreportersbackthen.Healsoclaimedthat,althoughperhapsapilothadflownaheavier-than-air vehicle, it would certainly never carry any passengers. He knew nothingabouttheliftoverawing,aboutrelativelylightweightenginesdrivingapropeller,andalltheotherengineeringaspectsof flight that theWrightbrothershad investigated inasystematicfashion.

Progressinflightwasquiteslow.Thefirstflightwasonly120feetlongandlastedforallof 12 seconds.The entire flight andplanewould have fit inside amodern 747 aircraft.By1908,theU.S.ArmySignalCorpshadawardedtheWrightsacontractcallingforabonusforeverymileperhourfasterthan40mphthattheirnewestairplanecouldfly.Theycollecteda$5,000bonus.TheFirstWorldWarbroughtaviationintomuchgreaterviewasairplaneswerebuiltthatcouldflyhigher,farther,andfasterthanpre-warplanes.Creativemilitarypersonnelcouldseethenthatanairplanecoulddropbombson(orsuppliesfor)troops,couldobservebattlefieldsmucheasierandfartherfromtheairthanfromtheground,andcouldbeused toattackotheraircraft.

In 1925, General Billy Mitchell (1879-1936) was court-martialed for claiming (anddemonstrating)thatanaircraftcouldsinkalargenavalvessel.Inthe1940s,itwascommonlyclaimedthatanairplanehadanabsolutespeedlimitofthespeedofsound:abithigherthan700miles per hour at sea level. The sonic barrierwould shake airplanes to pieces, it wasthought.Anunderlyingassumptionwasthatahigh-speedaircraftwouldhavetouseanenginedrivingapropeller.Dr.FrankWhittle,aBritishaeronauticsexpert,waspushingthejetenginein the late 1930s. He had almost no support from government "experts," even after it wasreportedthatGermanengineersweresupposedlyworkingonjetengines.

Many arrogant British military experts knew that, because England had defeated theGermans inWWI (with a lot of help fromothers), of courseBritish technologywould besuperior toGerman technology.This lineof thinking totally ignored theprogressmadebyGermanengineersinthe1930sinthedevelopmentofbetter,stronger,andlightermaterials.Becauseofthesamearrogance,BritishtankswereslowerandnotaswellarmoredasGermantanks."Theycouldn'tpossiblybeaheadofus,"theBritsthought.TheroutoftheBritishbytheGermanmilitarymachinesacrossEuropein1939tofleefromDunkirkclearlyshowedhowoutoftouchwithrealitytheBritishmilitaryexpertswere.

ThefirstAmericanjetengineswereactuallycopiesoftheBritishWhittleengines,madeintheUnitedStates,awayfromthebombings.OnOctober14,1947,ColonelChuckYeagerflewthefirstofficialsupersonicflightusingneitherapropeller-drivenplanenorajet,buttheX-1rocketplane.The shapeof the aircraft and the shapeof thewingsweredesigned for high-speedperformance.Progresscomesfromdoingthingsdifferently.

In1926,Dr.AlexanderWilliamBickerton(1842-1929),aprofessoratCanterburyCollegein New Zealand, presented a paper at the meeting of the British Association for theAdvancement of Science inwhich he claimed that itwould be impossible to give anythingsufficientenergytoputitintoorbitaroundtheEarth!Intypicalacademicfashion,heassumedthatthedetailsdidn'tmatterandhecoulddemonstratetheimpossibilityoflaunchingasatellitefrombasicprinciplesofphysics.Hesaidthatatorbitalvelocity,abodywouldhavetohaveakineticenergy(energyofmotion)ofXergsperpound,whichiscertainlytrue.Buthealsoshowed that our best explosive (nitroglycerine), indeed a concentrated source of energy,couldonlyprovide1/10 that amountof energyperpoundof explosive,which is also true.Therefore,heclaimed,suchorbitalflightcouldneverbeachieved,whichisdefinitelyfalse.Unfortunately,Dr.Bickertonhadaskedthewrongquestionandmadetwostupidassumptions.Onewasthatonehadtogettheexplosivesintoorbitratherthanthepayload.Whatheactuallyhad shown is that itwould take the energy of 10 pounds of explosive to get one pound ofpayload into orbit,which is a very different conclusion. Secondly, he falsely assumed thatexplosives,suchasnitroordynamite,couldprovidethemostenergyperpoundofanyknownsubstance.Infact,reactingtwodifferentpropellantstogether,suchasoxygenandhydrogen,or oxygen and kerosene, could provide more energy per pound of propellant exhausted

through a nozzle in amuchmore useful fashion than using an explosive. Progress comesfromdoingthingsdifferently.

Anotherverywell-educatedacademicastronomer,Dr.JohnWilliamCampbell,onceagaindemonstratedthatignoranceisblisswhenitcomestoflight.Dr.CampbellwasanastronomyprofessorattheUniversityofWesternOntarioinLondon,Ontario,Canada,andheadoftheRoyalCanadianAstronomicalSociety.Hewassickand tiredofall thenoisebeingmade inscience fiction circles about using a rocket to get aman to themoon. So he published hispaper, "Rocket to the Moon" in Philosophical Magazine in January 1941. He set out todetermine the required initial launchweight of a chemical rocket able to get aman to themoonandback.(He,unlikeDr.Bickerton,knewthatonecouldindeedbuildrocketsthatcouldleaveEarth.)Heincludedalotofequationsinhispaper,andconcludedinastrictly"scientificfashion"thattherequiredinitiallaunchweightofachemicalrocketabletogetamantothemoonwouldbe an incredibly hugemillion,million tons! In 1969 the very large (365-foothigh)SaturnFiverocket,whichgotthreementothemoonandback,weighedonly3,000tonsatliftoff.Dr.Campbellwasnotjustalittleoffinhis"scientific"weightcalculations;hewasoffbyanastronomicallyhighfactorof300million!

We can learn a lot from reviewing some of Dr. Campbell's totally inappropriateassumptions-thereweremany.Firstofall,heassumedasingle-stagerocket.Otherrealrocketscientists (Goddard, Tsiolkovsky, and so on) had discussed the staging of rockets decadesearlier.Dr.Campbell hadn't done his homework.All of our flights to themoon and otherdeepspacetargetsinvolvemulti-stagedrockets.Theadvantageisthatafterthefirststagehasburnedallitspropellantatthemostdifficultportionofthetrip,startingfromstandingstillatthesurfaceoftheEarth,onethrowsawaythebigtankthatheldthepropellant.Thismeansoneneednotexpendfurtherenergyaccelerating(increasingthespeedof)thatdeadweight.It'sthesamewiththesecondstage:Getridofitonceithasdoneitsjob,especiallybecausenowonefacesreduceddragintheatmosphere,becausethehigheronegoes,thethinnertheatmosphereandthelessthedrag(airfriction).

Dr. Campbell assumedmuch too low an exhaust velocity for the gas emitted from thenozzle of the rocket. It requires a great effort to get the forward velocity of the rocket toexceed the rearward velocity of the exhaust. But it was already well known that variouscombinationsofrocketfuelcouldproducemuchhigherexhaustvelocitiesthanthatassumedbyDr.Campbell.Furthermore,eachstage,ofcourse,startsnotatzerovelocity,asdoes thefirst stage, but at the final velocity of the previous stage-the third stage starts at the finalvelocityofthesecondstage.Dr.Campbellmadeabadassumptionwhenheassumedthatthemaximumacceleration(rateofchangeofvelocity)oftherocketwouldbeonly1G.

OneGistheaccelerationofgravityproducedbytheEarth'smassifonedropssomethingfrom a height. I have often asked a classroomof college students, usually sciencemajors,"WhatisthenumericalvalueofIG?"Theyallseemtoknowthat1Gequals9.8meterspersecond,persecond,or,inBritishunits,32.2feetpersecond,persecond.ThenIaskhowthisaccelerationrelatestoahigh-performancecarsuchasaCorvetteoraFerrari.AllIgetisablankstare.

Unfortunately,wephysicistsoftenuseunitsofmeasurementthatmeanabsolutelynothingintherealworld.Infact,IGisabout21milesperhour,persecond.Soacarabletoprovideauniformaccelerationof1Gwouldbemovingat21mphafteronesecond,at42mphafter2seconds,andattheendof10seconds,wouldbegoing210milesperhour,wellbeyondthecapabilityofmostcars, thoughsomedragsters reallycangetmoving.Ahigh-powered carcanusuallygettoaspeedof60milesperhourinlessthan6seconds:anaverageaccelerationofonlyabout10mph,persecond,orlessthan1/2G.

When it comes to getting off the Earth, the acceleration should be as high as thepassengerscanstand.The reason is straightforward. Inasimpledescription, there areonlythreeforcesactingonarockettryingtoliftoff.Thefirstisthethrustoftherocket,movingtherocketupward.Thesecondisthedragproducedbytheatmosphere(airfriction),tendingtoslowitdown.ThethirdisthegravitationalforceexertedontherocketbytheEarth.Thislatterforcecreates,ineffect,adownwardforcedecelerationof1Gor21milesperhour,per

second,or,at60secondsperminute,1,260milesperhour,perminute,offlight.Iftheupwardacceleration produced by rocket thrust was only 1 G, the rocket would barely get off theground. The faster one gets to orbital velocity, the less the overall impact of gravity.Obviouslythelongertherocketfires,thelesspropellantisleftinthetank,and,foraconstant-thrustrocket,themoreitwillacceleratebecausethenetforcepushingtherocketupwardisthedifference between theweight being pulled down and the thrust pushing up.Remember allthose comic-book blackboard notations of F=ma (force equals mass times acceleration)?Right on. If the force F (rocket thrust) is constant and themassm is decreasing, then theaccelerationaincreases.Obviously, then, thequestionbecomes,howmuchaccelerationcanthe rocket or its passengers safely withstand? It has been clear for a long time that mostmechanical devices can withstand far higher accelerations than can people. A myriad ofexperimentshavebeenruntoanswertheseeminglysimplequestionofwhatisthemaximumacceptable acceleration for people. The best answer is that it depends on a number ofvariables;thereisnooneanswerthatfitsall:

A.Humanresistancetoforcesonthebodydependsonthedirectionoftheforcewithregard to the orientation of the body. Most people have probably noted thatastronauts going into space are normally launched on their backs, rather thanstandingupasinanelevator.Itturnsoutthatonecanstandfarmoreforcebacktofrontthanfoottohead,orfronttoback.

B.Thedurationoftheacceleratingforceactingonthebodyisveryimportant.Thisisintuitivelyobvious:Thelongertheduration,thelessaccelerationonecanstandwithoutdamage.Theshortertheduration,themoreaccelerationonecanstand.

C.Themagnitudeoftheforceactingonthebodyisimportantaswell.Thehighertheforce,theshorterthetimeitcanbehandledwithoutdamage.

NASAandothershave runmany tests todetermine the acceleration towhichpilots cansafely be subjected. Notice that acceleration is rate of change of velocity. Velocity is acombinationofdirectionandspeed.Makingasharpturn,evenataconstantvelocity,subjectsthe body to an acceleration.We hear about pilots blacking out because their blood rushesaway from their heads. Tests have shown that a trained pilot can, for example, perform atrackingtaskwhilebeingacceleratedat14Gsfortwominutes.Thatisanaccelerationof14x21,or294milesperhour,persecond.Startingfromrest,attheendofonesecond,thepilot

wouldbemovingat294mph.Attheendof10seconds,hewouldbegoing2,940milesperhour.Attheendofthetwominutes,hewouldbegoingmorethan30,000milesperhour.Thepilotwouldhavetobeproperlyconstrainedwithacontourcouch,appropriateseatbelts,andsoon;hecannotbewalkingarounddrinkingabeer.Hemustbereasonablyhealthyaswell.

It further turns out that a trained pilot can actuallywithstand 30Gs for one second, orfromzerotomorethan600milesperhourinonesecond.Therehavebeenmanyreportsofrapidright-angleturnsathighspeedsbyflyingsaucers.ThereisevenasuggestioninthedataonmaximumGsversusduration that onemight standmuchhigher accelerations formuchshorter periods of time. As a far-removed example, a laser can be used to both attach adetached retina, and drill a hole in steel-the attachment is done in a very brief instant, asopposedtothesteadydrilling.Somecompaniescreatelarge,intricateshapesinsheetsofflatmetal by zapping the sheets into amold (a die)with a strong, briefmagnetic field (calledmagnetoforming).Themetalwouldbesmashedifthepulsewastoolong.TheexampleIliketouseistheremovalofahotpotatofromanoven.Doesonegetburnedornot?Obviouslyitdependsonthelengthoftimeoneholdsontothepotato,eventhoughthetemperatureofthepotatoishighenoughtoburntheskin.Noburningwilltakeplaceifonegetsridofthepotatoquickly;thereisareactiontimenecessarytocauseaburn.Similarly,iftheaccelerationtimeis shorter than the time it takes a sound wave to move from one end of the object beingacceleratedtotheother,itmightbethatnodamageisdonetoitatveryhighaccelerationforaverybrieftime.

Some remarkably courageouspeople haveworkedon this problemof people and highacceleration, some of whom are featured in the Clyde Tombaugh Space Museum inAlamogordo,NewMexico. I visited it once, and I enjoyed the exhibits inside. Then Iwentoutside and saw the rocket sled thatDr. John Paul Stapp (1910-1999) used to check on thehuman body's tolerance to acceleration. The sled runs on rails and is powered by severalsmallJATO(JetAssistedTakeOff)bottlesattheback.Itisnotasophisticated-lookingdevice.Duringonetest thatwentawry, thesledreachedapeakvelocityof620milesperhour,andwassuddenlysloweddownveryrapidly.ThemaximumdecelerationonDr.Stappreached43Gsinthe3/4-secondtimeit tooktoslowdowntoastop.Dr.Stappwalkedaway, thoughhewasnotverycomfortableandhadproblemswithhiseyeballs.

InotedanotherquitedifferentexamplewhileIwasfilmingthevideoFlyingSaucersARERealattheKennedySpaceCenterinFlorida.Ipointedoutthattheescaperocketatthetopofthe Apollo Space Capsule was expected to provide a 13-G acceleration to get the capsulequicklyawayfromtherocket, if therewasafireat thebottomof therocketmore than300feetbelow.(IwasabletopointtoanactualescaperocketatthetopoftheSaturnrocketsittingthere-muchmore effective than just talking about it.)Nobody expected the astronauts to besmashedagainstthewalls.(InabookcalledPhysicsforPeopleWhoThinkTheyDon'tLikePhysics,byJerryFaughnandKarlKuhn,thesillyclaimismadethatwhenonegetsto9Gs,onedies.True...ifoneslamsintoawall.)

Dr.Campbell'sfailuretounderstandaccelerationanditsroleinflighttothemoonwasn'this finalmistake; twomoreareworthyofnote.Dr.Campbellcorrectlynoted thatavehiclecomingbacktoEarthfromthemoonwouldbemovingatabout25,000milesperhour,andshouldreallybesloweddownbeforetryingtoland.Unfortunately,heassumedthattheonlyway to slow that "bullet" downwould be to fire a rocket pushing the vehicle backward: aretrorocket.Ofcourse,everypoundofpropellantusedattheendwouldhavetobelaunchedfromtheEarth,sloweddowntolandatthemoon,launchedfromthemoon,andthensloweddownnearEarth.Intheinitialstagealone,thatwouldcost10poundsofpropellantperpoundof retrorocket fuel.Thusahugepenalty ispaid.Whatdid theApollospacecraftdo to slowdown?The designersmight have said, "Thank you,God, for providing an atmosphere onplanetEarth.Notonlydoesitgiveusairtobreatheandprotectusagainstultravioletrays,butwecanuseittoslowdownarocketenteringintotheatmospherefromouterspace."Thebigdifficultythenbecomesbeingsmartenoughtobeabletogetexactlytheproperangleofentry.Those who saw themovie Apollo 13 know that achieving the proper angle is crucial forsuccessful reentry. How much propellant is required? Almost none. Brainpower oftentriumphsoverbruteforce.

This leadsnaturally toyetanother falseassumptionmadebyDr.Campbell.He assumedthat the rocket would have to provide all the energy for the flight. But smart engineersrealizedthat"cosmicfreeloading"canbeagreatassist.WelaunchtotheeastfromneartheequatorbecausetheEarth'ssurfacethereismovingatabout1,000milesperhour.TheEarth,with a circumference of about 25,000miles, rotates in 24 hours, hence the roughly 1,000

miles-per-hour freebie.We also need not provide all the energy to get to the moon: Justenoughisprovidedsothatwhenthemooncomealongonitspredictableflightschedule,itsgravitypullstherocketintherestoftheway.Thisincreasestheavailablepayload.Similarly,justaboutallofourdeep-spaceflightshave involvedcosmicfreeloading.Forexample, theearly Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft have flown past Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune usinggravitationalassistsatnocostexceptbeing in the rightplaceat the right time togeta freeboostfromJupiter.TheCassinispacecraft,noworbitingSaturn,wascleverlysentpastVenus,whichisclosertothesunthanisEarth,thenpastEarth,andthenpastJupiter,gettingfreekicksat each flyby. The Cassini orbiter derives its electrical power from radioisotopethermoelectricgenerators,becausesolarenergyismuchweakeratSaturnthanitisatEarth.Thesehavenomovingparts,but takeadvantageof the fact thatanelectricalcurrentcanbegenerated when there is a difference in temperature between the ends of certain wires.FreeloadingonMotherNature.

Dr. Neil de Grasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York City,demonstratedbiasagainstinterstellartravelwhenhepointedout,onthePeterJenningsABC-TVmockumentarySeeingisBelievingonFebruary24,2005,thatourfastestspacecraft,theVoyagerspacecraft,wouldtake70,000yearstogettotheneareststar,andthatscientistsliketobe alive when their experiments are completed. He somehow neglected to mention thatVoyagerhasn'thadarealpropulsionsystemonitsinceitlefttheEarth.Hiscommentwastheequivalentofsuggestingthatthrowingabottleintheoceantellsyouhowlongitwouldtaketocrosstheocean.Infact,largelinersdoitinsixdays,theConcordediditinafewhours,andthespacestationcoversthedistanceacrosstheAtlanticinlessthan12minutes.

Ihavefoundthatmanypeopleseemtothinkthatspaceprobesarepoweredbyrocketsallduring their flights.Not so; they are coasting almost all theway,with gravitational assistschangingbothdirectionsandspeeds.Onourjourneystothemoon,poweredflightconsistedofabout17minutesofthe69-hourjourney.Thecoastingupperstagegraduallysloweddownunder the influence of theEarth's gravitational field. If themoon hadn't come along at therighttime,therocketwouldhavecomebacktoEarthinsteadofbeingattractedtothemoon,similar to an arrow shot upward. Once again, being clever is more important than beingpowerful.

AlthoughDr.Campbellwasguiltyoffalsereasoningandignoranceabouttheengineeringaspectsofspaceflight,hecan'treallybeblamedformakingyetanotherfalseassumption.He,aswithsomanyotherdebunkersofspaceflight,assumedthatchemicalrocketsweretheonlyway to travel in space. Is there another candidate? Of course! Nuclear energy. Thetechnological development of nuclear energy was achieved in secret under the ManhattanProject to develop nuclear weapons. The first atomic bomb (or, more properly, "nuclearweapon,"becauseitistheenergyofthenucleusthatisbeingtapped,ratherthantheenergyofthe atom) was secretly exploded at Trinity Site at White Sands Missile Range nearAlamogordo, New Mexico, on July 16, 1945. The first nuclear chain reaction wasaccomplishedunder thedirectionofNobelPrize-winningphysicistEnricoFermi, insecret,underthesquashcourtofStaggFieldattheUniversityofChicagoonDecember2,1942.ThebombsdroppedonHiroshimaonAugust6,1945,andNagasakionAugust9,1945, swiftlybroughtanendtothehorrorsofWorldWarIIonAugust15,1945.Thealliesalonedropped3.4milliontonsofchemicalexplosivesonGermanyandJapanduringWorldWarII.

The single bomb dropped on Hiroshima released the energy equivalent to exploding12,000tonsor24millionpoundsofTNT.Normally,themostpowerfulconventionalbombsdroppedduring thewar hadbeen10-ton "blockbusters." So, an early nuclear-fission bombreleased1,200timestheenergyofourmostadvancedconventionalbomb.Howcouldthisbe?

Normal chemical reactions, including combustion, involve energies of a few electronvoltsperevent.Anelectronvoltisameasureofenergy.Incontrast,onenuclearfissionevent,whenaheavyUranium-235orPlutonium-239nucleusabsorbsaneutronandfissions(splits),releasesabout 200million electron volts of energy because it converts a small amount ofmasstoahugeamountofenergy.E=mc2,aspredictedbyAlbertEinstein.Themassism,cisabignumber(thespeedoflight),andEisenergy.Bythisequation,asmallfuelbundleintheCanadian CANDU nuclear power reactor weighing less than 50 pounds and using naturaluranium fuel rather than the fully enriched uranium (or Plutonium) used in weapons, andabout20incheslong,producesasmuchenergyasburning400tonsofcoal(orfourrailroadcoalcars).MuchmorepowerfulfissionweaponshavebeenbuiltsinceHiroshima.Evenmoreimpressive(ordepressive,fromhumankind'sviewpoint)hasbeenthedevelopmentofnuclearfusionweapons, or hydrogen bombs. Fission involves the absorption of a neutron and the

breaking-upofabig,heavyuraniumorplutoniumnucleus.Infusion,twoverylightnucleiofhydrogenand/orheliumcombine,orfuse,toreleasemillionsofelectronvoltsofenergyperfusionevent.Typically,twopositivelychargedparticleswouldrepeleachother.However,ifafissionweaponisexplodedfirst,itgiveshydrogenionssufficientenergytoovercometheirnormalelectricalrepulsionandreleasefusionenergy.Nowtheamountofenergyreleasedperlarge fusion weapon is typically measured in millions of tons of TNT equivalent, ormegatons.TheSovietUnionhasexplodeda50-megatonbombthatreleasedabout4,000timestheenergyoftheHiroshimafissionweapon.SuchaweaponexplodedoverNewJerseycouldstart fires from Philadelphia toNewYork, besides all the immediate destruction. The firstfusionweapon exploded by theUnited States in the Pacific in the fall of 1952 produced afireball3milesindiameter.Iwonderwhat thealiensthoughtof thatgiantfirecracker!Thiswas only 14 years after scientists determined that fusion reactions powered the stars,includingoursun.

Scientists recognized in the1940s that it shouldbepossible,at least theoretically, tousenuclearenergyforpropulsionforships,airplanes,androckets-not justforbombs.Inships,onewoulduseanuclearreactortoproducesteaminsteadofburningcoaloroil.Thesteamcould turn a turbine and a propeller and produce electricity. Theoretically, a ship reactorcould run for years without refueling, meaning a ship could move rapidly without anyconcernforhowmuchfuelwasbeingburnedandhownearorfarfuelreplenishmentcouldbe. Space otherwise needed for oil or coal could be used for weaponry. In the case of anuclearsubmarine,becausenoairwasbeingburned,itcouldstayunderwaterformonthsoryears.WWIIsubmarineswere, in reality, surface ships that couldoperate underwater for alimitedtime;nuclearsubmarineshaveindeedgonecompletelyaroundtheglobeunderwater.The nuclear reactors on a modern aircraft carrier can operate for an incredible 18 yearswithoutrefueling.

In1946,theU.S.governmentestablishedtheNEPA(NuclearEnergyforthePropulsionofAircraft) program, involving the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Fairchild AviationCorporation. There were starts and stops in the program. Everyone recognized that if asuitablenuclearfissionreactorcouldbeoperatedonanairplane,itcouldreplacetheburningofjetfuel.Therangewouldbeunlimited.Refuelingofthereactormightonlybeneededafter

a thousandormorehoursof flight.Anyplace in theworldwouldbewithin the rangeofanuclear-poweredbomber.Itwasalsorecognizedthattherewouldbeveryseriousengineeringproblemsassociatedwithoperating thereactoratasufficientlyhightemperature toprovidehotair to jet turbines.Providingsufficient radiationshieldingaround thehigh-temperature,high-performancereactortoprotecttheflightcrewwouldalsobearealchallengebecauseoftheweightlimitsonairplanes,whicharemuchlowerthanforships.Inaddition,therewastheconcernaboutwhathappensifahighlyradioactivesystemweretocrashinapopulatedarea.Further, conventionalplanesnormally landcarryingmuch lessweight thanwhen they tookoffbecauseoftheuseoftheaircraftfuel;anuclear-poweredairplanewouldweighasmuchuponlandingasontakeoff.

The program was subject to all kinds of political intervention, feasibility studies, andmore. It was in its heyday from about 1956 until it was canceled in 1961. I worked at theGeneral Electric Aircraft Nuclear PropulsionDepartment in Evendale, Ohio, just north ofCincinnati, from 1956 to 1959, and at full tilt,we employed 3,500 people, ofwhom 1,100were engineers and scientists. Our annual budget was running about $100 million, notcountingthegovernment-suppliedenricheduraniumandamultitudeoffacilities.Thatwasalotofmoneyfor1958.Inmyopinion,whattheprogramdesperatelyneededanddidn'thavewas strong leadership, such as provided by Admiral Hyman Rickover to the nuclearsubmarineprogram.

Goals were constantly being changed. The plane would be supersonic. No-it would besubsonic.Itwouldbedesignedtoflyveryhigh.No-itwouldflyverylowtoavoidradar.WedidsuccessfullyoperatejetenginesonnuclearpowerattheIdahoteststationinthelate1950s.Severaldifferent relativelyprimitivesystemswere tested,withdesignsbeingdevelopedformuchmoresophisticatedsystems,butwereneverbroughttofruition.Anenormousamountof technologically advanced engineering work was done to meet the requirements formaterialsthatcouldoperateathightemperaturesinanuclearenvironment.Forexample,forshielding,leadandconcretewereoutofthequestion.Ididalotofshieldingexperimentswithsuchexoticmaterialsaslithiumhydride,boroncarbide,beryllium,tungstenalloys,depleteduranium,andmore.AlmostalltestdatawasclassifiedSecretRestrictedData.

Pratt&WhitneyAircraft,which is amajormanufacturer of jet engines, had a smallerprogramgoingusinganindirectcycle:Aliquidmetalwouldbeheatedinthereactor,andthentheheatwouldbe transferredtoair thatwassent through the turbine.Thereactorwouldbesmaller than in the aircooled GE concept, so the shielding would be lighter, but the heatexchangercreated serious problems, becausematerials resistant to corrosion by the liquidmetal were not resistant to oxidation in the air at the required high temperatures. Reactorpower levelswouldbeabout400Megawatts.A typical large terrestrialnuclearpowerplanttodayoperatesat2,000to4,000Megawatts,withanelectricityproductionrateof600to1,300Megawatts.Theyareobviouslynotportable.

TheAircraftNuclearPropulsionprogramwascanceledin1961.Afewyearslater,onJuly1,1964,anuclearramjetprograminvolvingLing-TemcoVought,LivermoreLabs,andthePlutoandToryprojectswasalsocanceled,havingbegunin1957.Theramjet,whichworksmost effectively at high speeds, forcing air through the reactor to gain energy, would becarriedaloftbyalargeairplaneandthenlightedup.Itwouldoperateatabout600Megawatts,wouldbeunmanned,andwouldcarrynuclearweaponsalmostanywherebecauseessentiallynofuelwouldbeconsumed.Groundtests,butnoflighttests,wereconducted.

TestmodelGEaircraftnuclearpropulsionsystem,IdahoTestStation.CourtesyoftheU.S.government.

GeneralElectricflighttypeXVL4-1Aaircraftnuclearpropulsionengine,circa1958.CourtesyoftheU.S.government.

Allthroughthe1960s,workwasdoneonasuccessionofnuclearrocketenginesundertheKIWI, Rover, Phoebus, XE-I and NERVA programs sponsored by the Atomic EnergyCommissionandtheNASASpaceNuclearPropulsionOffice.Companies involvedincludedAerojet General, Westinghouse Astronuclear Laboratory, and Los Alamos NationalLaboratory.Anumberofdifferentsystemsweresuccessfullygroundtestedatthenucleartestsite inNevada, near Jackass Flats andwest of Las Vegas, not too far fromwhere nuclearweaponsweretestedorfromtheinfamousArea51.Theyallusedcoldliquidhydrogenasapropellant. It would be pumped through the reactor to heat it, and exhausted at hightemperaturesoutthenozzle.Thefuelelementswiththeirnarrowcoolantchannelsweremade

ofvariouscarbon-uraniumcompounds.Theincominghydrogenwasattemperaturesclosetoabsolutezeroandexitedafewfeetawayata temperatureofaround4,000degrees.Becausehydrogen is the lightest and most abundant of all the elements, it would reach a highervelocity than the heavier exhaust products produced with conventional rocket propellants,such as hydrogen combinedwith oxygen. It would be available everywhere in the galacticneighborhood, unlike uranium. The most powerful Phoebus 2B system was successfullyoperatedat apower levelof about4,400Megawatts (twice thatof theGrandCouleeDam),thoughthereactorwasonlyseveralfeetlongandlessthan7feetindiameter.

Almostallofthesesystemsweretestedwiththenozzleexhaustingupward.AnXE-Iflight-typesystemwasoperatedbyAerojetwiththenozzlefacingdownandahugeheavilycooledexhaustduct.Thiswasclosetoaflight-typesystem.

Oneofthemostinterestingeventsinmynuclearcareerinindustryinvolvedthesuccessfultesting of the NRX-A6 nuclear rocket reactor produced by Westinghouse AstronuclearLaboratory in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The power level was "only" 1,100Megawatts.WewerelisteningtotheNevadatestliveinPittsburgh.Ihadseveralradiation-monitoringdevicesonthesystem,andhadmadesomeearliermeasurementstodeterminenuclearheatingratesintheallimportantreactorcontrolsystems.Atmost,thereactorcouldbeoperatedforonehourduetoalimitationastohowmuchliquidhydrogencouldbestoredatthetestfacility,andtherequirementforcoolingthereactoraftershutdown.Noonehadanyideahowlongthesystemcould be operated until the fuel elements gave way because of the high temperatures andpressureinthereactor.Estimatesranfrom10to40minutes.Overthepublicaddresssystemweheardtheoperatingtime,nominaltemperatures,andpressures:5minutes,10minutes,20minutes,30,40.Finally,thefull60minutes.Wewereoneveryhappygroup-thattimewouldcovernecessaryoperationsforaflighttoMarsforanuclearupperstage.(ItwasnotintendedthattheybeusedasalaunchvehiclefromEarth.)

WestinghouseAstronuclearLabNRX-A6nuclearrocketengine(1,100Megawatts).CourtesyoftheU.S.government.

AerojetGeneralXE-Iflighttypenuclearrocketengine,downward-firing(1,000Megawatts).CourtesyoftheU.S.government.

LosAlamosPhoebusI-Bonnuclearrocketengine(4,400Megawatts)atteststand.CourtesyoftheU.S.government.

Despitenumeroussuccessfultests,theseprogramswerealsocanceledintheearly1970s.Onceagain,theproblem,frommyviewpoint,wasatotallackofleadership.Therewerenospecificgoalsfortheprojects!Isat inonaverysadmeetingatAerojetGeneral in1968inSacramento, California, where the government people were trying to determine what theyshoulddowith thenuclear rocketengine! Itcouldbeused tosetupa lunarbase, forEarthorbit-lunarorbitrendezvous,asanupperstageforatriptoMars,andmore.Anuclearfissionrocket engine is roughly twice as efficient as a chemical rocket engine, so it could loftroughly twice the payload, for an upper stage, as a chemical rocket. So, of course, theprogramwascanceled.Theycouldn'tdecide. Iwasamusedwhen,30years later,asa panelparticipantataUFOconferenceinCocoaBeach,Florida,IsatnexttoaNASArepresentative.HenotedthattheywerethinkingaboutthepossibilityofconsideringmaybestartinganuclearrocketprogramupagainforuseonamannedexpeditiontoMars.Thirtyyearslate.

Althoughnuclearfissionrocketengineshavebeengroundtested,theyarecertainlynottheultimate in nuclear rocket technology, because they are still limited by the maximumoperating temperatures of solid nuclear fuel. One possibility is the use of a gaseous corenuclearrocketengine.Thetemperatureofthefissioninggasinthecentercouldbeveryhighindeed.TheSovietshad,manyyearsago,actuallyoperatedaratherlowtemperaturegaseouscore. There are many gaseous compounds of uranium, including uranium hexafluoride,whichispassedthroughhugegaseousdiffusionplants toproduceenricheduraniumhavingmore than theoriginal0.7 percentU-235.Compact nuclear fission reactors have also beenoperatedinouterspacetoproduceelectricityforuseonboardaspacecraft.TheSovietUnionlaunchedmorethanthreedozensuchsystems.AndtheUnitedStatesonlyone.

AMegawatt (onemillionwatts of energy) canbe generated in a reactor smaller than awastebasket.Itwouldhavetooperateatveryhightemperatures toreducetheweightof theradiator(roughlythesamefunctionastheradiatoronanautomobileengine),gettingridoftheenergy,notproducingelectricity.Atypicalplantmightbe25to50percentefficient.Thereasonforthehightemperatureistheneedtoradiateenergy.Alawofphysicssays that theamount of heat that can be radiated (given off) per unit area is proportional to the fourthpower of the temperature. In other words, if one doubles the temperature of the radiatingsurface,onecangetridof16(2x2x2x2)timesasmuchenergy.

The weight decreases with decreasing size, and weight is the problem for anythinglaunched into space. In a typical example of a very welleducated academic making apronouncementaboutasubjectaboutwhichheknowsalmostnothing,wehavetheclaimofDr.LawrenceMaxwellKrauss,professorofphysicsandastronomyatCaseWesternReserveUniversityinCleveland,Ohio,inhisbookThePhysicsofStarTrek,notingthatperhapssuchreactorsmight be operated in the future. Apparently hewas unaware of all those reactorsalreadyoperatedinspacebytheSovietUnion.Iwasacutelyawareofthembecausein1961,IdidastudyatAerojetGeneralNucleonicsundercontracttotheForeignTechnologyDivisionoftheUnitedStatesAirForceatWright-PattersonAirForceBaseinOhio.(FTDwas,bytheway, also the organization to which Project Blue Book reported.) The study was entitled"AnalysisandEvaluationofFastandIntermediateReactorsforSpaceVehicleApplications."ThekeywordomittedwasSoviet.IwastoreviewSoviet technicalliterature(intranslation)

dealingwithallaspectsofthedesignofspacenuclearsystems,reactorphysics,heattransfer,radiationshielding,liquidmetalcorrosion,andsoon.IwentbacktoColumbus,Ohio,everymonthortwotolookatthehugeforeigntechnologyfilesoftheBattelleMemorialInstitute,whichalsohaddonetheworkonProjectBlueBookSpecialReportNumber14,asnotedinChapter1.IpredictedinmyclassifiedfinalreportthattheSovietswouldindeedbelaunchingnuclear reactors foruse in space.Theyweredoingall the right research, thoughoftennotmentioning the spacenuclear power application. Iwas probably the only scientist inNorthAmericapleasedtohearaboutthecrashoftheCosmos9.54satelliteinNorthernCanadaonJanuary 24, 1978. It had on boardwhatwas listed as the 13th Soviet space nuclear reactorsystem.Mypredictionwasrighton.Manyyearslater, theU.S.AirForceactuallypurchasedoneoftheSovietsystems!

None of themany press articles about the crash (in a very remote area) noted that theSoviets had systems producing farmore power in space than anyU.S. system.This powercouldbeusedforparticlebeamweapons,laserweapons,andsidebandradartokeeptrackofthepositionsofallshipsontheocean.Suchreactorscouldalsobeusedtosupplythepowerfor an ionor plasmapropulsion system.Thesewouldprovide lowacceleration for a longperiodoftime,andhavebeendemonstratedbykeepingaspacesystemfromlosingaltitudebecause of the slight drag of what little atmosphere is at orbital altitude. Instead of thesefascinatingpoints,thefocuswasonradioactivitythatmightbeingestedbythefewcaribouinthearea!

Ofmuchgreaterinterestthananuclearelectricsystemistheuseofnuclearfusionrocketsfor deep-space propulsion systems. Fusion is the process that produces almost all of theenergy generated in stars. The strong gravitational field and high temperatures make itpossibleforisotopesofhydrogenand/orheliumtoreactwitheachotherdespitethefactthatchargedparticlesarenormallyrepelledbyotherparticlesofthesamecharge.Therearemanydifferent fusion reactions. As noted previously, they produce the huge amount of energygenerated by hydrogen bombs,which can be fission-fusion bombs or even fission-fusion-fission bombs. There are two very important design requirements: One is the holding-togetheroftheinitialsystemlongenoughforthereactionstotakeplace,ratherthanfortheparticlestobedispersed.Theotheristohaveasupplyoftherightkindofisotopes,severalof

whicharenotreadilyavailableinnature.

Manyofthereactionsunfortunatelydelivermostoftheirenergyintheformofenergeticneutronsthatgooutinalldirections.Tousethemforpropulsion,onewouldhavetoabsorbthemandheatamaterialaroundthereactionchambertoperhapsproduceelectricitytokicksomechargedparticlesoutoftherocket.Farmoreattractiveistheuseofareaction,suchashydrogen-2andhelium-3.Anormalhelium(He-2)nucleushastwoprotonsandtwoelectronsorbiting the outside of the nucleus. Helium3 has two protons and one neutron. A normalhydrogen atom has one proton in the nucleus and one electron outside. However, heavyhydrogen, or deuterium, has a neutron and a proton in the nucleus and only one electron.Withouttheelectronthepositivelychargedheavyhydrogenisotopeisknownasadeuteron.Eachreactionproducesdifferentparticles,anddifferentamountsofenergy.Ifadeuteronisreactedwith a helium-3 nucleus (two protons and a neutron), a large amount of energy isreleased.Itcomesfromconvertingalittleofthemasstoalotofenergy(E=mc2),andallbut2.5 percent of the energy is in the form of charged particles. These have the enormousadvantageofbeingabletobedirectedbyelectricandmagneticfields,sotheycanbeemittedout the back end of the rocket, unlike the situationwith the neutrons. The ejected particlestypically have about 10million times asmuch energy per particle as can be obtained in achemicalrocket.Progressreallydoescomefromdoingthingsdifferently.

FusionrocketswouldnotgenerallybeusedtolaunchrocketsfromadenseplanetsuchasEarth with a thick atmosphere, but again, as with fission rockets, for an upper stage.Hydrogen,asnotedearlier,isthelightestelementknown,andmakesupmorethan90percentof theuniverse.Nomatterwhereonewent, therewouldbehydrogenaround.Heliumis thesecondmost abundant and second lightest element.Helium-3 supposedly is in some of therocksonthemoonandalsointheatmosphereofJupiter.

Now,manypeoplemaywonder:Iffusionissogoodforenergyproduction,whyarewenotproducingelectricityinfusionpowerplants?Largecentralstationpowerplantshavetobeoperated down here on Earth (unless producing electricity from solar energy absorbed in

nearspace).Averygoodvacuumsystemisrequiredforthefusionreactionchamber,andthechallengeisoneofeconomics,becausethereareothermeanslongdevelopedforproducingelectrical power, such as burning coal or oil, or using fission nuclear reactors orhydroelectric plants.Outer space provides an outstanding vacuum chamber at no cost, andallows the achievement of a particular objective-rapid deep-space travel-not otherwiseachievable.

TestCellC,NuclearRocketTestStation,Nevada.CourtesyoftheU.S.government.

It seems strange that Dr. Krauss seemed to think there was no way to assure that theproductsofnuclearfusionreactionscouldbeejectedoutthebackofarocket.Asoneexpects,he hadn't done his homework. I can only laugh at the claims of a character named DavidAdair,whogiveslecturesandappearsonlate-nighttalkshows,thatatage17hebuiltafusionrocket and sent it successfully on a flight fromWhite Sands, NewMexico, to Area 51 in

Nevada-thereactionswon'tworkin theatmosphere.Andhewouldn'thavehadaccess to therightisotopesortheresourcestobuildsucharocket.

Manypapershavebeenpublishedaboutfusionpropulsion, includingtheDaedalusstudypublished in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society.When I worked for AerojetGeneral Nucleonics in the walnut orchards (now wall-to-wall housing) of San Ramon inNorthernCaliforniain1962,wehadanAirForcecontract to lookatfusionpropulsionfordeep-space travel. What made it seem feasible was the discovery of new superconductingmagnet materials that would allow the fabrication of relatively light-weight, powerfulmagnets having no resistance to the flow of an electric current, being able to remainsuperconducting even in high magnetic fields, and requiring little power in contrast withnormal heavymagnets used to contain a fusioning plasma.HospitalMRI systems use suchmagnets. The study was done under the direction of world-famous plasma physicist JohnLuce,whohadheaded theDCXFusionProgramatOakRidgeNationalLaboratory inOakRidge,Tennessee.

LucewasoneofthebrightestmenIeverknew,thoughheonlyhadahighschooldiploma(and an honorary PhD in physics).He also had 40 patents on sophisticated plasma physicsdevices.Hehadarealunderstandingofhowtheplasmaworldworks,andwasalwaysdoingthingsthatthePhDphysicistsworkingunderhimsaidcouldn'tbedone.Hewasatrueleaderofmenaswell,andinspiredallthoseworkingforhimmostlybyhisownexample.Iworkedon designing the radiation shielding needed to protect the crew against those few neutronsemitted.Ofcourse,sofarasweknow,thegovernmenthasnotdecidedonanymissiontothestars,or to spend thehugeamountsofmoneyneeded tobuildand launch sucha system. Itprobably shouldn't be done unless sponsored by planet Earth, rather than by one nation.Incidentally, there are small commercial devices (accelerators) available that use fusionreactions from hydrogen and helium to produce neutrons. These devices are put down oilwell bore holes to determine the amount of oil present, because some of the neutronsproducedinteractwithhydrogenatomsinanyoilsurroundingtheborehole.

Thisisnotsciencefiction.

Something close to science fiction was studied for several years under the Orionprogram,involvingpulsedfusionpropulsionsystems.ArocketwouldcarryalargesupplyofH-bombs and eject them out the back end, one at a time. Theywould be exploded to givesubstantialpushtoapusherplateatthebackoftherocket,eventuallyproducinghighvelocityfor it. The Orion program, using nuclear fusion weapons dropped out of the back of therockettoacceleratetherocket,involvedtwowell-knownscientists,TedTaylorandFreemanDyson.Thenucleartestbantreatyprohibitedtestingtheweaponsinouterspace;mostofthefusionenergywouldbewastedandnotimpingeonthepusherplate.

Is fusion the ultimate means of deep space propulsion? Of course not, becausetechnologicalprogresscomesfromdoingthingsdifferentlyinanunpredictableway.Wehavehadsophisticatedtechnologyforlessthan200years,yet,asnotedinChapter3,therearestarsless than 40 light-years away that are a billion years older than our sun. Many differentapproaches to exploring space have already been suggested: Fourth-dimensional spacetimewarping using wormholes is a good science fiction technique alluded to in Carl Sagan'sContact.Dr.EricDavis,aphysicistworkingfortheNationalInstituteofDiscoverySciencesinLasVegas,Nevada,discussedmorescientificallyappealingapproaches.Peoplehavetalkedaboutdevelopingantigravityorsomehowchangingtheattractionofgravitytorepulsion.AsfarasIknow,thishasneverbeendone.Thereisseriousdiscussionaboutsomehowshieldingagainst gravity by rapidly spinning a superconducting material and supposedly measuringreduced gravity above it. TheNASAMarshall Space FlightCenter inHuntsville,Alabama,was investigating such an approach based on controversial research by Russian scientistEugenePodkletnov.Thereisalsoconsiderableinterestintappingthesupposedlyvastenergyof thevacuum:so-calledzero-pointenergy.Severalabstrusepapershavebeenpublished inreputablephysicsjournalsbyDr.HaroldPuthoffofAustin,Texas,andDr.BernardHaischofCalifornia.Bothwerecoauthorsofanoutstandingrefereedscientificpaper,"Inflation-TheoryImplicationsforExtraterrestrialVisitation,"publishedbythem,Dr.BruceMaccabee,andDr.JamesDeardorffintheJournaloftheBritishInterplanetarySociety.Theyconcludethatnewdevelopments in theoretical physics indicate that interstellar travel is indeed feasible. Notsurprisingly, the nasty, noisy negativists somehowmanage to avoid referencing this paper,

justasUFOdebunkerstrytoavoidmentioningtheseminalProjectBlueBookSpecialReportNo.14discussedinChapter1.

Asanuclearphysicist,Ihaveoftenbeenfascinatedbythesimplefactthatwhenonegoesfromthe"huge"atomtothe10,000-timessmallernucleus,onegoesupinenergyperparticlebymillionsoftimes.Sowhatwillhappenwhenweareabletodigintothequarksthatmakeupneutrons and protons?Will a huge new source of energy be found?What new sourceshavealreadybeenfoundbycivilizationsonlythousandsofyearsaheadofus,ratherthanthemuchmore likely millions or billions of years ahead of us that some places in the localneighborhoodmustbe?Weknow thatmatter-antimatter annihilation is an efficientprocess,evenifwedon'tknowhowtostoreantimatter.

Somereadersmaywonderwhether it isonlynewsourcesofenergy thatwillmakestartravelfeasible.Ofcoursenot.Itisusingourmindsincreativeways.Andofcoursetherearethosewhocanonlythinkabouthownottotravel.Dr.EdwardM.Purcell(1912-1997)wasaNobel Prize-winning physicist at Harvard University, who decided he would settle thequestionofinterstellartravelusingjustbasicphysics,and,aswithDr.Campbellmanyyearsearlier, ignoring the specifics of howonewould do it.He suggested that if onewanted tojourney to a star 10 light-years away using a 100-percent efficient process such asmatter-antimatter annihilation, one would accelerate at 1 G for a distance of five light-years,decelerateat1Gforfivelight-years,andreversetheprocesscominghome.Themassrationaturally turns out to be absurd; that is, theweight of the rocketwould be truly enormouscomparedtothemassofthepayload.Fortunately,nosensibleengineerwoulddesignsuchamissionprofile.Inthefirstplace,atIGacceleration,itonlytakesoneyeartogetclosetothespeedoflight.(Ihavehadmaturescientistssuggestitwouldtake100or1,000years.)

Acceleratingpastthatpointjustwasteshugeamountsofenergyfornorealbenefit.Boeing747s stop accelerating when they get to cruise velocity and throttle down to coast at aconvenientspeed,asdosportscars,aircraftcarriers,andsoon.Secondly,ashasbeenprovenmanytimes,AlbertEinsteinwasright.Weirdasitsounds,atspeedsclosetothespeedoflight

(670millionmilesperhour), timeslowsdownfor thingsmovingthatfast.Pleasedon'taskme why the universe is created that way, but experiments clearly vindicate this aspect ofEinstein'srelativity.Togivespecificexamples,letusassumeoneisgoing99.9percentofc(cisusuallyusedtoindicatethespeedoflight).Itwouldonlytake20monthspilottimetogo39light-yearstoZetaReticuli(aswillbedetailedinChapter3).At99.99percentc,itwouldonlytakesixmonthspilottime.Yes,onecomesbackmuchyoungerthanthoseleftbehind.Kindofthegiftofimmortality.Goout,comeback,marryone'sgrandchild'sfriend...

Somecriticshaveobjectedthatatvelocitiesclosetoc,one'smassincreasesaswell,soitwould takemuchmore energy tokeepaccelerating.Well, in the first place, onewould notkeepaccelerating.Inthesecondplace,thereactionproductsfromfusionarebornwithhighenergy; they are not accelerated to those velocities. Dr. Purcell made two more sillyassumptions,probablywithout realizing their implication.One:heassumed that all the fuelforthetriphadtobecarriedfromthestart.Whynotrefuelatthedestination,oratconvenientantimatter pumping stations established along the way? If one drives from Boston to LosAngelesandback,onedoesnotneedtouseahugevehicle,carryingallthefuelfortheentiretrip.Onestopsatgasstationsalongtheway.Onealsodoesnotneedtocarryatankofliquidoxygen.Oneuses air thatonegathers along theway, rather than storing it.Remember thattherewere no gas stations 150 years ago, just as therewere no runways onwhich to landaircraft.

Dr.Purcellalsoignoredcosmicfreeloading:GopastthesunorJupiterorSaturntogetafreekick.Findaconvenientblackhole,butmakesurenottogettooclose.Changingthebasicassumptionsmakes enormous difference. Progress comes from doing things differently inunpredictableways.Thefutureisnotanextrapolationofthepast.Wemustrecognizethattwoof thegreatestphysicists-LordRutherford,whoexploredmanynuclei, andAlbertEinstein,who determined that E equalsmc2-didn't think that anything useful could be donewith theenergy of the nucleus; others built new technology on their advanced scientific findings.Incidentally, Idiscovered thatDr.PurcellwasonPresidentEisenhower's scientific advisoryboardandhadaTopSecretsecurityclearance.Hemaywellhavebeeninvolvedinahighlyclassified advisory body such as Operation Majestic 12 (described in Chapter 11). HisHarvardcolleague,UFOdebunkerDr.DonaldMenzel,wasonOperationMajestic12,anddid

allkindsofclassifiedconsultingworkfortheCIA,theNationalSecurityAgency(NSA),andmany companies. None of this was known until my surprising discoveries at the HarvardArchivesin1986.

Tosummarize:yes,weEarthlingscanseriouslythinkofgoingtothestarsbeforetheendof the21st century, ifwearewilling tocommit themental and financial resources andarewillingtodothingsdifferently.Whoknows,perhapswecanhitcharideonanalienspaceshipgoinghome?ThefirstNorthAmericannatives to reachEuropewentbackwithColumbus,notintheirowncanoes.

The readerwill note that I have not discussed faster-than-light (FTL) travel. How oftenhaveIhearddebunkerssay thatEinstein's lawssay thespeedof light is the limit, sogoing,say,39light-years,wouldrequireaminimumround-tripjourneyof78years.Right?Wrong!ThesesametraveldebunkerscasuallyignoreEinstein'sexperimentallyverifieddeductionoftimeslowingdown:Asthevelocityincreases,thesavingsgetgreaterandgreater.Ofcourse,asmight be expected, these debunkers also set up a totally false premise that visitorsmustcome fromothergalaxiesor acrossourgalaxy, theMilkyWay.EvenDr.MichioKaku, anexcitingpopularizeroffar-outtheoreticalphysicswhoallowsforinterstellartravel,startsbytalkingabouttripstoothergalaxies.Letusgetitstraight:TheMilkyWayGalaxy,withitsfewhundred billion stars (including the sun, our star), is about 100,000 light-years across.Andromeda, thenextbiggalaxyover, is2million light-yearsaway.Whynot focusonourlocalgalacticneighborhood?

AirbornePropulsion

Therearepeoplewhosuggestthatitissillytoworryaboutstartravelwhenthebehaviorofso-calledflyingsaucers in theatmosphereclearlyviolates the lawsofphysics.Theycitenoiseless flight and an absence of sonic booms, and that vehicles flying that fast in theatmospherewouldburnupquicklybecauseoftheairfriction,andthattheaccelerationwouldsmashthepeopleinside,andsoonandsoforth.Tome,asanuclearphysicistworkingonfar-

outpropulsion systems, these atmosphericpropulsionproblemswereofgreat interest.Thelawsofphysicssetveryfewlimits;ourcontrol(orlackthereof)ofappropriatetechnologyistheproblem.Wethinkverylittleoftakinglongjourneysonairplanesatheightsabove30,000feet,butthereisnotenoughairuptheretobreathe.Apressurizedcabinsolvestheproblem.Pilots inU-2s and other high-flying airplanesmove atmore than 70,000 feet, but they useoxygen,theywearG-suits,andsoon.

But are there other, different approaches to flight? Because I was working on fusionpropulsionsystems,Igotveryinterestedinplasmaphysics.Mostoftheuniverseconsistsofplasmas:collectionsofchargedandneutralparticles inagaseousform. It isanelectricallyconductingfluid.Thestarsareplasmas.Muchof theupperatmosphereconsistsofplasmas.ThatiswhyMarconicouldcommunicatelongdistancesacrossoceans,as the ionosphere isan electrically conducting fluid. The space between the sun and the planets has a certainamountofplasma.Theauroraborealisisaplasmaphenomenon.Inthemid-1960s,StuartWayofWestinghouseResearchLaboratoryinPittsburgh,workingwithsomegraduatestudentsattheUniversity ofCalifornia, SantaBarbarawhile on a sabbatical, built an electromagneticsubmarine,takingadvantageofthefactthatseawaterisanelectricallyconductingfluid.Ithadnomovingparts,anditworkedslowlyandsilentlyslippingthroughtheocean.

Thereisalawofphysicsthatindicatesthatelectricandmagneticfieldsatrightanglestoeachotherproducea"Lorentzforce"onchargedparticles,suchaselectrons,atrightanglestoboth.(LorentzwasaNobelPrize-winningDutchphysicist.)Theforceactingonthecraftisproportionaltothesquareofthemagneticfield.Sotwicethemagneticfieldgivesfourtimestheforce.Theprocesscontrolsflowaroundtheobject(theelectromagneticsubmarine),andreducesdragaswell.Thesamedevelopmentsofhigh-strengthsuperconductingmagnetsthatmake fusion propulsion attractive apply once again. Way's effort, even noted in TimeMagazine, inspired Japanese scientists to build a much bigger submarine actually usingsuperconducting magnets. (The movie The Hunt for Red October assumes a Sovietelectromagneticsubmarine.)

Ofcourse,flightintheatmosphereisnotthesameasmotioninseawater.Butthroughouttheyearstherehasbeenagreatdealofeffortintheutilizationofvarioustechniquestomaketheatmosphereinthevicinityofavehiclebecomeanelectricallyconductingfluid.Wecanseetheplasmawhenahigh-speed incomingmeteorheatsup to aglow-that is a plasma regionaroundit.Whentheastronautscomebackintotheatmosphere,theirkineticenergyofflightconvertssomeoftheatmosphereintoaplasma,whichmakesitdifficulttocommunicatewiththem because the radio signals can't penetrate the plasma. These phenomena are directlyrelated to theheatingof thecraft, thedrag (air frictionon thecraft), the lift, and the sonicboom production by shock waves produced by high-speed flight. Of equal interest is theabilitytocontroltheplasmassoastomakethemtotallyabsorbingofradarsignalsbeamedatthemtodetect theirpresence.Noradar lock-on,noanti-aircraftmissiles.That therewasanenormous government-sponsored interest in the interactions between vehicles and plasmasbecamequiteobvious tomewhen, inabrief stintatMcDonnellDouglas inCalifornia (theprogramwascanceled,ofcourse), Ihadasearchdoneof the technical report literature (asopposedtothegeneral,openscientificliterature)in1969.Ireceivedmorethan900abstractsusingthekeywordmagneto-aerodynamics.Ninetypercentofthesewereclassified.Thereisarelated high-technology field of magnetohydrodynamics that has also received a lot ofattention:Anelectricallyconductingfluidpassingbetweentwopolesofamagneticfieldcanproduceacurrentatrightanglestothemagneticfield.Smallsystemshavebeenoperated.

StuartWay'selectromagneticsubmarine.Courtesyoftheauthor.

Much of the concern deals with the passage of rocket nose cones at high speeds withonboardnuclearweapons.Oneneedstoknowhowmuchdragisproduced,whattheeffectonthe radar profile is as seen from the ground, and howmuch the path of the nose cone ischanged by the plasma interactions.Most of this work has been conducted in industry, ofcourse.AvcoCorporation actually did a study decades ago showing that a vehicle comingback fromMars carrying a superconductingmagnet to control the heating on atmosphericreentry here on Earth, wouldweigh less than the heat shield otherwise needed. A fact thatemergeswhenone studiesmanyUFO reports is that often a change in the color of the airaroundthecraftoccurswhenitchangesspeedordirection.Therehavealsobeenhundredsofreports of apparently electromagnetic effects on vehicle engines. I discussed this in myCongressionaltestimonywaybackin1968.

Electromagneticsubmarineschematic.Courtesyoftheauthor.

Asissooftenthecaseinmanyareasofcutting-edgetechnology,onefindswell-educatedpeople claiming, "It is impossible," or "That would violate the laws of physics." In fact,insteadofsayingit isimpossible,theyshouldbesaying,"Gee,Idon'tknowhowtodothat.Letusseeifwecangetsomecluesfromobservations."Someoftheseobservationscouldbesophisticated, such as airborne interceptors, reconnaissance planes, spy satellites, windtunnels,andsoon.Allofwhichdataarenormallybornclassified.Justthinkofhowmuchofthetechnologywetakeforgrantedinthemodernworldwouldhavebeenconsideredtotallyimpossible200yearsago.Therewasnoelectricitysystem,noflightsystem,nocomputers,nosatellites,nomicrowaves,noInternetortelephoneorradioortelevisionoriPods.Irepeat:Progresscomesfromdoingthingsdifferentlyinanunpredictableway.

FromWhereDoTheyCome?

There has been talk about the possible origins of alien life for a very long time. Longbeforeflyingsaucersbecameafactorinthediscussion,writershavetalkedofmenfromthemoon, of Venusians, of Martians, Saturnians, and Jovians. Some of the more seriousdiscussions were in response to the notion that canals had been observed on Mars bySchiaparelliin1878.PercyLowell,aroundtheturnofthe20thcentury,madeabigfussaboutthese. (It turned out that they weren't really canals.) H.G. Wells, in War of the Worlds, anovella published in 1898, talked of strangeMartians so advanced they could fly to Earthfrom Mars before we even had airplanes. They devastated England (not New Jersey, asportrayedintheradiobroadcastbyOrsonWellesin1938).Othersmuchlatertalkedofhiddencivilizationsundertheearth,maybeinholesatthepoles.AmythwascreatedaboutAdmiralByrd,notedpolarexplorer,going through theholeat thepole inanairplaneand findingahidden civilization.One of the people spreading themythwas a colorful character namedHarley Byrd, supposedly the admiral's nephew (later supposedly his grandson!). I checkedyearsagowithAdmiralByrd'spilot,who toldme thathewaswithByrdoneverymission,anditneverhappened.HedidaddthatithadalreadycomeoutthatsometimesByrddranktoomuch,atwhichtimehemighthavesaidanything.IcheckedwiththeByrdfamilyandfoundtherewasnonepheworgrandsonnamedHarley.

Thefocuswas,ofcourse,onourownsolarsystem,becauseitwasn'taccepteduntilafter1925thattheuniversewasmuchlargerthanhadbeenthoughttobethecase.Thosenebulae,just"clouds"wayout there, turnedout tobeothergalaxies.As theequipmentgotbetterwelearnedmore.The100-inchtelescopeonMt.Wilsonwasarealadvance,andthenthe200-inchdiametermirroronMt.Palomar(1949)becamethebestinstrument.Nowwehavespectacularachievements,suchastheHubbletelescopeinorbit,thatneednotworryabouttheinfluenceofthe atmosphere. Soon therewill bemuch better optical and radio telescopes in orbit. Verysensitive electronic devices have overtaken film for monitoring faint light from distantworlds.

It is tempting to forget that our galaxy is only about 100,000 light-years across, about15,000 light-years thick, and has probably somewhere between 100 and 400 billion stars.Therearebillionsofothergalaxies,andtheuniverseisnotonlyverylarge-wehavegatheredlightthathasbeentravelingadistanceofabout13.6billionlight-years-butalsoveryold.TheSETI people want to listen for radio signals from all the nearby stars, and to look forpowerfulopticalsignalssuchasthosewecansendrightnow-eventhoughwehaveonlyhadlaserssince1958.Idon'tthinkourlasersarethebesttherewillbeineven50years,noless5,000or5million.

Now there is general agreement that if there are advanced civilizations out there, theyprobably resideonplanetsperhaps similar tooursorothers inour solar system.The firstdiscoveryofanexoplanet(alsoknownasanextrasolarplanet,oraplanetoutsideofoursolarsystem)tookplacein1992,andwasmadeusingarelativelycrudetechnique.Bymonitoringthepositionofthestarasafunctionoftimeagainstbackgroundstars,itwasfoundthattherewere wiggles in the curves. These were almost certainly due to the fact that the center ofgravityofasolarsystemhavingsomebigplanetsisnotinthecenterofthestar,butchangeslocations as the planets move around it. All heavenly bodies attract each other, but, forexample,when Jupiter and Saturn happen to be on the same side of the sun, the center ofgravityaboutwhichtheyandthesunrevolvemovessomewhat.Thereisasecondeffectthathasbeenmeasured,namelythatwhenalargeplanetmovesinitsorbitsothatitisbetweenthestarandourtelescopes,itblocksoutsomeofthelightfromthestar,andtheintensityofthesignaldecreasesslightly.About293exoplanetshadbeenfoundaroundabout200starsbytheendof2007.Yes,therearesomesolarsystemswithmorethanoneplanet.

"Well,"theimpatientonesask,"havewefoundanyEarth-likeplanets?"Notreally,butthatdoesn'tmean theyarenot there-only thatourmeasuring techniques are still too crude.Thestarsgreatlyoutshinethelightfromtheirplanets.Animportantpointhere,totallyignoredbytheSETIpeople,isthatanycivilizationthathashadspacetravelforashorttime,sayonly100years, will have located other Earth-like planets in their neighborhood. They wouldn't beguessing. They would know which solar systems to explore. They would know fromanalyzinglightfromthoseplanetsifthereisbiologicallifethere.AsCarlSaganpointedoutyearsago inScientificAmerican, theywouldhave foundat leastplant lifeherea coupleof

billionyearsago.Wearestilltheignorantonesaboutwherethereislifeoutthere.TheyknowthereislifeofsomekindonEarth.

As one can imagine, all this will change drastically when a new generation of spacetelescopesisorbited.Within25yearswecanexpect,barringcatastrophes,thatwewillbeabletodirectlyobserveEarth-sizeandEarth-densityplanets aroundanyof the stars in the localneighborhood,iftheyarethere;theTerrestrialPlanetFindersystemisscheduledtobeloftedwithin 25 years.Bear inmind that planets differ greatly from each other even in our ownsolarsystem.Forexample,ifyouhadabigenoughbucketofwater,Saturnwouldfloatinit,whereas the Earth is more than five times denser per unit volume than is water. Surfacetemperatures, atmospheric compositions, density, composition, and so on, all vary fromplanettoplanet.Inaddition,anadvancedcivilizationmightwellhaveestablishedcoloniesonplanets they have noted as being suitable for them, perhaps by first destroying anybodyalready there, if the emergency need for a new location occurred. Remember that othercivilizationsintheneighborhoodwouldhavealreadyhadanequivalentsystemthousandsormillionsofyearsago,andwouldknowaboutoursolarsystem.Wesometimesactasthoughnooneismoreadvancedthanwesmartearthlings-atypicalarroganceofaprimitivesocietywhosemajor activity is tribal warfare. It is clear on the basis of those exoplanets alreadyobservedthatalmostallourideasabouthowsolarsystemsareformedneedrevision.

Nowthatwehavesentspacecraft tootherplanets,wehave,notsurprisingly,discoveredthatthingsarenotthewayweexpected.Venus,oncethoughttobeatropicalparadise(becauseitisalwayscoveredwithclouds),ratherthanbeingquiteabitlikeEarthwithalmostthesamesize and density, is very hot indeed, and its clouds are not water vapor clouds, but rathersomethingclosetosulfuricacid,andatatemperaturehotenoughtomeltlead.

Mars,nowthatwehaveexploredpartsofitssurfacewiththePathfinderandotherprobes,seems certain to have had plenty of surface water in the past, rather than having been aperpetual desert. Titan and Europa, satellites of Saturn and Jupiter, respectively, couldpossibly havewater.Another important factor is the discovery that conditions for life are

muchmoreflexiblethanhadbeenthought.Despitehighpressure,hightemperatures,andtheabsenceof light (deepdown inAntarctica, and even in places in nuclear reactors that havehigh levels of "deadly" radiation), or near very hot, very dark locations in the oceans,wehave discovered extremophiles (organisms that thrives in extreme conditions). Some havesuggested that life is so resistant tonatural forces that it can survive long journeys thoughspace,andmight travel fromplanet toplanetonmeteorsorcometsorcosmicdust.Apolloastronauts actually recovered someEarth bacteria that had been left behind on parts of theSurveyorspacecraftonthemoon,despiteitsexposuretotheintensesunlight,spacevacuum,andsoon,forseveralyears.Thepointhereisthatdespiteourarroganceabouthowcleverweare, we still have a great deal more to learn about our own solar system, our ownneighborhood (say, within 50 light-years), our galactic neighborhood (within 200 light-years),andwithinthegalaxy-nolessothergalaxies.Andromeda,afavorite targetgalaxy, ismorethan2millionlightyearsaway.Idon'tthinkweneedtoworryaboutvisitorsfromothergalaxies.ThelocalgalaxyisquitelargeenoughtoofferoldersystemsmoreadvancedthanareweprimitiveyoungstersonEarth.

Frankly, Ican't thinkofanyway todetermine theageof thecivilizationsvisiting Earth,especiallybecausethevariousgroupsmaycomefromcivilizationsofsubstantiallydifferentages.Yes, theyseemtohavehugemother shipsor spacecarriersequivalent toouraircraftcarriers.Theearthexcursionmodulesobserved to landallover theplanet (asdescribed inTed Phillips's collections of thousands of physical trace cases) seem to be much moremaneuverable,faster,andquieterthanouratmosphericaircraft.Theyalsoseemtobeabletosuddenly disappear from a location.We don't know if there is a galactic federation in thissector, or ifwe are the focus of a bunch of civilizations getting ready to join, destroy, orauctionofftheplanet.

Astronomershavetheirownparticularapproachtotheexistenceofothercivilizationsinourneighborhood.InChapter5IdiscusstheseriousproblemswiththecultofSETI,butfirstIshouldprobablydiscusstheworkofNikolaiKardashev,aRussianastronomerwho,waybackin1964,suggested thatas timemoveson,acivilizationonaplanetwill firstuseupall theenergyoftheplanet(Type1),thenalltheenergyofthesolarsystem(Type2),andthenfinallyalltheenergyofthegalaxy(Type3).Manypeoplehavepositedthatbecausetheenergyofa

solarsystemissomuchgreaterthantheenergyofaplanet,aType-2civilizationshouldbeabrightbeacon,andeasytospot.

However, as I look at our technological developments, at least in some areas, I find ususinglessenergy,notmore.Forexample,whenIfirstdidcomputerizedradiationshieldingcalculations about 50 years ago, the computers were relatively slow, used a multitude ofvacuumtubes,andrequiredbigair-conditioningsystemstokeepthemcooltoextendthelifeofthetubes.Myhomecomputerusesmuchlessenergyandperformsmanymorecalculationsper unit time, and has much more data storage. The field of nanotechnology is rapidlydevelopingmuchsmaller,moreefficient systems. It takes far lessenergy todigupenoughuraniumtofuelanuclearpowerreactorthanitdoestodigupthefuelforacoaloroil-firedpowerplant.Howaboutwhathappenswhenweusemoreandmorerenewableenergy,suchasthesun,wind,andbreederreactors?Jetenginesforairplanesarefarmoreefficientperunitweight (thrust per pound) than theywere 25 years ago. Nuclear-powered aircraft carriers,submarines,andicebreakersusefarlessfuelandtotalenergythandidtheolddieselsystems.Sendingradiosignalstosatellites,whichthenradiatethemtoreceiversontheground,isin;blastingoutinalldirections,withlittleof thesignalbeingpickedupbyreceivers, isgoingoutofstyle.

I find it interesting that some people are still arguing for hidden civilizations on Earth(perhaps having come here fromMars), as opposed to those of extraterrestrial origin, toexplain theworldwidereportsof flyingsaucers,hugemotherships, landedobjects,and thelike.Thisisnotanewidea:JulesVerne's562-pageAJourneytotheCenteroftheEarthwaspublished back in 1864. There have beenmany followers of theHollowEarth idea, and alarge amount of published material on it is available. They are convinced something ishappening,butthatinterstellartravelisimpossible,sothevisitorsmustbefromMars,otherbodiesinoursolarsystem,orundergroundhiddencivilizations.Inthefirstplace,interstellartravel, as noted in Chapter 2, is feasible. In the second, building highperformance craftrequires a substantialmanufacturing capacity: both the requisite knowledge and some verylargecaves inwhichtobuildhugemotherships.Could therebebasesunderwater?Surely.But again,where are the signs of themanufacturing facilities, andwhy build hugemotherships that can fly up, up, and away, if your base of operations is under the ground or the

ocean?Wholefleetsofsaucershavebeenobserved.Withtoday'sspysatellitesabletospotthelaunch of a single intercontinental ballisticmissile (ICBM),we should certainly be able tospothuge(asbigasamile)craftlaunchedfromunderground.IamnotsayingweEarthlingshaven't built a lot of underground facilities; of coursewe have, and for a couple of goodreasons: (1) They keep down observations by other countries' spies in orbit, and (2) theyprotectagainstnuclearweaponexplosions.Thebest technologyfordiggingandexcavatingundergroundfacilitiesinwhichnuclearweaponscanbetested(becauseofthebanagainstairbursts), has been developed by nuclear weapons labs such as Sandia, Los Alamos, andLivermore.Soitcanbekeptsecret.

Althoughtherehavebeenmanysightingsofflyingsaucersheadingup,up,andaway,theycertainly don't allow us to determine the target or home base. But there is one case thatprovidesaclearindicationofthestarsystemoforigin.ThatcaseisthefamousabductionofBettyandBarneyHillin1961,withdetailedhypnoticregressionsperformedbyDr.BenjaminSimon,anoutstandingpsychiatristwhohelpedthousandsofWorldWarIIveteranssufferingfrom "shell shock" (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) to recover repressed memories. Thebase stars in the map seen onboard the alien spacecraft by Betty Hill (and evaluated byMarjorieFish)areonly39.2light-yearsawayjustdownthestreet.AsIdetailedinChapter2,manynoisy negativists insist that travel over such a "long" distance is impossible, becausethingscan'tmovefasterthanthespeedoflight.Thetechnologicalprogressofoursocietyhasfrequently been delayed by the pronouncements of those who look backward rather thanforward.(Itisimportanttonotethat,aswillbediscussedlater,ZetaIandZeta2Reticuli,thestarsidentifiedbyBettyHillandMarjorieFish,areonly1/8ofalight-yearapartfromeachother,areeachvisibletoeachotheralldaylong,andareabillionyearsolderthanoursun.)

Theauthor,sonSeanFriedman,andBettyHill.LosAngeles,circa1972.Courtesyoftheauthor.

Anothersuggestionthatisoftenmadeisthataliensaretimetravelersfromthefuture,andperhapsevenourdescendantscomingback tocheckon things.Maybe theywarp spaceandtimetopopinandout-Ihavenoideahowthatcanbeaccomplished.It isdistressingthatsomuchtimeandenergyandscientificmanpoweraregoingintostringtheoryandthesupposedmultidimensional universe, by comparisonwith so little, in the open scientific community,intotheseriousinvestigationoftheflyingsaucerpuzzle.Thereisabigdatabaseforthelatterandnonefortheformer.

Theauthor,starmapresearcherMarjorieFish,andanalienbustbasedontheHillcase.Courtesyoftheauthor.

ThelargestofMarjorieFish'sstarmodels(upside-down).Courtesyoftheauthor.

MyownconclusionisthatsomealienshavecometoEarthfromaplanetaroundtheoldsouthernskystarsZetaIor2Reticuli, that thereareprobablyothers fromelsewhere in thelocalneighborhood,andthattheyhaveknownweexistforaverylongtime.Icertainlyexpectthatthereissomekindofneighborhoodassociationwithrulesaboutinterferencewithothermorebackwardcivilizationssuchasoursuntilwegivesignsofbeingable tobother them.Muchaswewouldliketothinkwearethecenteroftheuniverse,Iamconvincedweareattheedgeoftheneighborhood.Perhapsasmallfishinabigpond?

TheCosmicWatergate

AsnotedintheIntroduction,oneofthefourmajorconclusionstowhichIhavearrived,after50yearsofstudyandinvestigation,isthatthesubjectofflyingsaucersrepresentsakindof CosmicWatergate. Thismeans that some few people within the governments of majorcountrieshaveknownsinceatleast1947thatindeedsomeUFOsareintelligentlycontrolledextraterrestrial spacecraft. It certainly does notmean that everybody in government knowswhat isgoingon;secretsaren'tkeptby tellingeverybodywhat'shappeningandhoping thatnobody will talk. Secrets are controlled by an elaborate system of granting securityclearancesandestablishingstrictcriteriaforaccessvianeed-to-knowlists.

Apersonalexampleofthelimitsofneed-to-knowhappenedtomeinthelate1950swhileemployed by the General Electric Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Department in Ohio. I wasworkingon thedevelopment,design,andanalysisofhigh-performance radiationshielding.Weight, temperature, and volume were important considerations, because we couldn't useloadsofconcreteandlead-leadhasalowmeltingpoint,andconcreteisnotveryeffectiveperunitweight.The air used to cool the reactor anddrive the jet turbines could easily be at atemperatureabove1,800degrees.IfrequentlyreviewedClassifiedNuclearScienceAbstracts,a monthly publication listing significant research and development reports produced bygovernment laboratories and industrial contractors. I often saw listings of reports on U.S.Navy work on radiation shielding related to the nuclear reactors used in submarines andplanned for aircraft carriers. Most were classified SECRET RESTRICTED DATA. ThereportsIwroteaboutmyshieldingresearchhadthesameclassification.Unfortunately,Iwasunabletoobtainaneed-to-knowforaccesstotheNavywork,nomatterhowrelevantitmighthave been tomine. This process of restriction is referred to as compartmentalization. Thescientist who stressed the need for compartmentalization early onwasDr. Vannevar Bush,whowasalsoinvolvedwiththeMajestic12program(detailedinChapter11).

All programs have classification guides and designated people who can classify ordeclassifydocuments.Oneonlyhasaccesstowhatoneneedstodoone'sjob.Beingcurious

aboutwhatotherscientistsaredoingdoesnotprovideaccess.Beinginahigh-levelcivilianpositionalsodoesn'tguaranteeaccess.Forexample,whenHarryTrumanwasvicepresidentof theUnitedStates in1945,havingbeenaU.S. senator in theyearsbefore that,hedidnothave a need-to-know about the atomic bomb program.When President Roosevelt died onApril12,Trumanhadtohaveaspecialbriefing,and,acoupleofmonthslater,hadtodecidewhetherornottodroptheA-bombonHiroshima.Ihaveseenseveralindicationsthategosofpeople in government and the media are among the major allies of those trying to keepsecrets-theythinktheyknowabouteverythinggoingon."IfIdon'tknow,itcan'tbereal"isawidespreadsentiment.

The typical security classifications are CONFIDENTIAL, SECRET, Top SECRET, andTop SECRET CODEWORD (such as ULTRA, UMBRA,MARC, and so on). Usually, thehigherthelevelofclassification,thefewerthepeoplewhohaveaccess.Therearealso,andfor fairly obvious reasons, rules concerning the fact that higher-level material can't bereferencedindocumentsat lowersecuritylevels,andtherearetoughrulesforthehandlingandstorageofclassifieddocuments.Evenifoneworksinarestrictedareawithguardsatthedoor,onecannotleaveclassifieddocumentsoutonadeskatnight.Onecannottakethemoutofthearea.Safesinwhichdocumentsarestoredmustmeetcertainfireandotherregulations.Iftheguards,whocheckclassifiedareaseverynight,findclassifieddocuments,theoffendingpartywouldbecalledandwill have to come inanddoan inventory,nomatterhow late atnight.Onequicklybecameveryconcernedaboutfollowingtherules.Furthermore,endingajob does not relieve one of the responsibility of not talking or writing about classifiedmaterials.Camerasandradiosareprohibitedinclassifiedareas.Unfortunately,therewasalsonoprocessforinformingpeoplewhohadhadaccess(suchastodocumentsIhadwritten)thatthe documents had been declassified. I wrote a number of reports that, so far as I coulddetermine,werestillclassifiedlongafterIlefttheprogram.Checkingfromanewemployer,Ialso found that some documents had been declassified, but the new employer hadn't beeninformedofthat.

Irememberthatatonepointthementionofthemateriallithiumhydridewasforbidden.Abitlateritcouldbementioned,butnottheapplicationfortheprojectutilizingit.Evenlater,one could comment that it was used as a radiation shielding material to protect against

neutrons,butnotforwhichsystemdesign.Ihadthefeelingthat thesecurityofficer thoughtwewoulddiscoveramagicshieldingpaint,andthereforeheclassifiedinformationthatanycollegefreshmanphysicsmajorwouldknow.

Often,noisynegativists,usuallywell-educatedacademics,haveclaimedthatgovernmentscan'tkeepsecrets.Thesearealmostalwayspeoplewhohaveneverhadasecurityclearanceandhavenoideahowsecurityworks.Istillremember,now50yearslater,howintimidatedIfeltwhenIhadtoactasacourierformyownlectureslidestobeusedinapresentationataclassifiedconferenceonradiationshielding.Therehadbeenadelayingettingthemprepared,and theofficialcourierhadalready left. Iwascalled inand told innouncertain termshowcareful Ihad tobe.Thebriefcasecarrying the slideshad tobewithmeat all times:on theplane,intherentalcar(notinthetrunk),intherestroom,andsoon.Theyobtainedmytravelitineraryandtoldmethatiftheplanecrashed,theywouldtrytorecoveroratleastprotecttheclassifiedmaterial.Theydidn'tcareaboutme.Tosaytheleast,IwasrelievedwhenIfinallyturnedthematerialovertothedocument-controlpeopleattheotherendofthetrip.

Someofthesamenegativists,usuallywithavestedinterestinSETIorastrobiology,insistthat something as important as the discovery of alien lifewould rapidly be spread far andwide by themedia, and that there is no national security aspect to theUFO question.KentJeffrey,an airlinepilotwhooriginallywas a strong advocate of the reality of theRoswellIncident,changedhismind,and,amongotherstatements,claimed(intheMUFONjournalinJune1997),"Theexistenceofacrashedaliensaucerwouldhavebeenmuchmoreofasocialand scientific issue than a national security issue." How naive can one get? I checked andfound that Jeffrey had never had a security clearance and didn't seem to have anyunderstanding that classified material can't be disseminated to people who don't have aclearanceandaneed-to-know.HeevenclaimedthatpilotsatRoswell,whomheinterviewed50years later,wouldcertainlyhaveknownaboutacrashedsaucer in1947,andwouldhavetoldhim if theyhadknownanything!This is frankly ridiculous.Knowingabout the saucerwouldnothavemadehim-oranyoneelse-betterpilots.Iftheyhadknown,theycouldnothavetalked to Jeffrey. I was favorably impressedwith a number of those pilots whom Imet atgroupreunions.Theywereparticularlyawarethatplanesmightbeshotdownandthemtakenprisoner-thelesstheyknew,thelesstheycouldtelltheenemy.

CanIprovethatgovernmentscankeepsecretsaboutbigandveryexpensiveprojects?OfcourseIcan.Hereareafewexample(Iamsuresomereadersknowofmanyothers):DuringWorldWarIItheUnitedStatesspentbillionsofdollarsontheso-calledManhattanProjecttodevelopnuclearweaponsinsecret.Estimatesvary,butalltogetheratleast60,000peoplewereinvolved.The first explosion of an atomic bombwas a great success atTrinity site on theWhiteSandsMissileRangeinNewMexicoonJuly16,1945.Itwasseenfromasfarawayas100miles, at5:30 a.m.Apress releasewas finally issued, becauseof themanycalls to thepolice and sheriff's offices, noting that an ammunition dump had blown up, and thatfortunatelynoonewasinjured.Thiswasaflat-outlie.Lessthanamonthlater,afternuclearweaponsweredroppedonHiroshimaandNagasakitoendthewar,thesecretoftheexistenceoftheprojectwasrevealed,butfewtechnicaldetailsofit.

During World War II, the German communications code had been broken by somebrilliant mathematicians in England. They couldn't tell anybody because, if the Germansthought their codewasunbreakable, theywould continue touse it.So formuchof thewartherewasagroupof12,000peopleatBletchleyParkinEnglandwhosejobitwastointerceptGermanmilitary communications (thatwas fairly easy, considering how close theywere),and thendecode themessages, translate them,andpass themonverycarefully to thosefewpeoplewithaseriousneed-to-knowfor them.Allactions takenon thebasisof thedecodedmessageshadtobecarefullydonesothattheGermanscouldnotbeawareofthismajorcoupbythealliedforces.Wasthisallreleasedattheendofthewar?No.Therewasnomentionofthis extremely important development for 25more years.One reasonwas that some othercountrieswerestillusingthesamecryptographydevicesandtechniquesastheGermanshadbeen.Therewasnopoint in lettinganyoneknowaboutourability to read theirmail. In thePacific war it was of great importance that the allies had broken the Japanese codes.Interceptinganddecodingenemycommunicationsdoesn'tprovideonewithammunition,butit issurelyuseful toknowwhereandhowmanyenemyshipsaresailingandenemyplanesattacking.GeneralGeorgeC.Marshall, thechiefofstaffunderPresidentRoosevelt,madeastrong private plea to Republican presidential candidate Thomas Dewey, during the 1944electioncampaign,nottoclaimthattheUnitedStateshadbrokentheJapanesecodesandknewabout PearlHarbor in advance.He expected that, if the Japanese believed that, theywouldchangethecodeswehadbroken.Dewey,tohiscredit,agreed,savingthousandsoflives.

NottoolongaftertheendofWWII,thecoldwarwasheatinguprapidly.MuchtotheU.S.government's surprise, the Soviet Union tested their first A-bomb in August 1949, theirsecondandmorepowerfulonein1951,andtheirthird(againmorepowerful)bombshortlythereafter. One of the scariest declassified memos I ever read at the Truman LibraryconcernedtheminutesofaNationalSecurityCouncilmeetingintheearly1950satwhichitwas claimed that the Russians had made more progress in the development of nuclearweapons,andtechniquesfordeliveringthem,inthepast18monthsthanhadbeenexpectedforfiveyears.ButRussiawasaclosedsociety,withJosephStalintheepitomeofabrutaldictator.Gettingspiesintofindoutwhatwashappeningwasterriblydifficult.

TheCentralIntelligenceAgencycontractedwithLockheedtodesign,build,andtestwhatwoundupastheU-2spyplane.Itwasbuiltontimeandonbudget.TheprogramwassosecretthatPresidentEisenhowerpersonallyapprovedeveryU-2flight.ThebigadvantageoftheU-2wasthat,withitslongwingsandpowerfulengine,itcouldflyhigherandmuchfartherthanother planes, including the fighter planes and anti-aircraft missiles protecting the SovietUnion. Because of their radar, the Soviets could track the planes, but couldn't shoot themdown.Theyveryquietly protested to theUnitedStates.TheSoviet peoplewere not told oftheseflights,becausethatwouldadmitthatnothingcouldbedone.TheU.S.publiccouldn'tbetoldeither,becausewewereviolatinginternationallaw.Bothsidesfoundout thetruthwhentheRussiansfinallyshotdownGaryPowers'sU-2in1960.TherewereinitialdenialsmadebytheUnitedStates-badweatherhadblowntheplaneoffcourse;sorryaboutthat.ThenPremierKhruschev showed thewreckage and the cameras and the live pilotwho had not taken thecyanidecapsuleashewassupposedto.Ikefinallyadmitteditwasaspyplanethatneededtobeusedbecause theSovietshadsuchaclosed society, andwehadneedofknowingwhat theywereupto,sowewouldn'tbecaughtagainaswewereatPearlHarbor.Thetwosidesdidn'tconspiretogether.Eachhadgoodreasonsfornotrevealingthetruth.

Well before Powers was shot down, it was obvious that the Russian defenses wouldimprove and that cameras in space, by contrast, would be pretty much invulnerable todestruction, and,becauseof theEarth's rotation, could spyon the entireSovietUnionoverandoveragain.TheNavalResearchLaboratory (NRL),workingwithsomeJohnsHopkinsscientists,andothers,developedtheCoronaspysatellite,insecret.Believeitornot,the first

12 failed forone reasonoranother.Finally,number13was successful in1960. ItobtainedmoreinformationabouttheplacementandcharacterofSovietmilitarysystemsthanalltheU-2 flights that had preceded it. Many others were flown. The first public discussion of theCorona spy satellite was not until 1995, when the NRL, in a 75th anniversary celebrationbooklet,spokeoftheirroleintheprogram-35yearsandseveralbilliondollarslater.

Asomewhatsimilarexampleinvolvedthedesign,development,launch,andoperationofsevenPoppy satellites usedby thehighly secretiveNationalReconnaissanceOffice (NRO),whoseveryexistencewasclassifiedforalmostascoreofyears.ThepurposewastomonitorSovietshipsatsea.Thesevenwerelaunchedbetween1962and1971.NROsatellitesareveryexpensive, and often the business end could cost close to a billion dollars each. The firstpublic discussion of themwas in 2005. Another example is the Stealth Fighter, developedmostlyinNevadaaroundArea51throughoutaperiodof10yearsandatacostof$10billion,in secret.TheSR-71, ahigh-performance successor to theU-2,butmany times as fast andabletoflymuchhigher,wasalsodevelopedthere,insecret.

InNovember2007, theNewYorkTimesandU.S.NewsandWorldReportdiscussed theimpendingcancellationoftheFutureImageryArchitectureprogramfundedatBoeingbytheNROtodevelopanentirenewgenerationofspysatellites.Apparently$18billionhadbeenspentwithoutsuccessinaTopSECRETCODEWORDprogram.Iamabsolutelycertaintherehavebeenother so-calledblackbudgetprogramsaboutwhichwehavenotheard anything.Thepointis:Secretscancertainlybekept.Itmaybethatsomeoftheseprogramshavemadedetailedmeasurementsof flyingsaucersecrets.Butwecan,withsomeeffort,definitely layoutproof that therehas indeedbeenaCosmicWatergateby reviewing the falseclaimsanddisinformationreleasedbyvariousagenciesoftheU.S.governmentaboutflyingsaucers.

That the governmentwould cover up observations of strange airborne vehicles duringWWIImakessense.TherewerereportsfrommilitarypilotsinboththeEuropeanTheaterofOperationsandintheFarEast.Fortunately,thecraft,thoughclearlyhavinghigh-performancecapabilities, did not seem to be overtly hostile. They seemed to bemonitoring rather than

attacking.Iftheywerebeingflownbyenemypilots,perhapstheywereunderremotecontrolorlackedarmaments.Ifnot,thenthereweremuchmoreimportantproblemstoworryabout.ManyAmericansarenotawarethattheGermansandJapaneseweregoodfighters,hadhigh-tech equipment, and came very close to winning the war. The intelligence effort was ofextraordinary importance in the allied victory, including, wherever possible, the use ofdisinformationtomisleadtheenemy.Forexample,HitlerrefusedtolethisreservesrushtoNormandyafterthealliedinvasiononJune6,1944,becausehehadbeenconvincedbycleverdisinformationthattherealinvasionwouldactuallycomeatCalais.Onceherealizedhehadbeenduped,itwastoolate.

In1946thereweremorethan1,000observationsof"ghostrockets"inSweden.ThesehadsomepublicityintheUnitedStates,and,accordingtotheNewYorkTimes(August20,1946),GeneralDavidSarnoffandGeneralJamesH."Jimmy"DoolittleapparentlytalkedtoSwedishdefenseauthoritiesabout thoseobservations,perhapshow their radar surveillancecouldbeimproved.AmajorconcernwaswhetherornottheywererelatedtonewrocketdevelopmentsbeingdonebySovietscientists,perhapsusingsomeoftheGermantechniciansandscientistswhohadworkedontheV-1andV-2efforts.Tothebestofmyknowledge,noonehasseenthereportthathadtohavebeenfiledbyDoolittle.ManyyearslaterIfoundoutDoolittlewasstillalive and locatedhim inCarmel,California. I toldBillMoore,who lived inCalifornia bythen,andhewenttovisithim.Asecretarywasthereduringtheentireconversation.GeneralDoolittle remembered everything about the 1946 trip, except what he did in Sweden. HeadmittedhavingbeenclosetoDr.VannevarBush,akeyscientificadvisorandamemberofMajestic12.A littlecheckingestablished thatheactuallyhadobtainedoneof thefirstPhDsfromMIT,where Bushwas, in aeronautical engineeringway back in 1925.Hewas reallyDoctorDoolittle and had a great career duringWWII,which included leading the aircraftcarrier-basedbomberraidonTokyo,Japan, inApril1942.HehadbeenavicepresidentofShellOilafter thewar,andhiscontractprovidedthathecouldspenduptohalfhis timeongovernment work. He served as chairman of the National Advisory Committee onAeronautics (NACA), and laterof theAirForceScientificAdvisoryBoard, succeedingDr.TheodoreVonKarman.MuchlesswellknownaretwointelligencejobshedidforIke:AWestGerman intelligence agent had traveled all over the United States talking to various U.S.intelligencegroups, and thenwent back toEurope anddefected toEastGermany.Doolittlewasaskedtocleanupthemess,whichincludedtalkingtoallthesamepeopletofindoutwhatmighthavebeentoldtotheagent.IkealsoaskedDoolitle,whohadcometoknowhimwell

duringthewar,todoareportontheCIA.Ihavelettersthatdiscussthetask,butIhaveneverfoundthereport.Inotherwords,hewasdiscreet,extremelyknowledgeableabouttechnology,one of the world's greatest pilots, and well respected for his discretion. He was also wellknowntoGeneralsTwiningandVandenberg,whoweremembersofMajestic12.VandenbergwastheseconddirectoroftheCentralIntelligenceGroup(laternamedtheCIA),andalsothesecondchiefofstaffoftheUSAF.Twining,wholaterbecamethechairmanoftheJointChiefsofStaff,washeadoftheAirMaterielCommand(AMC)atWright-PattersonAirForceBasenearDayton,Ohio,inJuly1947.

InawidelydisseminatednewspaperarticleonJuly8,1947,TwiningwasquotedassayingthattheflyingsaucersbeingobservedallovertheUnitedStateswerenottheresultofasecretgovernment project. This is on the same front page of theRoswellDaily Recordwith thefamous headline "RAAFCaptures Flying Saucer onRanch in Roswell Region." In the late1980s I was able to prove that General Twining had gone to NewMexico on July 7 andreturnedtoOhioonJuly11,perhisflightlogandthatofhispilot,WilliamMcVey.OneofthereasonsforfocusingonTwiningasanimportantpartofthegovernmentUFOactivitieswasaSECRET(NotTOPSECRET)memohewrotetoGeneralGeorgeSchulgenonSeptember23,1947, with these strong claims: "A. The phenomenon reported is something real and notvisionaryor fictitious.B.Thereareobjectsprobablyapproximating theshapeofadisc,ofsuchappreciablesizeastoappeartobeaslargeasman-madeaircraft..."andthen"H.Thelackofphysicalevidenceintheshapeofcrashrecoveredexhibitswhichwouldundeniablyprovetheexistenceoftheseobjects."IhavehadtopointoutmanytimesthatGeneralTwiningcouldnot have talked about an alien crashed saucer in a SECRET memo. Basically, this isdisinformation to assuage concerns of any spies at the AMC. This memo first appeared,declassified, in the University of Colorado Final Report on UFOs (the Condon report) in1969.AttentionwaslaterfocusedonhimwhenhewaslistedasamemberoftheMJ-12groupon the roll of film received in 1984 (see Chapter 11). The group that launched (inAlamogordo, New Mexico) the Mogul balloons that the Air Force finally decided wereresponsibleforRoswelldespitethecompletelackofaconnectionwithwitnesstestimony-wasunder his AMC. In addition, Air Force General Roger Ramey claimed on July 8 in theafternoonthatitwasn'taflyingdiscthatwasrecovered,butaweatherballoon/radarreflectorcombination. Twining's Alamogordo AMC people actually staged a launch of such acombinationforthepressonJuly9.ThefrontpageoftheJuly10AlamogordoNewshadtheheadline "FantasyofFlyingDiscExplainedHere," threepictures of the launch, and a long

article. I know from the firsthand testimony of retiredGeneral Thomas JeffersonDubose,chiefofstafftoGeneralRameyinFortWorth,thatDuBosetookthecallfromRamey'sboss,GeneralClementsMcMulleninWashington,instructinghimtogetthepressofftheArmyAirForce'sback,saying,"Idon'tcarehowyoudoit."Inshort,then,theU.S.ArmyAirForcewaslying through its teeth as it smoothly pulled a bait-and-switch by first claiming, inWalterHaut'spressreleaseofJuly8,thataflyingsaucerhadbeenrecovered,thenreplacingthatideawith the radar reflector/weather balloon explanation that held good for 47 years. Theyreplaced this with the lies about Project Mogul (see Chapter 9), and then explained awayreportsofsmallalienbodieswithcrashtestdummiesnotdroppeduntil1953weighing175poundsandbeing6feettall,asopposedtobig-headedskinnylittlealiens.Timetravelcomesin handy when one is lying. But of course our knowledge of these deliberately dishonestshenaniganscamelongaftertheeventsinquestion.

Meanwhile,therehavebeenmanyotherexamplesofacarefulefforttocoverupthetruthaboutflyingsaucers.TheinfamousWashington,D.C.,pressconferenceonJuly29,1952,withMajorGeneralJohnA.Samfordand(nowMajor)GeneralRogerRameyexplainingawaythemyriadsightingsofflyingsaucersoverD.C.andelsewherein1952ascausedbytemperatureinversions was very well done. The press didn't follow up effectively, though the radarcontrollershavelongsinceindicatedthatwhatwasobservedvisuallyandonradarcouldnothave been caused by temperature inversions. A detailed account of the sightings of thesummer of 1952 is given in the 2007 book Shoot Them Down by Frank Feschino, Jr.Deceptionwasclearlytheorderoftheday.

InChapter1,InotedthetotallyfalseclaimfromthesecretaryoftheAirForceonOctober25, 1955, that "Even theUNKNOWN3 percent could have been identified as conventionalphenomenaorillusionsifmorecompleteobservationaldatahadbeenavailable."Itsurelywasdeliberately deceptive for the press release not only to lie about the percentage ofUNKNOWNS,saying3percentinsteadof21.5percent,andignoringthefactthattherewasaseparate category called "insufficient information"neither giving the title of the report:ProjectBlueBookSpecialReportNo.14 (thepresswouldprobably thenhave asked aboutreports I through 13), nor the name of the group that did thework (theBattelleMemorialInstitute), nor the names of the researchers, and so on. Equally distressing is the fact that

apparentlyno journalists asked for this information, or for the data to support the false 3-percentclaim.Besidestheseegregiousdeceptions,theannualreportsissuedafter1955aboutthe activities of Project Blue Book were obviously crafted to keep the number ofUNKNOWNSminimal.Oneexampleisthatifasightingcouldn'tbeidentified,butonlyhadonewitness,itwasautomaticallylistedasinsufficientinformation.Thesightings"stillunderinvestigation"attheendofthereportperiodwerenotincluded.Ifoneaddedthesebackin,theusual supposedly low percentage ofUNKNOWNS grew to be close to the 21.5 percent ofPBBSR14.IshouldmentionthatImadenumeroustripstoWrightPattersonAirForceBase,Foreign Technology Division, in the early 1960s, and met with Major Robert Friend-theofficer in charge of Blue Book. During most of those trips I also visited the BattelleMemorialInstitutetoreviewtheirhugeholdingsofSoviettechnicalliteratureforaprojectonwhich Iwasworking forAerojetGeneralNucleonics. It hadnothing to dowithUFOs, butinvolvedbothFTDandBMI.

Ofcourse, thereareat least twootherimportantfacts thatdemonstrateacommitmenttofalsehoodsratherthantruthonthepartoftheAirForce.Onewouldcertainlyexpectthatthebestandmostsignificantflyingsaucerreportswouldbethosebysophisticatedmilitarycrewsusingradar,guncameras,andotherinstrumentationsuchasisusedbyreconnaissanceplanestrying to evaluate foreign aircraft capabilities and to obtain hard data. However, we knowfromtheOctober20,1969, formerlyclassifiedstatement (obtainedby the lateRobertToddusingtheFreedomofInformationAct-FOIA)byGeneralCarrollBolender that"ReportsofUFOswhichcouldaffectNationalSecurityarenotpartoftheBlueBookSystem."Accordingto documents obtained by John Greenewald (available on his Black Vault Website,www.theblackvault.com, and reported in his bookBeyondUFO Secrecy), thesewere to bereported by making CIRVIS reports (Communications Instructions for Reporting VitalIntelligenceSightings).BlueBookwasn'tevenonthedistributionlistforthesereports.Funnythatthepublicwasnevertoldthis.Ithasalwaysbeenclaimed,since1969,that theUSAFnolonger is involvedwith the collection or evaluation ofUFO reports. As JohnGreenewalddeterminedusingFOIA,pilotmanuals forourmostadvanced interceptors,wellafter2004,stillhaveinstructionsforpromptlymakingCIRVISreportsaboutunidentifiedflyingobjectsseparatefromobservationsofunidentifiedaircraft,ships,submarines,andsuch.

The secondmajor difficulty is that thosewho have spent a lot of timewithBlueBookfiles, such asDr. BruceMaccabee,Dr. James E.McDonald, Brad Sparks, andmembers ofProject 1947, have found case after case for which the supposed explanation absolutelydoesn'tfit.Itisapitythemajormediahaveneverdoneso,northedebunkercommunity,northeSETIcultistsclaimingsoloudlythatthereisnoevidence.Veryoften,ifonedoesn'tlook,onedoesn'tfind.

There is an additional difficulty: Propagandists have been very successful at stating orimplyingthattheUnitedStatesAirForce,anditspredecessor,theU.S.ArmyAirForce,weretheonlygovernmentorganizationsconcernedwiththeUFOproblem.Consideringthatflyingsaucers represent a significant political, technological, and "foreign" intelligence problem,this frankly seems ridiculous.What about the United States Navy, which has observers allover the world, and, because ships are pretty self contained, can control leaks relativelyeasily?TryingtogetUFOinformationfromtheNavyisverydifficult.(Rememberthat3/4oftheplanetiscoveredwithwater.)IwrotetoaNavyhistoryofficeforUFOinformation,andwastoldtheyhadnone.IsentthemaformerlyTOPSECRETAirIntelligenceReportNo.100-203-79entitled"AnalysisofFlyingObjectIncidentsintheU.S.," jointlyauthoredbytheAirForceDirectorateofIntelligenceandtheOfficeofNavalIntelligence.Theythankedmefortheinterestingdocument,butcontinuedtoinsistthat,astheyhadtoldmeearlier,theyhadnoinformationaboutUFOs.Nonetheless,IhavetalkedtomanyformerNavyofficerswhohavetoldmeofsightingsatsea.

It appears that there are least 16 different American intelligence agencies. Can we beexpected to believe that none of them are involved in collecting and evaluating data aboutflying saucers? Wouldn't the FBI be hearing things? They certainly had files on UFOorganizations, rock stars, and so on.Wouldn't theCentral IntelligenceAgency be trying todetermine what other countries know about flying saucers? For example, the NationalSecurityAgency has been estimated to have an annual budget exceeding $10 billion. Theylisten to military and other communications traffic from all over the world, usingsophisticatedground-basedandspacebasedlisteningsystems.OnewouldthinktheywouldbehearingsomethingaboutsightingsofflyingsaucersoverforeignnationssuchasRussiabytheir radar and aircraft observers. The fact of thematter is that both theCIA andNSA do

collectplentyofUFOinformation,eveniftheyarereluctanttoreleaseit.Iftheydo,thenonewouldalsoexpecttheNROspysatellitestopickupalotmore.HowdoIknow?Thefactsarereasonablyclear,eveniflittledetailedinformationisreleased.

CAUS

Backinthelate1970sagroupknownasCitizensAgainstUFOSecrecy(CAUS)madearequestundertherelativelynewFreedomofInformationActforUFOinformationcollectedbytheCIA.TheresponsewasthattheCIAhadnothingtodowithUFOsotherthanhavinghadthe Robertson Panel of scientists meet for a few days in early 1953. The CIA's negativeresponsewasappealed,anditwasorderedtodoasearchwhenitturneddowntheappealbyCAUS.AttorneyPeterGerstenledthebattle.FinallytheCIAwaskindenoughtoreleaseabout900pagesofdocuments concernedwithUFOs.Strangely,nonewereclassifiedhigher thanSECRET.Inaddition,theyreleasedalist,bydateandtitle,ofmorethan50otherUFOrelateddocumentsoriginatingfromotheragencies,which theCIA,by law,couldnot release.Onlythe originating agency could do that. The list included 18 documents from theNSA, somefrom the State Department, the Army, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and so on.Unbeknownsttothepublic,everybodywascollectingUFOinfo.

AnFOIArequestwasfiledwiththeNSAfortheir18classifiedUFOdocumentsas listedby the CIA. It was turned down on the grounds that "sources and methods" information-informationconcerninghow,where,andfromwhomsuchdatacouldhavecome-couldnot,by law, be released. Gersten filed an appeal, and Federal Court Judge Gerhart Gesellinstructed the NSA to do a search. Much to our surprise, the NSA came back to courtadmittingithadfoundnot18but239UFOdocuments!Theagencynotedthat79werefromother agencies-including 23 from the CIA that somehow had been missed by the CIA infulfillingtheearlierCAUSrequest,apparentlybecausesomewereTOPSECRET.OfcoursetheNSAcouldnotrelease these.Wesaidwewouldsettlefor the160NSAUFOdocuments.Again, this requestwas refusedon thebasisof sourcesandmethods informationnotbeingreleasable.Weappealedtothejudgeandtriedthelegalployofrequestingthatthe160filesbeshown to the judgewho had already received a special security clearance to dealwith thematter.Now theNSAprepared a 21-page legal-sizeTOPSECRETCODEWORDaffidavit

justifyingthewithholding.JudgeGesellwassoimpressedbytheaffidavitthat,eventhoughhewasnotallowedtoseeanyofthe160NSAUFOdocuments,heagreedwiththeNSA.Inhisruling of November 18, 1980, he stated, "The in camera affidavit presents factualconsiderationswhichaidedthecourtindeterminingthatthepublicinterestindisclosureisfaroutweighedbythesensitivenatureofthematerialsandtheobviouseffectonnationalsecuritytheirreleasemaywellentail."NationalsecurityandUFOs!

GerstenfiledanappealwiththeU.S.CourtofAppealsinWashington,D.C.Iwasthereforthe oral hearing. Frankly, havingworked under security for 14 years, Iwas not impressedwiththeprimaryargumentthatthepublicandscientificcommunitieshaveaneed-to-knowforeverything,asIbelievetherearemanynationalsecuritysecretsthatshouldnotberevealed.Inanyevent, theCourtofAppeals agreedwith the lower court, havingalsohadaccess to theaffidavit.TheSupremeCourtwouldn'thear thecase.Sonaturallywe filedanFOIArequestfortheaffidavit.Itwassent, though,perhapsnotsurprisingly,about75percentwasblackedout. (For thosewonderingwhywedidn't scrapeoff theblack toseewhatwasunderneath, IshouldaddthatwegotXeroxcopiesoftheblacked-outversion,sotherewasnothingundertheblackink!)Thegovernmentagenciesmaybelyingandcheating,buttheyarenotstupid.Imust admit that I took great delight in showing the blacked-out affidavit onTV and tomylectureaudiences, turning the pages and getting laughter in response to page after page ofblacked-outtext.

IalsofiledanFOIArequestfortheircopiesof23CIAUFOdocumentsnotedbytheNSA.ThesehadsomehowbeenmissedbytheCIAwhentheydidtheirsearchforCAUS.TheNSAlistofCIAUFOdocumentsgavenoclueastotheircontent.Ittooktwoyearsformetogetaresponse, even though the FOIA rules require a 10-business-day response time. What Ireceivedwere12documentsthat,believeitornot,wereEasternEuropeanNewspaperarticlesaboutUFOsightings,fortunatelytranslatedintoEnglish.Whyitwouldtakemorethanafewdays to releasenewspaper articles theRussianshad theday theywerepublished, I have noidea.With these clippings I was also told that if I wanted to appeal their rejection of myrequest for their own 11UFO documents, and had other questions, I was to call a certainnumberandaskforChris(nolastname).Itsoundsrathersilly,butitisconsistentinthattheirlettershadnoletterhead,whichIsupposewouldkeepmeandotherrequestorsfromcreating

falsedocuments.NaturallyIcalledandaskedforChris.Hetoldmetheproceduretofollowandasked,"Youaren'treallygoingtoappeal,areyou?"IsaidIwas.HeaskedifIexpectedtogetanything.Isaid"Idon'tknow,butifIdon't,PhilKlasswillsayIwastoolazy."SoIfiledmy appeal. Three years later I received portions of four documents. They were heavilycensored.Ontwopagesonecanreadeightnotveryexcitingwords.Myfavoritewasthepageshowingonly thewordsDeny inToto.Theycouldn't even findeightwords todeclassify! Irealize this sounds pretty darn silly. But now I had proof that the NSA and CIA werewithholdingUFOdocuments.

CIAUFOdocumentreleasedunderFOIA.CourtesyoftheU.S.government.

ThingschangedwhenPresidentClintonsignedExecutiveOrder12958in1996,designedto reduce the huge government inventory of classified documents, some of them manydecadesold.Theytakeupalotofspace,requirebeingkept invaults, inventorying,guards,andsoon.AlsoitwouldseemcontrarytothebasicideaofFOIAtokeepdocumentsclassifiedthatshouldhavelongagobeendeclassified.Theruleprovidedthatalldocumentsmorethan25yearsoldautomaticallybedeclassifiedin2001,unlesstheholdingagencycouldjustifythewithholding on national security grounds. This means all documents would have to bereviewedtoassurethatsomeweren'twronglydeclassified.Mostagenciesdid little,becausethey expected Clinton wouldn't be reelected in 1996, and the Republicans would trash theorder.Theywerewrong, so therewas amaddash to review. Iwas told theAirForcewasreviewing 100,000 documents a month. In 1997 I heard a rumor that the NSA would bereleasingsomeofitsdocuments.Icalled,andthewomanwithwhomIspokeknewwhoIwasbecauseshehadanarticleinfrontofherfromPhilKlasscomplainingaboutmysupposedlyshowingthedocumentsonTVwithoutsayinganythingaboutsourcesandmethodsinfothatwasrequired tobewithheld.Thiswasn't true.But she sentme thenewpackage.Wouldyoubelievethatnowtheaffidavitwasonly20percentblackedout?Inaddition,theNSAreleasedall160pagesofitsTOPSECRETUMBRAdocumentspreviouslytotallywithheld.Therewasasmallkicker:White-outhadbeenused.Allbutoneor twolinesperpagewerewhitedoutrather than blacked out, presumably because it would be less striking on TV. Again thewithholding exemption was "sources and methods." It was apparently mostly intercepts ofSoviet radio transmission aboutUFO sightings. I don't think any reasonable personwouldbelievethattheother97to98percentwassourcesandmethodsinformation.Audiencesstillgetakickoutofthewhited-outdocuments.

Thedateforautomaticdisclosurekeptbeingshiftedforwardintime.

Thenanotherstrangethinghappened.SeveralufologistscontactedmetosaythattheNSAwas no longerwithholdingUFO information! I politely asked if they could readwhatwasunderthewhite-out,becauseIsurelycouldnot.Ofcoursetheycouldn'teither.Somepeoplehave asked me if I didn't feel frustrated because so much UFO information was beingwithheld,eventhoughitwasallold.IhavesaidthatIwouldliketohavetheinformationthat'snot being released. However, having worked under security, I can appreciate the need for

withholding some information. But at least with the blacked-out CIA documents and thewhited-outNSAdocuments,nooneinoroutofthegovernmentcansaythatallgovernmentUFOinformationhasbeenreleased.Still, therearenoisynegativistswhostill insist there isnocover-up.

AnotherareararelydiscussedistheroleofNASAontheUFOscene.Somehavetoldmethat,afterall,NASAisacivilianorganization.Theirworkisn'tclassified,isit?Someofitis.NASAwas a direct outgrowth of the oldNACA, created in 1959 in response to the SovietlaunchofSputnikinOctober1957thatcaughttheEisenhoweradministration-andpresumablythe intelligence community-off guard. The big Soviet lead in space activities (the firstsatellite,thefirstanimalinspace,thefirstmaninspace,thefirstflightaroundthemoon,andsoon)wasofgreatconcernbecausethesewouldindicatetheabilitytolaunchintercontinentalballisticmissilescarryingnuclearweaponsagainsttheUnitedStates.NACA,forexample,ranallkindsofclassifiedwind-tunneltestsforthemilitary.TheNASASpaceNuclearPropulsionOffice at Lewis Labs in Sandusky, Ohio, was cosponsor of the NERVA nuclear rocketprogramwith the oldAtomic EnergyCommission. It was also involved in the design andtesting of small nuclear reactors for space vehicle applications. I worked on both. Again,therewasalotofclassifiedtechnology.Thetechnicaldata,andmeasurementsobtainedwhenthenuclearrocketsweretested,wereclassified.Allpeopleworkingontheprogramrequiredasecurityclearance.Don'tforget,thereisagreatdealofspysatellitetechnologyaboutwhichNASAwassurelyconsulted.Frequently,CapeKennedyhaslaunchedclassifiedpayloads.Iamcertainalltheastronautshadsecurityclearances.

IhadaninterestingexperienceatanannualmeetinginSanDiegoin1968oftheAmericanNuclearSociety.IwasworkingforWestinghouseAstronuclearLaboratoryandwaschairingasessionatthemeeting.WilliamAnders,whomIhadmetwhileworkingonthedevelopmentof small nuclear reactors for space applications, had become an astronaut (he later flewonApollo 8, the flight that went around themoon), andwas also chairing a session at themeeting.Wegottotalking,andspenttwohoursdiscussingUFOs.IhadsomecopiesofUFOdocumentswithmebecauseIwasgivingapiggy-backlectureduringthetrip.Heboughtoneofeach.IsaidthatIhadheardrumorsaboutastronautsightings,andaskedhimabout them.Hewasguarded inhis response, indicating thathedidn't think therehadbeenanyastronaut

observationsthatcouldn'tbeexplained.HesaiditinsuchawaythatIwasconvincedthatIwastouchingonaclassifiedsubject.Yes,Ihadaclearance,butcertainlynoneed-to-knowforhisUFO information. I have another colleague who had a similar conversation with anotherastronaut,whoprobedforwhatmycolleaguemightknow,but toldmycolleaguenothing. Ilearnedmoreabout thoseastronautsightingsfrom theCondon report thanAndershad toldme. I had several long conversationswith astronautGordonCooper,whoprovidedwrittentestimonytotheUNGeneralAssemblyatwhichIalsospokeinNewYork.Dr.EdgarMitchell,thesixthmantowalkonthemoon,alsospokeopenlytomeabouthisconvictionthatflyingsaucersarereal.

After a lecture I gave to aMcDonnellDouglasManagement clubnear theLosAngelesairport,amemberofthelargeaudienceapproachedmeandaskedifIwouldspeaksometimelatertohisNASAgroupatNorthAmericanRockwellDowney,wheretheApolloCommandModulesweredesignedandbuilt.OfcourseIsaidyes.Iwasgivenanicetourofthefacility.Mypicturewas takenwith theApollo12CommandModule thathadbeen to themoonandback. I gave my lecture to a NASAonly group; none of the North American Aviationpersonnel had been invited. Iwas asked lots of questions, but itwas verymuch a one-waystreet. They told me nothing. I have also spoken to groups at both the Houston and CapeKennedyNASAfacilities.

TheauthorandtheCommandModuleofApollo12.Courtesyoftheauthor.

Inlate2007,afederalcourtjudgedirectedNASAtofinallyfulfilltheirobligationunderFOIA to look for documents dealing with the Kecksburg, Pennsylvania, UFO crash andretrievalofDecember9, 1965, after a four-year legal effort. Investigative journalistLeslieKeanandtheCoalitionforFreedomofInformation(CFI)hadbeenbattlingforfouryearstogetthisaction.TheArmyhadpointedthemtoNASAformoreinformation,butNASAheldback,IsupposehopingtheCFIwouldforgetaboutit.KeanhadbeenpersistentinhereffortstodigdeeplyintotheUFOquestion.ShedidthefirstmajordiscussionintheAmericanpressabouttheFrenchCOMETAreport,andworkedwiththeSci-FiTVnetworkpeopleonseveral

of theirUFOshows.ShealsoworkedwithmovieproducerJamesFox(Outof theBlue) tocoordinatetheimportantpressconferenceattheNationalPressClubinWashington,D.C.,onNovember 12, 2007, which was moderated by former Arizona governor Fife Symington,himselfapilot(andwitnesstotherealPhoenixlightsobservedaround8:30p.m.bythousandsof people onMarch 13, 1997, about 90 minutes before the observation of military flaresdropped thatevening).Thepresshassomehowmanaged toconfuse the twoevents,andTVprogramshaveoftenshownfilmoftheflaresasthoughtheywerethehuge,silent,triangular-shapedcraftseenearlier.

Military and government officials from such countries as Iran, Chili, Peru, England,Belgium,France,andtheUnitedStatesspokeoutattheconference.RetiredIranianAirForceGeneralParvizJafariwasoneofthosewhotestified.HehadbeenoneoftheIranianpilotsofan F-4 interceptor chasing aUFO in Iran on September 18, 1976.He attempted to shoot itdown. All his controls went out temporarily. The detailed classified report about thisfascinatingeventwaspublishedbytheDefenseIntelligenceAgency,nottheU.S.AirForce.ItwaswidelydistributedinWashington.

It is amazing that journalists and the general public often act as though the old USAFProjectBlueBookwithitsminisculestaffwasthesumtotaloftheU.S.government'seffortstogetatthetruthaboutflyingsaucers.Inthecourseoflecturingandrespondingtoquestions,I have found that most people have no idea how much old classified information is stillaround.TheEisenhowerLibrary,forexample,stillhad300,000pagesofclassifiedmaterialafewyearsago,despitethefactthatPresidentEisenhowerleftofficeinJanuary1961.TheystillhaddrawersfullofTOPSECRETCODEWORDmaterial.

DisclosureProject

There has been much public discussion about the Disclosure Project, headed by Dr.StephenGreer.TherewasabigWashington,D.C.,pressconferenceonMay9,2001,atwhichtestimony was presented by numerous former military people claiming that indeed flying

saucerswerereal,and the informationabout themwasbeingwithheld.Therewasplentyofgood testimony. The leaders of the Disclosure Project have talked about wishing forCongressionalHearings,buttheyhaveunfortunatelymixedinasupposedcover-upof trulyadvanced technology back-engineered from wreckage recovered at Roswell in 1947.Supposedly,freeenergywasnowareality,butbeingwithheld toprotectoilcompanies.Noevidencetosubstantiatethisclaimhasbeenprovided.Greerwassellingstockinacompanythat had supposedly been successful. He didn't use government documents to prove eithersaucerrealityorthecover-up.

I provided information to Congressional hearings held on July 29,1968, by the HouseScienceandAstronauticsCommittee,alongwith11otherscientists.Therewasnoformerlyclassifiedinformationpresented.AsfarasIhavebeenabletodetermine,nocommitteewouldhave a need-toknow for TOP SECRETUFO information.What would be the point of thehearings? A bizarre twist was that Greer was offering to give a seminar at his farm inVirginia about everything he knew. The cost of admission would be $600, and anondisclosureagreementwouldhavetobesigned.

Another individual who has supposedly released classified information about flyingsaucersbeingback-engineeredattheinfamousArea51inNevadaisRobertScottLazar.Heclaimed to have been a nuclear physicist working at Los Alamos National Lab. He hadsupposedlyobtainedajobatArea51throughthegoodofficesofDr.EdwardTeller,aleadingphysicistwhoworkedonatomicbombsandtheStarWarsprogram.TherereallyisanArea51, where such systems as the Stealth Fighter, U-2, SR-71, and loads of unmanned aerialvehicles(UAVs)weredeveloped.Undergroundfacilitiestherekeepactivitiesoutofsightofspysatellites, and toprotect them in case of nuclearwar.However, noneofLazar's claimshave stood up. He claimed he had an MSc in nuclear physics from MIT in Cambridge,Massachusetts,andanMSdegreeinelectronicsfromtheCaliforniaInstituteofTechnologyinPasadena.JohnLear,apilotwhohadmadeflightsfortheCIA(sonoftheJohnLearwhohaddeveloped theLearJetandotheradvancedequipment), stoodbehindLazar'sclaimswithoutprovidingevidence.Because Iwasbeingaskedabouthim, Idid some checking, and found(with thehelpof investigative journalistGeorgeKnappatKTLA-TVinLasVegas), thathewasinthebottomthirdofhishighschoolclassonLongIsland,hadtakenonlyonescience

course,andhadgraduatedinAugust,notwithhisclass.Thisalmostcertainlyindicatesthathecouldn'thavebeenacceptedatMIT,astheyonlytakestudentsinthetop10to20percentoftheir high school graduating classes, and who have had many science courses. Lazar hasproduced no diplomas from any college-he claimed his records had been erased by thegovernment. I checkedwith theMIT registrar's office, the office that holdsMS theses, thephysicsdepartment,andtheLegalCounsel.Noonehadeverheardofhim.Thecounselsaidtherewasnoway to erase all of one's records.CalTechnever heard of him either.Lazar,whenaskedtonamesomeofhisprofessors,mentionedBillDuxler,whowassaid to recallhimfromthephysicsdepartmentatCalTech.IlocatedaphysicistbythenameofDr.WilliamDuxler,whoindeedhadLazarinoneofhiscourses,butatPierceJuniorCollegeoutsideLosAngeles.Duxler had never taught at Cal Tech. Pierce is the one school that acknowledgedLazar'sattendance.Quiteobviously,ifonecangotoMIT,onedoesn'tgotoPierce.LazarwasatPierceattheverysametimehewassupposedlyatMITmorethan2,500milesaway.

Lazar'snameappeared ina telephonedirectoryat theLosAlamosNational Laboratory.ThetopofthepagesaysthedirectorylistsemployeesoftheDepartmentofEnergy,theLosAlamosNationalLab(LANL),andvarioussubcontractors.AfterLazar'sname it says"K/MKirk/Meyer."He worked for them, not the lab. He was apparently a technician at the bigMesonacceleratorandworkedwithprofessorscomingtherefromallovertodoexperiments.Icheckedwith thepersonneldepartmentatLANL,giving themLazar'snameand thatofanoldcolleagueofminethatIknewhadworkedatthelab.Theyfoundmyguy,butnotLazar.Workingforasubcontractorisnotthesameasworkingforthelab.

Hehadclaimedatonetimetohavefiguredouthowsaucersworkusingelement115andgravity wave amplifiers. Year later I was deluged with people letting me know that anannouncementhadbeenmadethatindeedelement115hadbeencreatedatabigaccelerator,and, therefore, that Lazar must have been telling the truth. Unfortunately, it took almost amonthofoperationofahugeacceleratortoproducefouratomsof115,andthehalf-lifewaslessthanamillisecond.LazarhadclaimedthatLosAlamoshad500pounds-notpossiblewiththatshortofahalflife.Onealsoneedsamillionbillionbilliontimesasmuch.Hisschemewassciencefiction.Ireceivedacallfromafriendofhis,askingwhatitwould take toconvincemeaboutLazar.Imentionedthingssuchasadiploma,thetitleofhisthesisandthenameof

the thesis advisor, a resume, and a listing of professional papers andmemberships. I sentcopies of my diplomas, a detailed resume, and copies of listings in professional groupdirectories and alumni associations from the University of Chicago. I never got anythingback.Ihaveyettomeetapersonwhodoesn'tstillhavehisorhercollegediploma.

Not everything Lazar has ever saidwas a lie-justmost of the disinformation about hisbackgroundandwhathe learnedaboutUFOs. I amconstantly being asked aboutLazar andwhyhewouldlie.IpointoutthatIamaphysicist,notapsychiatrist.Heisbrightandspeakswellandishandywithdevices,andrunsacompanysellingtechnicalequipment.Manycopiesof avideo inwhichhe tells his storyhavebeen sold.Butwhenhedeclaredbankruptcy, helisted his job as "self-employed film processor"a bit beneath his supposed professionalbackground.

Ihatetosayit,butlyingabouteducationalcredentialsisnotuncommon.Ihavecheckeduponmanypeople,andusuallyasktheregistrariftheygetmanycallsaboutpeopleclaimingtohavegraduatedfromthere,buthadn't.Theresponse?"Allthetime."

Insummary,then,itiseasytoprovethattherehasbeenamajorcoverup.Ihaveoftensaidthat if any media group would spend half as much time blowing the lid off the CosmicWatergateastheWashingtonPostandothermediahavedonewiththepoliticalWatergateortheMonicaLewinskydebacle,itcouldbedoneinsixmonthsiftheystartedwiththoseofuswhohavecollectedsomuchevidence.

TheCultofSETI

Many people are surprisedwhen they learn that (despitemy strong conviction after 50years of study and investigation that someUFOs are of extraterrestrial origin) I think theacronym SETI really should stand for Silly Effort To Investigate, rather than the acceptedSearch forExtraTerrestrial Intelligence.Peopleexpectme tobeabig fanofSETI.Usuallytheyareunawareof thegenerallyunscientificbasis for theSETImovement,and thestrongnegativity of its comments about UFOs, despite its clear ignorance of the subject. Yes, Irecognize that the leaders of the SETI movement (cult might be a better word, as I willdiscuss)arecardcarryingscientists,suchas the lateCarlSagan,FrankDrake,SethShostak,and Jill Tartar. It is quite clear that their negativity, because of their prominence andwidespread public claims, has had amajor effect on the newsmedia, the public, and otherscientists.The ridiculesogeneratedhashelpedkeeppeople from reporting their sightings,professorsfromteachingclassesorsponsoringtheses,andjournalistsfromdiggingdeeper.

ItisusefultonotethebasicassumptionsoftheSETISearch,andmyresponsestothem.

I.ThereareintelligentbeingsatlocationsotherthanEarth.

Anyone who has heard me speak, read my books and papers, or visited my Website(www.stantonfriedman.com)wouldbeaware that Iam indeedconvinced that there are aliencivilizationsonplanetsaroundotherstarsthanoursun,soIhavenoproblemwithitem1.

2.NoalienvisitorsarecomingtoEarth.

Those same people would also be aware that I am convinced that there is indeedoverwhelming evidence that aliens have been visiting Earth, are being tracked by militaryradarsystems,areabductingearthlings,andarebeingobservedbypilotsandothersallacrosstheEarth.Therefore,item2isfalse.

3.Theonlywaytofindoutaboutaliencivilizationsistolistenforradiosignalsorpickuplasersignalswithopticaltelescopes.(Theopticalandradiotelescopesarelocatedonthesurfaceoftheplanetandrotatewithit,andthesignalmustpenetratethroughtheatmosphere.)

If aliens are visiting us, then item3 is nonsense. Perhaps itwouldmakemore sense tolearn sign language or telepathy to communicate with representatives of advancedcivilizations?Thedataindicatesthatthevisitorscancommunicatewithearthlings.Forallweknow,theymayhavecommunicatedwithvariousplanetaryleaders.Itwouldappearthattheyhaven'ttalkedtotheSETIgang.RememberthattheSETIcommunityisnotactuallyseekingETintelligence:Theyareseekingsignals-notintelligence,andnotbeings.InanOctober1994article in Scientific American, Carl Sagan defined SETI as "an attempt to use large radiotelescopes, sophisticated receivers, andmodern data analysis to detect hypothetical signalssentourwaybyadvancedcivilizationsonplanetsaroundotherstars."TherespectablepartoftheUFOcommunitydealswith theoverwhelmingevidence thatETIhasvisitedEarth; Icanfindnoreasontobelieveanyaliensaremerelysendingsignalstous.

4.Alienswouldn'tknowwewerehereuntiltheypickedupbackgroundsignalsfromus.

Item 4 is pretty silly if aliens have been capable of interstellar travel for some time,perhaps as little as a billion years.Wewere probably listed as an interesting planetwith aprimitivesociety inall the libraries in theneighborhood-untilwestartedexplodingnuclearweaponsandsendinguprocketsandslaughteringeachother.Columbusandotherexplorersdidn't send signals to the new world (smoke signals?) before heading out. Our localneighborhood,afterall, isat least4.5billionyearsold.Earthwassuitable for lifeabillionyearsago,andourtechnologicalsociety,crudeasitmustbecomparedtothatofsocietiesjustalittleolder(maybeonlybyamillionyears),isonlyalittlemorethan100yearsold.Ifthereis anyoneout there, somewillbemuchmoreadvanced,because100years isnothingonacosmictimescale.

5.TheinfamousDrakeequationisagoodwaytodeterminehowmanyaliencivilizationsabletosendradioorlasersignalshereareoutthere.

TheDrakeequation isworthdiscussingatgreater length.Someclaim that it gives us agoodideaofhowmanyadvancedcivilizationsthereareinthegalaxy,startingwiththebasicnumberofafewhundredbillionstarsofallkindsintheMilkyWaygalaxy.Oneestimatesthenumberofstarscreatedperyear,thefractionofallstarsthathaveplanets,thefractionoftheplanets on which life develops, the fraction of life-bearing planets that also developcommunicationtechnology,andthelifespanofthosecivilizations.

Wehaveaprettygoodideaofhowmanystarsarecreatedperyear.Wecan'tbetoofaroffastothenumberofplanetspersolarsystemandwhatfractionhavelife,andwhatfractionofthemhavecivilizations,andthe lifespanofacivilization-orcanwe?Wehaveadatabaseofoneplanetinonesolarsystemthathasonlyrecentlydevelopedlong-distancecommunicationskills.Wehavenodataonhowmanyappropriateplanetsthereareintheneighborhood,whatfractionofthemdevelopedlifeandtechnology,orhowlongthosecivilizations-includingourown-havelasted,orwilllast.ItisprettysillytorefertotheDrakerelationasanequation,asthoughitwasscientificinthewayofE=mc2.Manypeoplehaveusedtheequationtocomputethe number of civilizations. The results vary from a few thousand to millions. Frankly, Iwouldsaythenumberisprobablyinthemanybillionsinourgalaxyalone,primarilybecausethere doesn't seem to be anything special aboutEarth.Why not just put numbers on a dartboardandthrowdartsatthem?

AmajorproblemwiththeDrakeequation,andSETIingeneral,isthat it isassumedthatnot only is no one traveling here now, but that there has been no colonization and nomigrationanywhereinthe13-billion-yearhistoryofthegalaxy!AndyetwhenwelookatthedistributionofintelligentlifeonEarth(don'tquibblebyasking"isthereany?"),wefindthatmigration and colonization have been the major means of establishing communities.Furthermore,wehavenoclueas tohowmanycivilizationsmoreadvanced than ours havebeenhereinthepast.Earthcertainlyhadanappropriateatmosphereafewbillionyearsago.Dinosaurs,asastonishingasitmayseem,wereherehundredsofmillionsofyearsago,andlastedforfarlongerthanhasman.Weknowverylittleaboutpastcivilizationsherefromtensof thousands of years ago, let alone millions. Heinrich Schliemann, a rich amateuranthropologistwhostudiedthestoriesabouttheancientcityofTroy,usedHomer'sIliadasaguide,andconcludedthatitwaslocatedataparticularspotintheMiddleEast.Historiansof

the day, in the 1870s (as might be expected, based on their rejection of the notion ofdinosaurs), told him that Troywasmythical. If it had been real, the historianswould haveknownaboutit.Thisreflectsoneofthetriedandtruerulesforresistancetonewideas:IfXwere true, we smart guys would have known about it. Therefore, absence of evidence isevidenceforabsence,andthereisnopointinlooking.Thatconclusionispseudoscience,notscience.

Schliemann, being wealthy, did look, and found Troy down 75 feet. Very little of thesurface ofEarth has been explored down75 feet. Socalled scholars are still arguing aboutAtlantis,andthatwouldhavestoodlessthan100,000yearsago.It tookdecadestoconvincegeologists that continental drift was real. For a very long time historians believed in thenotionofcircumstancesonEarthhavingchangedslowlyandsteadilynotviadisasters.NowweknowthatthereseemtohavebeenmanyabruptandsuddenchangesonEarthinthepast,which might have been caused by the impact of an asteroid or comets, global warming,tsunamis, nuclear warfare, massive earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, and so on. Pastcivilizationsmaywellhavebeencoveredupbysuchevents.

6.Signalswouldbesentheretoattractourattention,ratherthanmerelyseemingasbackgroundnoise,orsignalssentoutinalldirections.

One has to ask,with regard to item6, justwhywould somebody out there a longwayaway,and,accordingtoSETI,neverabletovisitorbevisited,bothertryingtocommunicatewithaprimitivesociety,suchasours,whosetechnologyisunknown(iftherearenospiesintheneighborhood)?

7.Wearesosmartthatwecandeterminetheircommunicationtechniquesanddeviseappropriatesignal-receptioncapabilities.

Item7isprettysilly.Whategoswehavethat,knowingnothingaboutETI,wecanfigureouthowtheywouldcommunicate!Atthetimeanaliensignalwouldarrive,ifthesenderwas500light-yearsaway,thesenderwouldhavetobeabletoaccuratelypredictourtechnology

500yearsinadvance!Weourselveswerecertainlyunabletopredictourtechnologyeven100yearsinadvance.Lookatthechangesinthepast60years:spacestations,theInternet,lasers,microcircuits,H-bombs,cellphones,andmore.Afactualstoryhelpsillustratethesilliness:In1938,justbeforetheGermansstartedWorldWarII,oneoftheirgeneralswastoldthatGreatBritainwas building a series of towersmore than 200 feet tall along theEnglishChannel.TheyhadcrossbarsnearthetopfacingtowardEurope.ThegeneralconcludedthatbecauseGermanywasworking insecretonanewtechnology (radar)able tospot flightsofBritishaircraft,thesetowersmustrepresentsecretBritishradarresearchanddevelopmentsystems.

Therewasonlyonewaytofindout.ThehugeGrafzeppelinwasequippedwithwhatwas,for the day, sophisticated radio-receiving gear and flown slowly overwater and along thecoast tomeasure the frequency,pulsewidth, andother attributes of theBritish radar as thezeppelin passed by the towers. Then techniques for jamming it could be developed. Thevehicle flewat70milesperhour,anddidn'tpickuponesignal.TheGermans repeated theobservations just to make sure. This time they wandered over England and caused aninternationalincident.Asonemightexpect,theexcusewasthatthezeppelinhadbeenblownoff course.Eitherway, again: no signals.As it happens, theBritswere indeed tracking theGermans. But the Germans concluded, like rational SETI cultists, that the Brits weren'tdeveloping radar because the smart Germans would have detected it. Throughout the war,fortunatelyfortheallies,theGermansremainedignorantofthefactthattheBritswereindeedoperatingradar,andwithnoGermanjamming.ItturnsouttheGermanswereoffbyafactorof10intheirestimatesofwhatfrequenciestheBritswoulduse.Rememberthattherehadbeenmuchcontactbetweenscientistsofbothcountriesintheperiodbetweenthewars.Therehadbeentravelbackandforth,publicationsinthesamejournals,andsoon.So, if theGermanscouldn't correctly predict the British frequencies, how in the world can the SETI cultistsexpect toguess thecharacteristicsof technology fromanalienworld only 39.2 light-yearsaway (the distance toZetaReticuli), let alone the 500 or 1,000 light-years away,which theSETIprognosticatorsassumethenearestcommunicatingsocietywouldbe?Itistrulymind-boggling.(Asithappens,SethShostakclaimedthatZetaReticulihadbeenlistenedto10yearsagoandnosignalwasfound;thereforeweshouldignoretheideasoftheseUFOtypes.Givemeabreak.)

8.Aliensocietiesdonotengageincolonizationormigration.

Thenotionthattherehasbeennoaliencolonizationormigrationhasnobasisinfact.Assoonasa societydeveloped interstellar travel,maybeonly a billionyears ago, theywouldalsobeawareofthemanycatastrophesthatcouldcrippleasociety.Therecouldbeasteroidimpacts, or a supernova. They would work out techniques for moving on, and perhaps,insteadofconqueringanearbysociety,terraformingasuitableplanetsotheycouldmovein.Withinafewdecadesofdevelopinglocaltraveltechniqueswithinasolarsystem,theywoulddevelop space-basedplanetarydetection systems, such as the space-basedTerrestrial PlanetFinder system to be launched from Earth within 25 years, which will be able to directlyobserveEarth-likeplanetsaroundall the stars in the localneighborhood.This could easilyhavehappenedabillionyearsagofornearbycivilizations.

Forallweknow,intelligentlifeonplanetEarthwassettledhereinacolonyortwoalongtimeago.IliketosuggestthatperhapsEarthwasstartedasapenalcolonywherethebadboysandgirlsfromothersettlementswereleftbehindtofendforthemselves,andthatiswhyweare so nasty to each other. (I consider 50 million deaths in WWII an indication of thatnastiness.)Forthosewhochortleatthethought,don'tforgetthatsomeoftheearliestsettlersinthestateofGeorgiaandonthecontinentofAustraliawereindeedconvicts.

9.Thereisnonationalsecurityaspecttothequestionofalienlife.Allinformationaboutaliencivilizationswouldbeimmediatelyrevealed.

I admire the way the SETI cultists make such proclamations as item 9. Surely anyonethinkingaboutitwouldrecognizethateverycountryonEarthwouldbeconcernedaboutalienspacecraftabletooutmaneuverandout-flyanythingwehaveflying.ConsiderthatatleasttwosaucerscrashedinJuly1947inNewMexico(seeChapter9).Therewouldhavebeenmajornational security concerns:Are the visitors friend or foe?Are they alignedwith any othercountryontheplanet?Howcanwedeterminehowtheyoperatefromthecrashwreckageandmeasurementswecanmakeofflightcharacteristicsfrominterceptors?Howcanwebesurethat other countries can't determine what we learn? After all, the Soviets had spies in ournuclear weapons labs. How can we determine where other crashes on Earth might haveoccurred,andwhatthosecountrieshavelearnedaboutwhatwehavelearned?Howcanweusedisinformationandmisinformation to foolourenemiesandperhapsconvince themthatweare doing nothing? The Robertson Panel set up by the CIA in 1953 to consider the UFO

question recommended the use of Walt Disney and other educational outlets to fool ourenemiesby foolingour friends.As Ihave repeatedlypointedout,basedonmy14yearsofexperience working on classified R & D programs, one cannot tell one's friends withouttellingone's enemies.Thebest datawouldbe that obtainedbymilitarydefense systems, sotherewouldbenoneedtoclueinthepublic.

IdemonstratedinmybookTOPSECRET/MATICthatDr.DonaldMenzel,anoutstandingHarvardastronomerand the firstmajorUFOdenierback in the1950s,actuallyhadaTOPSECRETUMBRAclearancewith theCIA,NSA,andvariousothergovernment intelligenceagencies.Hiscolleagueswerenotawareofthis,asdemonstratedbytheabsenceofmentionofhis many post-war highly classified activities (including work for the NSA as acryptographer) in an eight-page appreciation article ("AnAppreciation of Donald HowardMenzel,"byLeoGoldberg)inSkyandTelescopeafterhisdeath,andinaspecialissueonthe100thanniversaryofhisbirth.Furthermore,hewasalmostcertainlyamemberofthehighlyclassifiedOperationMajestic12groupestablishedbyPresidentTrumanin1947todealwiththeflyingsaucerproblem.Hisanti-UFObooksandarticlesmightwellhavetakenadvantageofhisskillsatwritingsciencefiction.Hisfirstbookin1953,FlyingSaucers,wastranslatedintoRussian,andprobablykeptalotofSovietscientistsfromdiggingintotheUFOproblem.

Ihavebeenaskedmyopinionas towhomighthave takenMenzel'splace.PerhapsCarlSagan? Sagan did serve on government committees and did have a security clearance.However, he had picketed government installations about various activities with which hedidn't agree, andhewasnever in themilitary.MenzelhadbeenaNavycommanderduringWWII,andacryptographer,andwascommanderofNavalReserveCommunicationsUnitNo.IinCambridge,Massachusetts,afterthewar.AbetterbettomymindmightbeFrankDrake,nowoftheSETIInstituteinCalifornia.Aftercompletinghisundergraduatedegree,hespentthreeyearsintheNavyworkingonelectroniccountermeasuretechniques,whichrequiredthathehaveahighsecurityclearance.Heremainedinthereservesforatleast10yearsafterthat,havinggone from theNavy toHarvard togethisPhD in radio-astronomy.MenzelwashisNaval Reserve commander. The Naval Reserve likes to make use of highly talentedprofessors,withhigh security clearances, forvarious summerprojects.Drake, inhis bookwithDavaSobel,IsAnyoneOutThere?,claimsseveraltimesthatheissurenooneiscoming

here,butsuggeststhereare100millioncivilizationsinthegalaxy.Ofcourse,nofactualbasisisgiven.Methinkshedothprotesttoomuch.

10.Thereisnoconvincingevidenceandtherearenolarge-scalescientificstudiesaboutso-calledflyingsaucersortheCosmicWatergate.

Item10isoneofthefactorsthatbothersmethemost.IreadthebooksoftheSETIbuffs.Forexample,IhadreadtwobooksbySethShostakbeforeweeachgavethreelecturesontheQueenElizabeth2.Hehadn'treadeitherofmytwobooksthenavailable,noranyofthefivelarge-scale scientific studies I discussed in my lecture. I guess this is a good example ofignorancebeingbliss.Hestillhadn'treadanyofthosewhen,sixmonthslater,wedidathree-hourdebateonCoast toCoastRadiowithGeorgeNoory.Thevote of the listenerswas57percentforme,33percent forhim,and10percentcalling iteven. Ifone looksat theSETIcommunity's books, mention of the large-scale scientific studies noted in Chapter 1 iscompletely absent. If anyof themare awareof the studies, they surelyhavedecidednot tomention them or read them so they can continue tomake their silly claims that there's noevidence.Theyalsoseemtohaveintentionallyavoideddealingwiththesubstantialliteratureon interstellar travel.Againademonstrationof theattitude,"don'tbothermewith the facts,mymindismadeup."Thisissilly,andnotthewayofscience.

TheauthorandSETIspecialistDr.SethShostakontheQueenElizabeth2.Courtesyoftheauthor.

II.Thegreatmajorityofscientistsandotherintellectualsdonotbelieveinflyingsaucers.

IwilldiscussindetailthepublicopinionpollsaboutflyingsaucersinChapter8.Judgingby these polls and the responses I have had frommany dozens of professional groups towhich I have presentedmy illustrated lecture "Flying Saucers ARE Real," themajority doacceptthenotionthatflyingsaucersarereal...whentheycanexpresstheiropinionsinprivate.

12.TheSETIcommunitycanspeakforplanetEarth,shouldcommunicationsbereceived.

IthinkitislaughablethattheSETIspecialiststhinktheycanspeakfortheplanet.Idoubtifthebigshotsingovernment(headsofintelligenceagencies)whoknowaboutalienvisitationsare concerned about SETI messages. Foreign affairs are normally conducted by the statedepartmentsorbureausofforeignaffairs.InDecember2007therewasabitofafussattheInternationalAstronauticsFederationaboutwhetherradioastronomersshouldbeabletosendoutmessagestootherstarsystemstotrytogetaresponse-withoutseekingapprovalfromtheotherexperts(theydon'tseemtoworryaboutgovernments).AlexanderZaitsevhassentoutpowerful signals (Active SETI) toward particular stars less than 100 light-years away. Theconcern is thatmaybe it isn't a good idea to announce our presence to the neighborhood,becausetheremightbebadguysouttherewhowoulddobadthingstousiftheyfoundoutwewere here. Think about that for aminute. If we assume they can do bad things to us, thatcertainlysuggeststheycangethere.Iftheycangetherenow,couldn'ttheyhavethousandsormillionsofyearsago?Couldn'ttheyjustcheckthegalacticInternettoseewhatishappeningonEarth?Thelocalswouldcertainlybeconcerned.Iftheycan'tgetherenow,thenwhyworryaboutthem?Ofcourse,thereistheadditionalproblemthatiftheyare50light-yearsaway,wecouldn't get a response for 100 years.This time periodmaybe important for us,with ourburgeoningtechnologicalcapabilities,butotherplanetsmustbewellaheadofus.Wemightevenbetheonly"civilization"goingthroughthebrief transitionfrombeingstuckonone'sownplanettobeingabletobotherotherplanets.

13.Thereceptionofasignalfromanalientransmitterwouldbeoneofthemostsignificanteventsinthehistoryoftheplanet.

With regard to the importance of receiving a signal, there are several considerations.First, Ihaveno reasonatall toexpect thatwewillbeable to receiveand interpret analiensignalsentfromafar.(WoulditbeAMorFM?)Secondly,wewouldhavenowayofknowingif it is coming fromanautomaticdevice,possibly left to respondwhen theyhear fromus.Possiblythecivilizationthatsentitisnolongeraround-especiallyifoneassumestheyarealong distance from here. If they are 1,000 light-years away, itwould take the signal 1,000yearstogethere.Also,couldwebelieveanythingtheysaid,evenifwecaninterpretit?Whywouldtheywastetheirtimeandenergysendingasignaltosuchaprimitivesociety?Frankly,Ithinkmost peoplewouldnot be very excitedby a signal, because it isn't local.Now, if thestory is that aliens have abducted three people from the next county, that would get ourattention, because then it could happen here. As noted in the book Shoot Them Down, itappearsthatnotonlyweremilitarypilotsin1952orderedtoshootdownUFOsiftheydidn't

landwheninstructedtodoso,but itappears thatwe lostanumberofplanes to theUFOs. Ihaveseennoevidencethatthepublichasbeentoldaboutthese.Thistypeofthingwouldbefarmoresignificantthanreceiptofaradiosignal.

14.Thenumberofadvancedsignal-sendingcivilizationswithinperhaps1,000light-yearsisverysmall.

I find it fascinating that estimates of how close the nearest sender is have slowly butsteadilyincreasedwithtime.SirMartinRees(bornin1942)isnowtheAstronomerRoyaloftheUKandRoyalSocietyProfessoratCambridgeUniversity,andwaselectedpresidentoftheRoyalSocietyin2005.Heisaverydistinguishedastrophysicist.Hehaspublishedmorethan500papersandisconsideredanexpert insuchareasofscienceasblackholes,quasars, theformationofgalaxies,andsoon. InaMay31,2002BBCNewsarticle,hesaid that "alienscouldexistpossiblyasballoonlikecreaturesfloatingindenseatmospheres.Attemptstofindthem had suffered from `flakey' associations with UFOs." He said, "We should stoptransmitting messages to outer space [meaning closing down all the FM, TV, and radarinstallations] and instead listen for signals fromsuper-intelligent computers in the formofstringsofprimenumbersordigits."Headded, "Youmight find intelligent life so farawaythatsignalstakemaybe10or20yearstogethere."

Less than four years later he contributed a guest column to the Times of London, onOctober15,2005.HebeganbytalkingaboutnewspacecrafttryingtofindsomekindoflifeonMars or beneath the ice on Europa, a moon of Jupiter. He asked, "Could some of theplanetsorbitingotherstarshavelifeformsfarmoreinterestingandexoticthananythingwemightfindonMars?Couldtheyevenbeinhabitedbyintelligentbeings?"Sofarsogood,butthenhewrote:"TheclaimsthatadvancedlifeiswidespreadmustconfrontthequestionposedbyEnricoFermi,thegreatItalianphysicist:Ifintelligentalienswerecommon,shouldn'ttheyhavevisitedusalready?Whyaren'ttheyortheirartifactsstaringusintheface?Shouldn'twehaveseensomanyUFOsthatthereisabsolutelynodoubtaboutthem?"Forthosewholook,so many UFOs have been seen that there is no doubt. I will discuss the so-called FermiParadoxshortly.

Reeswenton to say, "But the fact thatwehaven'tbeenvisited [which isnotwhatFermisaid]doesn'timplythataliensdon'texist.Itwouldbefarhardertotraversethemind-bogglingdistances of interstellar space than to transmit a signal. That is perhaps how aliens wouldreveal themselves first." He went on: "If we found such a signal, could we build upcommunication?Intelligentalienswouldprobablybehundredsoflight-yearsawayormore.Canwe communicatewith beingswhosemessagesmay take hundreds, thousands, or evenmillions of years to reach us?" So in three years, according to Rees, the communicationdistance had gone from10or 20 light-years to hundreds. Truly amazingwith no evidenceprovided. Rees walked in the footsteps of other British Astronomer Royals such as SirRichardvanderRietWooley,whoinJanuary1956stated,"Spacetravelisutterbilge."(Thiswas22monthsbeforeSputnik.)

5.Thereareprobablynoadvanced,signal-sendingcivilizationswithin100light-years.

Seth Shostak, on December 6, 2007, on Space.com, claimed that "distances betweenadjacent civilizations, even assuming there are lots of them out there, are measured inthousandsoftrillionsofmiles-hundredsoflight-years."Notashredofsupportingevidenceisprovided. So at best we can call it more dartboard physics. He also made another sillycomment:"Tohopfromoneofourstarryneighborsat thespeedofoursnazziestchemicalrockets takes close to 100,000 years."Whywould anyone care about chemical rockets anymore than theywould care about slide rules for doing computations? I surely didn't walkinsteadofflyingtoChinafromeasternCanada.WaybackonOctober23,2003,heclaimedthat"it isveryunlikelythat there isanycivilizationwithin50light-years."Onewouldthinkthat some terrible disease had decimated all life on planets around the roughly 2,000 starswithin50light-years.Thisisn'tevengoodsciencefiction.

Dr. Jill Tartar waxed almost poetic when, in February 2006, she made the followingstatement:"SETIistheonlyresearchprogramlookingforlifebeyondoursolarsystem.Itisthewaywe are going to understandwherewe are coming from and howwe are going tosurviveasaspecies...thesearchcouldyieldheadlineswithinafewdecades."Infact,ufologyhasplentyofevidenceof lifeout therenow-SETIhasprovidednone,andwon't lookat theufologicalevidence.This iscult thinking,notscience. It is fairlyobvious toanyonebut theSETIcultiststhatnosignalreceivedtodaycouldhelpusthroughourpresentproblems,when

ithadtobebasedoninfoorquestionsreceivedfromustensorhundredsofyearsago.

Now,inDecember2007,inaYouTubeinterview,Dr.Tartarhassaidthatshewouldn'truleout therebeingalienartifacts(not livealiens,ofcourse)somewhere in thesolarsystem.Inone of the silliermoments of the Peter JenningsABC-TVmockumentary on February 24,2005,Dr.Tartarhadquiteseriouslydescribedanencounterwithabrightlightwhilesheandherhusbandwereflyingtheirplaneatnight.CouldithavebeenaUFO?Oh,no,theyfinallyrealizeditwasthemoon,withcloudsmovingacrosstheface.ThiswasthebestshecoulddoforaUFOsighting?Therearemanyexcellentcasesinvolvingmultiplewitnesses,visualandradardaytimeobservationsofmetalliccraftmovinginveryspecialways,asanybodywouldnotewhoreadDr.JamesMcDonald'sCongressionaltestimonywaybackin1968.

16.TheSETIcommunitydoesn'tneedtoprovideanyevidencewhatsoeverthatthereareintelligentbeingssendingmessagestoEarththatwecaninterceptandinterpret.

LessthantwoyearsagoShostaksaid,"ItisacommoncanardthattheSETIcommunity'sskepticismissimplyduetotheirfailuretobeopentotheidea[ofUFOs].That'swrong.Theirskepticism is rooted in the lack of good evidence." A truly amazing and self-servingstatement,becausethecommunity,judgingbyitsownpublications,hasn'tevenlookedattheevidence. InaMay2007DiscoverMagazinearticle,ShostaksaysFrankDrakehad it aboutright in 1961when "Drake andhis compatriots plugged their best guesses into the [Drake]equation. They came up with an answer in the thousands-meaning that intelligent life iscommon enough that there should be a technological civilizationwithin about 1,000 light-years."Thisisscience,using"bestguesses"?

Considering that there are at least 8 million stars within that distance, and that about400,000aresimilartooursun,thatmeansweareextraordinarilyspecial,becausewecouldpredictalientechnology,andmatchit.Thisissciencefiction,notscience.Forthosewhoneedmore examples of fiction in the guise of science, here is what Carl Sagan said on theenormouslysuccessfulCOSMOSTVseries,seenby600millionpeoplebackinthe1980s.Onthe"EncyclopediaGalactica"segment,inwhichhetrashestheBettyandBarneyHillcaseand

MarjorieFish'sexcellentwork,hesays,"Whatcounts isnotwhatseemsplausible,notwhatwewouldliketobelieve,notwhatoneortwowitnessesclaim,butonlywhatissupportedbyhard evidence. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." We ufologists haveprovided such evidence. The SETI people have provided none. Amazingly, Sagan's nextstatementwas, "Theremust be other civilizations far older andmore advanced than ours."Neither he nor any of the other SETI cultists have provided any evidence, much lessextraordinaryevidence,tosupportthisextraordinaryclaim.

InhisScientificAmericanarticle,henoted thataquitesophisticatedHarvardUniversityradiotelescopesearchbyhimselfandProfessorPaulHorowitzfound37interestingsignals,of the billions collected by theMegachannel ExtraTerrestrialArray (META).None pannedout.The600-plusUNKNOWNSofProjectBlueBookSpecialReportNo.14justdon'tcount,apparently-they involve real people rather than just instruments. SETI folks can't dealwithwitness testimony, physical trace cases, radar visual sightings, abductions, governmentsecrecy,interstellartravel-alackofcommunication,tothem.

TheCultofSETT

I am sure that some people are offended by my use of the term cult for the SETIpractitioners, collectively. Let us look at the evidence to back me up. Cults usually havecharismatic leadership-Sagan,Drake,Tartar,andShostakcertainlyqualifyashighly trainedand effective charismatic communicators on science topics. Cults normally have a strongdogma-SETIsurelyhasone:"Thereisadvancedlifeouttheresomewheresendingsignalsthatwewillbeabletointerceptanddecode.Nobodyfromthereiscominghere.Wejustneedtokeep listeningwith ever-improving instrumentation, andwemust ignore any evidence thatanybodyisvisiting."Cultsdotheirbesttoignoreorrepresstestimonythatisopposedtotheirbeliefsno shortage of that from the SETI community. Finally, cults tend to have a terriblyenlargedviewoftheirownimportanceandsignificanceascomparedtothatoftherestoftheworld.Caseclosed.

TheFermiParadox

AquickGoogle searchyields72,600hitson "FermiParadox."Obviously, ithasbeenatopicofdiscussion.Thebasicstory,forthoseunfamiliarwiththeterminology,isthatin1950at theLosAlamosScientificLaboratory inLosAlamos,NewMexico,agroupofscientistswere talkingat lunchanddecided thatonce interstellar travelwas feasible, it shouldn't takemore than a few million years (a tiny fraction of the galaxy's age) for the galaxy to becolonized. As they were walking out, Enrico Fermi supposedly said, "So where iseverybody?"Therehavebeeninnumerableinterpretationsofwhathemeant.Somewouldliketobelievethathewassayingtherearenoaliens-iftheyarenotblatantlyhere,perhapslandingontheWhiteHouselawn.Iamconvincedthatisnotwhathemeantatall.Ishouldstressthat,as noted byMartin Rees, Fermi was a great scientist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize inphysics in 1938 for work he had done in Italy in exposing various elements to neutrons(neutronsweren'tevendiscovereduntil1932),andmeasuringtheisotopesthatresultedfromtheabsorptionoftheneutrons.

Because his wife, Laura, was Jewish, and Mussolini was going along with Hitler andputtingpressureonJewsinItaly, theFermifamily left for theUnitedStatesafter theNobelceremonyinSweden,andneverreturnedtoItaly.HewasatColumbiaUniversityforawhile,andthenwenttotheUniversityofChicagotoleadasmallgroupofoutstandingscientiststotry to develop the first chain-reacting nuclear pile.After his departure fromEurope, someGermanscientistshaddiscoveredthatsometimeswhenaneutronwascapturedbyauraniumnucleus,newspecies,havingmuchloweratomicweight thanuranium,wereproduced.TwokeyscientistswhowereinvolvedwereLiseMeitnerandOttoFrisch.Theypublishedapaper,andsharedinformationwithNilsBohr, thegreatDanishphysicist.Hebrought thedetails totheUnitedStates.Itwasthendeterminedthatfissionhadactuallytakenplacewiththereleaseofanamountofenergyindicatingthatthedifferenceintheweightofthenewatomsandtheoriginal uranium atom had been converted to energy by the famous E=mc2 equation. (Estandsforenergy,mformass,andcisthespeedoflight.)Akeydiscoverywasthatthefissionalso produced more neutrons immediately, indicating that a nuclear chain reaction waspossible.

Fermidirectedtheconstructionofthepile(reactor),succeeding,intotalsecrecy,ingoingcritical, self-sustaining,onDecember2,1942,on the squashcourtunderStaggFieldat the

university.He then became a key figure at Los Alamos in the design of the actual atomicbombsthatwereusedagainstJapanin1945.Fermiwasanextraordinaryscientist,oneofthefewequallyathomeinexperimentalandtheoreticalwork.HewentbacktotheUniversityofChicagoafterthewar,andwasoneofthereasonsIswitchedtoUCin1953aftertwoyearsatRutgers in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Unfortunately, he soon had exploratory surgery,whichfoundhimriddledwithcancer,undoubtedlyproducedbyalltheneutronstowhichhehad been exposed, and he died in 1954. It is somewhat ironic that one rarely hears ofexploratory surgery nowadays, because of all the radioisotope and other tests themedicalworldnowusesinplaceofsurgery-theseareadirectoutgrowthofFermi'snuclearphysicsactivities.Whatparticularly impressedme,afterFermi'sdeath,was theenormousesteeminwhich he was held by his colleagues, who themselves were outstanding scientists. He wasknown tobeanoutstanding teacher.Oneofhis techniqueswas to askquestions that forcedstudentstothink.Ithinkthatiswhyhesaid,"Sowhereiseverybody?"

The paradox is that if the calculationswere right (Fermiwas very rarelywrong), thenshouldn'ttherehavebeenmanyaliensabout?Somesaythatiftheyarenotobviouslyallovertheplace,thentherearenoneoutthere.Othershavesuggestedthatwehavebeenintentionallyavoided.Therearemanyothersolutionsoffered.TheoneIthinkismostappropriateisthatalienshavevisitedtheplanet,areseenallthroughouttheworld,aredetectedbysophisticatedinstruments whose output is kept classified, and the government has plenty of reasons (asdiscussedinChapter4)forkeepingthedatasecret.ItisimportantthatFermi,unliketheSETIcultists, had been involved for several years during and after the war in highly classifiedscientificwork.TheManhattanProject involved tens of thousands of people in secret. LosAlamoswasasecretcity.Fermiwas,ofcourse,aconsultant,alongwithmanyother of thewartimescientists,foryearsafterthewar,againwithahigh-levelsecurityclearance. IhavenoideawhetherhewasactuallyawareoftheRoswellIncidentinNewMexicoin1947.

Forsure,LosAlamoswasthenoneofthefinestlaboratoriesintheworld,andVannevarBushandothersinvolvedinOperationMajestic12wouldhavecertainlymadeuseoftheirtoppeopleandexpensive,sometimesunique,analyticaltools.Ihavebeenthereanumberoftimesonclassifiedactivities related tonuclear rockets, inaddition towhen I lectured to the localchapteroftheAmericanNuclearSociety(therewasanenthusiasticcrowdof500presentfor

my"FlyingSaucersAREReal"lecturein1968).Iknowthattheirlibraryatthattimehadanexcellent collection of books about flying saucers. The first copy of Project Blue BookSpecial Report Number 14, which I had seen at the University of California Library inBerkeley, was a privately published version published by Dr. Leon Davidson, an LASLscientist,whenheworkedatthelab.Therehadalsobeensecretmeetingsofrepresentativesofanumberof intelligence agencies, such as theFBI,CIA, andAirForce Intelligence at LosAlamos to discuss flying saucers in the late 1940s. Typically, in recent years, LosAlamosemployedabout8,000people,ofwhomabout2,500wereengineersandscientists.Itsannualbudgetwas running about $1 billion. Compare that to the typical academic project. A fewyears back I checked and found that the total combined annual budget for our threemajornuclearweaponslabs(LosAlamos,Sandia,Livermore)wasmorethan$3billion,andmorethantheannualbudgetforallNationalScienceFoundationresearchprograms.

PredictionsinAstronomy

Itisimportanttonotetherarelyadvertisedfactthattheastronomicalcommunityhasbeenwrongtimeaftertimeinitsclaimsaboutawidevarietyofastronomicaltopics.Theseincludethe size, age, and energy production processes of the solar system, the galaxy, and theuniverse.Untilmeasurementsweremade,theastronomicalcommunityhadmadefactuallyin-error claims about all these, about the conditions on the surface ofVenus andMars, aboutMercury keeping the same face towards the sun, about the lack of significance ofelectromagneticfieldswithinthesolarsystem,about thepossibilityofeverdetermining thecompositionofthestars,andsoon.

OneofthebetterbooksaboutplanetsandtheneighborhoodisLonelyPlanets:TheNaturalPhilosophyofAlienLifebyDr.DavidGrinspoonofColorado.Hisfather,LesterGrinspoon,MD, was a Harvard psychiatrist, and had been a close friend of Carl Sagan. Lester hadpublishedapapersuggestingaFreudianexplanationforUFOsingeneralandtheHillcaseinparticular:Rounddiscs,believeitornot,weresymbolicof thefemalebreast,and the largecigarshapeswereobviouslyphallicsymbols!TheHillcasewasafolieadeux-oneperson'smental construct accepted by the other member of a couple. Not an ounce of data waspresentedtosupportthesequaintnotions,asdiscussedinCaptured.Davidnotedthathe,asa

graduate student, had observed the total astonishment of the scientists present at the JetPropulsionLaboratoryinPasadenaonJuly9,1979,asthedatacamebackfromtheVoyager2spacecraftpassingbytheplanetJupiter.ItscameraswerefocusedonthesatelliteEuropa.Thetheorieshadpredictedanancient,dead,crateredlandscapeonthesmalliceplanet.Insteadtheysaw a smooth, bright surface crisscrossed by strange dark lanes. The theories were deadwrong.

Throughout his book,David cites examples of reality conflictingwith theories and theneedforacertainamountofhumilityaboutpredictions.Hesaid,"Asyoumightexpect,manycomfortable preconceptions had been completely overturned.Much ofwhatwe thoughtweknewabout comparative planetology turns out to bewrong." Iwish his elders could be sohonestandhumble;he ismuch lessnegativeaboutUFOs thanare they.HewasunawareofProject Blue Book Special Report Number 14, the Congressional hearings of 1968, thephysicaltracecases,andofthefactsaboutRoswell.DavidcitesonlytwoRoswellbooks,onebeing thegrossAirForcevolumeTheRoswellReport:Factvs.Fiction in theNewMexicoDesert-Case Closed and Karl Pflock's book Roswell: Inconvenient Facts and the Will toBelieve.Heseemstohaveacceptedthenotionthat6-foottallcrashtestdummiesweighing175poundsanddropped in1953or laterwere somehow responsible for reports of small, big-headed, strange beings observed in 1947 near Roswell. The late Karl Pflock did a lot ofresearch, but resorted to character assassination about the people involved, and took theabsenceofdocumentedevidence(aboutRoswellandMajestic12)tomeantherewasnosuchevidence.

SpaceTravelNetworks

IfinditquitesurprisingthatnoneoftheSETIliteratureseemstomakeanyseriousattempttocompareourairlineindustrywithwhatwemightexpectalienstoputtogether,toaccountforthecommentsmadetoBettyHillbyherabductors.Shewastoldthattheheavylinesonthestarmapshesaw(probablyasahologram)onboardaflyingsaucerwereheavytraderoutes,lighterlineswerenormaltraderoutes,andthedashedlineswereoccasionalexpeditions.TheheavytraderouteswerebetweenthebasestarsZeta1andZeta2Reticuli,whichareonly1/8ofa light-yearapart fromeachother.That is35 timescloser to eachother thanour sun is

fromtheneareststarofanykind.Theyarealsoabillionyearsolderthanthesun.

There isadirectanalogwith theairandspace industriesonEarth:Majorairlinescarryhundreds of passengers on large planes over long distances. There are smaller, mid-sizeplanes, and there are small planes carrying one or two persons but able to move at highspeedsemployingoxygenathighaltitude.Therearesmallcommuterplanescarrying15 to120passengersthatflywithpressurizedcabins(thecrewandpassengersdon'tnormallywearoxygenmasks).Thereareplanesthatcarryonlycargo-thinkFederalExpressandUPS.Thereareplanesthatcarryonlydestructiveweapons(ofmassdestruction),andhaveoffensivegunsand rockets to use for air-to-air destruction. Note especially that the passenger and cargoplanesdonot flyat random.There is agreatdealof trafficbetweencertainpairsofcities.There aremany airports atwhich the biggest planes can't land; there aremany towns andvillagesthathavenoairports;therearelongrunwaysandshorteronesandevenundergroundrunwaysandhangars.Thebiggestairports seemtobenear largecities.Wecanalsonoticethatonlyafewcountrieshavebigboosterrocketsusedto launchvarioussatellites,andthatsomesatellitesarelaunchedatopothercountries'rockets.Onlyafewcountrieshavelaunchedmenintospace.Wefurthernoticethatsomecountrieshaveverybusynetworksoftrainsandof ships, some carrying cargo, some carrying passengers. There are highways carrying ahugevarietyoflargeandsmallvehicles.Thetransportsystemsareorganized.Wenoticethatthereareevenhugevarietiesofships,fromsubmarinestobattleshipstoaircraftcarriers.Thehugecarrierscarrydozensofsmallhigh-performanceaircraftandcruisemissiles.Thesubscarrymissiles that can attackwith nuclearweapons. Some ships (and some planes) can berefueledwhilemoving.

SETIdoesn'ttalkaboutsun-likestars.Itneverdiscussesspecialplaceswheresun-likestarsareclosetoothersun-likestars,andhowthosedistancesvary.Theyseemtobequitehappytocheck out each star from the Earth for certain-frequency signals. They don't look forsituationsinwhichasignalbypassingoneofthetargetcommercestarsmightbeheadedrighttowardus.RadiocommunicationsystemsonEarthhavebeenevolving:Insteadofjusthavingeach station broadcast in all directions, signals are being sent up to satellites, which thenredirectthesignalsbackdowntoEarth,savingagreatdealofenergy.SofuturevisitorsmaybeluckytopickupanysignalscomingfromEarth,becausethesignalswillbecomingback

downtousinsteadofspreadingtotheheavens.

SETIpeopledon'tseemtowanttodiscussthesimplenotionthattechnologicallyadvancedcivilizationsmusteitherlearntoliveatrelativepeacewithothercivilizationsorbedestroyedby that advanced technology. Any visitors here would quickly realize that there are manydifferent defense radar installations, many different interceptor planes and rockets, anddifferent types of communications systems. They would further recognize that, despiteseriousproblemsofdistributionforfood,cleanwater,medicalhelp,and transportsystems,anenormousfractionoftheresourcesonplanetEartharebeingusedformilitarypurposes.EnricoFermiclearlyrecognizedthattherearen'tfleetsofalienvehicleslandingatairportsonEarthorvisitingseaportsor landingon theWhiteHouse lawn,which implies,not that theyare not coming here, but that they recognize the reality of the political and militarydifferences and enmities on Earth. I can't imagine any galactic federation allowing themembershipofsuchaprimitiveplanetwhosemajoractivityistribalwarfare,nomatterwhatthe cost to the planet's well-being, and that of its inhabitants. The rule is: Shoot first, askquestionslater.

SETIisanexerciseinfutilityfoistedoffbycharismaticscientistsonthepressandsomeofthescientificcommunity.IamsuretheintelligenceagencypersonnelintheknowaboutalienvisitationsthinkSETIisagreatsystemformisdirectingtheattentionofeverydaypeopleandthe media interested in space and visitors from it. I expect there will indeed be a day ofreckoning,andSETIwillsoundassillyastheAstronomerRoyal.

Some of this may sound like an academic exercise. I beg to differ. Our society isdependentonspaceassetssuchassatellites;thereareabout4,000inorbitrightnow,involvedin all aspects of our societyGPS systems, navigational satellites, weather forecasting,communications, and national defense to a huge degree. Unmanned aerial vehicles areoperated over Iraq by controllers in theUnited States, and our protection against nuclear-tipped ICBMs fromoverseas is based on detection from spacewithin a very short time oflaunch,andtakingimmediatedecisiveactionwhiletheICBMisinitsboostphase-near-Earth

space,betweenthegroundandlowEarthorbit,isabsolutelyvital.Itisofinteresttomethatallalienspacecraft,whetherthesmallEarthExcursionModulesorthehugespacecarriers,mustpassthroughthisregionofspace.Wemustbeabletodistinguishbetweenthemandourspace-basedenemies.Somecountries,includingtheUnitedStates,China,andRussia,havealreadydeveloped the capability of destroying satellites in orbit.Will we attack flying saucers aswell?

IwroteanarticlewhenCarlSagandied,givinghimcreditfordoingmorethananybodyelsetogetearthlingstothinkaboutextraterrestrialintelligence.Itistrulysadthathedidn'tusehis scientific skills to become educated about the flying saucer data, and his greatcommunicationskillstomaketheworldawareofthatdata.

TheUFO"Why"Questions

In the course ofmy 40 years of lecturing about flying saucers I have found very littleresistance to the evidence I present, such as data from the large-scale scientific studiesdiscussed inChapter1.Probably themajor reason is thatmostpeoplehaveneverheardofthesestudies,andthedataprettymuchspeaksforitself.However,inthequestion-and-answersessionsthatalwaysfollowmylectures,andinmanyclassroomvisitsandradiointerviews,IfindthatwhatreallyconcernsthosedoingtheaskingismyreactiontovariousspecificcasesIhaven't touched on, and a host of "Why" questions.As a physicist, and not a psychiatrist, Idon't alwayshave anyunderstanding ofwhy individuals behave theway they do. I am stillmystifiedbygrownmensexuallyattackingyounggirls,bypriestsmolestingchoirboys,byparents grosslymistreating their children, by serial killers, bymassmurderers, by peoplewhogoona rampageandkill anumberof innocent people at a school or shoppingmall.What I can try to do is answermore general questions about flying saucers, such as,Whywouldthegovernmentnottelluswhatitknowsaboutflyingsaucers?Whywouldalienscomehereinthefirstplace?Whydoastronomerstendtobeantiflying-saucer?Why,ifaliensarecominghere,don'ttheyjustlandontheWhiteHouselawn?

WhytheCover-Up?

Itisclearfromtheevidenceofflat-outlyingbygovernmentofficialsthatsomebody,orseveralsomebodies,ataveryhighlevel,havedecidedthatthepubliccannotbetoldthetruththatsomeflyingsaucersarealienspacecraft.Iamnottalkingaboutcasualevasivenesssuchasa comment that "I don't think any astronaut sightings haven't been identified." I meanstatements such as, "Even theUNKNOWN3percent of the cases in this studyProjectBlueBookSpecialReportNo. 14 couldbe explained as conventional phenomenaor illusions ifmorecompleteobservationaldatahadbeenavailable,"bythesecretaryoftheAirForce.TheUNKNOWNSwere actually 21.5 percent, and they were separate from the 9.3 percent forwhich there was insufficient information. Clearly the secretary of the Air Force, DonaldQuarles,whomadetheseblatantlybogusclaims,didsoforareason.BecauseIamnotprivytohigh-levelclassifieddocumentsfromtheUSAF,Icanonlyspeculate:

1.Itseemsprettyclearthatthemostimportantaspectoftherealityofflyingsaucers,to any government, is their advanced flight technology. They are moremaneuverable,canflyhigher,faster, slower,quieter,andstealthier thananythingany country on this planet had then and most likely has now. That has seriousnational security implications, as does the apparent ability of the huge mothershipstogetherefromother,presumablynearby,solarsystems.

2. Should they decide to attack us,wewould likely be unable to defend ourselvesagainstthem.

3. If we, or any other government on this planet, could duplicate their flightcapability, we could defeat the military forces of any other country. Thatgovernments care about such capabilities is proven by the vast sums ofmoneyspent on advanced propulsion, detection, communication, electronic, andintelligencesystems,formilitaryapplications.

4.Wewouldbeconcernedthatthosecontrollingthesaucersmightjoinforceswithanyoftherelativelyprimitivesocietieshereonthisplanet.TheUnitedStates,asthe most successful, richest, most polluting, largest resource-utilizing country,wouldbeanaturaltargetforeverybody.

5. If we, or anybody else, have recovered saucer wreckage, and done scientificmeasurementsoftheflightcapabilityoftheseobjectsandtheirapparentabilitytocontrol the behavior of humans from a distance (as demonstrated by themanygoodabductioncases),wewouldtrytomakesurethatnooneelsecouldfindoutwhatwehavemanaged to learn.Wewould alsobevery serious about trying todetermine, with the use of spies, satellite observations, and electroniceavesdropping,whatothershavelearnedontheirown,andwhattheyhavelearnedaboutwhatwehavemanagedtoachieveintheseareas.Forinstance,theNationalSecurity Agency is a large and competent worldwide eavesdropper, andsophisticated reconnaissance satellites operated by the National ReconnaissanceOfficemonitor all kindsof foreign activities in secret. Past experience says theuse of disinformation andmisinformationwould be standard practice, as in allmilitaryconfrontations. Itdoesn't takemuchstudyofall thewars tosee this.Animportantpartofmanysportsistheabilitytofakeoutone'sopponents.Rememberthatthebasicruleisthatonecannottellone'sfriendswithouttellingonesenemies,becausetheyalsoreadthepapers,watchTV,andsoon.

6. The people in charge in all countries would be trying to predict what wouldhappenifstatementswerepubliclymadethatindeedaliensarevisiting.Itwouldbedependent on the framework inwhich the informationwaspresented:Would allcountrieshave to join together tomakesuchanannouncement?If theydid,howwouldearthlingsrespond?

7.Overandoveragainpeoplehavesuggestedthatthemajorreasoninformationhasnot been revealed is fear of panic, as dramatized by the Orson Welles's radiobroadcast in 1938ofH.G.Wells'sWar of theWorlds.Right?Personally, I don'tthink it is.First of all,Warof theWorldswaspresented asMartians destroyingearthlings.Whatcouldwe(beforethespaceage,nuclearweapons,jetfighters,andsoon)possiblydoagainstMartians?Ifthestoryhadbeentrue,peoplewouldhavehadalegitimatereasontopanic.Butwhatiftheexistenceofalienswerepresentedaspeacefulvisitsbypowerful,advancedsocietieswhocouldobviouslyhavelongsincedestroyedus if theyhadamind todo so?Supposewewere told that theywere here for a variety of peaceful reasons from a variety of civilizations, allmuchmoretechnologicallyandsociologicallyadvancedthanweare.For,iftheyhadn't learned to live in peacewith other civilizations, theywould have alreadybeen destroyed themselves-or, much more frightening, they would havesubjugatedordestroyedalltheothers.

8.Ifthepersonsmakingsuchanannouncementwerehighlyrespected,oratleastnotconsidered threatening in theway that thepresidentsof theUnitedStates,USSR,andChinamightbeconsidered(say,theQueenofEnglandorthePope),andaddedthat internationalconferenceswereplanned toconsider the religious, economic,and political implications of the visitations, that might help. If there weresuggestions that the aliens could help us heal the sick, feed the starving, andredistribute thewealth, thiswouldbe a threat to the powerful and a boon to theweak.Yousee,Ipresumethatinallareasoftechnology(becausewearesoyoungon a cosmic timetable), our visitors are superior; not just in flying, but ineavesdropping,communications,medicine,andcomputation.IwonderwhattheirreactionwouldbetothecoverstoryonUSATodayonNovember6,2007,notingthat the average annual salary of major college football coaches exceeded$1,000,000. But 30,000 children died yesterday of preventable disease andstarvation.Nofront-pageheadlinesforthem.

9. I presume that if such an announcement were made, no matter how carefully,churchattendancewouldgoup,mentalhospitaladmissionswouldgoup,andthestockmarketwouldgodown(asuncertaintyisalwaystheenemy).Ifurtherexpect,based on more than 600 college lectures, that many in the younger generationwouldimmediatelypushforanearthlingorientation,ratherthanthenationalisticonesthataretheruleonthisplanet.Tosome,thatwouldbegreat.Afterall,weareall earthlings. But, unfortunately, I can't think of any national government thatwouldwantitscitizenstoowetheirprimaryallegiancetotheplanetinsteadofthatindividual government.Nationalism is the only game in town. People in powerhaveanastyhabitofwantingtostayinpower.

10. Some extremists in the Christian fundamentalist movement, such as PatRobertson and the late Jerry Falwell, have loudly proclaimed that there is nointelligent lifeanywherebutonEarth,and that thisUFOstuff is theworkof thedevil.KindofaninsulttoGodtothinkthatthisisthebestshecando.Theywouldbeupthecreekpoliticallyifanannouncementofalienvisitationsweremade.Butnotallreligionshavethisattitude:Muslims,Hindus,andMormons,amongothers,claim that there are other worlds out there. Father Balducci, who works at theVatican,hasappearedatsomeUFOconferencesandmadeitclearthatthereisnofundamental reason to reject thenotionofvisitingaliens.Dr.BarryDowning, areligiousleaderwithscientifictraining,hasfoundUFOsightingsinboththeOldandNewTestaments, as described in his intriguing book TheBible and Flying

Saucers.HeisaMUFONconsultant.

11.Manypeoplehavetoldmethatifaliensarevisitinghereandwearenotvisitingthere,theymustbemuchmoretechnologicallyadvancedthanarewe.Surelythatmeans that soonwewould discover newmethods of energy production...whichwoulddogreatdamagetotheoil,gas,andcoalindustries.Wewoulddiscovernewmethodsofgroundandair transportation,andnewand improved techniquesforcommunicationandcomputation.Inotherwords,therewouldbeeconomicchaos.I recall that in the late 1980s theWestern countrieswereurging theRussians tohave elections and democracy and capitalism, and everything would be great.They achieved those ends, and economic chaos ensued, because they had nomiddlemanagementandnobuilt-insystems.Forsome time,untilworldoil andgaspriceswentthroughtheroof,theywerenotbetteroff.

12. I have personally heard of seven instances in which military planes chasingflyingsaucerswereneverheardfromagain.Thechasingisn'tsurprising,inviewof the officialUSAF 1952 orders to "shoot them down if they don't landwheninstructed todoso." If Ihaveheardofsevensuchevents, thensurely therehavebeenagreatmanymore.(MoredetailsaregiveninShootThemDownbyFrankFeschino, Jr.) One can perhaps understand the reluctance of the government toadmit that such losses had occurred (even thoughMajorGeneralRogerRameyadmittedin1952thatmorethan300interceptorshadbeenscrambled). Impotencein the face of intruders is not something that governments want to admit. Themilitarydidn'ttellfamiliesoflostairmenwhathappenedtothepilots,andpilots,hearingthat theircolleagueshadbeenzapped,mighthavebeenveryreluctant totakeoffensiveactionsagainstaliens.

WhyWouldAliensCometoEarth?

InapaperIwrote32yearsago,Ilisted25reasonsforalienstocometoEarth,fromthesublime to the ridiculous. After all, although we do know a lot about how governmentsbehave,and,sometimes,evenunderstand theirmotivations,wecanonlyspeculateabout themotivations of aliens. We can get some clues from the myriad of activities reported inabductionbooksbyBuddHopkins,DavidJacobs,YvonneSmith,andRayFowler.Certainly,

asdescribedinCaptured!,wecangetagoodglimpse,becauseoftheextensiveeffortsofDr.BenjaminSimon,todeterminewhatwasdonetoBettyandBarneyHill,andthebehaviorofthoseparticularaliens.Ihavenotspokenwithanyaliens,andmightbewaryofbelievinganycluestheymightgive.

Ithinkalienshavemanyreasonstovisitus,partlybecauseIamconvincedthattherearemany civilizations in the local neighborhood. The SETI specialists, as noted in Chapter 5,seemtothink,witheachpassingyearduringwhichthey(notsurprisingly)don'tpickupanyradio or optical signals, that there is no one around in the local neighborhood. Dr. SethShostak, one of the loudest voices in the SETI cult, noted that distances between adjacentcivilizations, even assuming there are lots of them out there, aremeasured in hundreds oflight-years-a trulyextraordinaryclaim. In the firstplace,hehasnodataonanycivilizationoutthere.Notone.Inthesecondplace,thereareroughly2,000starswithinamere54light-years, roughly 16,000 within 100 light-years, and 128,000 within 200 light-years. Theincredibleandentirelybaselessimplicationisthatnocivilizationevenas"advanced"asoursiswithin200light-years!Thatmeansweareextraordinarilyunique,despiteourstar,thesun,being run-of-the mill, and besides there being about 50 sun-like stars in the localneighborhood (within54 light-years).We have already, despite the primitive nature of ourinstrumentation,discoveredabout290exoplanets.Also,wearewellawarethatalthough theneareststartothesunis4.3light-yearsaway,ZetaIandZeta2Reticuli(39.2light-yearsfromus)areonlyaneighthofalight-yearapartfromeachother,andabillionyearsolderthanthesun.Iamabsolutelycertain thatwithinhundredsof light-years thereareotherpairsofsun-likestarsthatarerelativelyneartoeachother,andatleastasoldasthesun.

Havingnearneighborsprovidesahugeincentiveforinterstellartravel,comparedtooursituation. A far more logical conclusion than Shostak's is that advanced civilizations, asdiscussed in Chapter 5, are simply not using our type of radio or laser communicationanymore,iftheyeverdid.Whywouldtheysendusmessages,andwhywouldwethinkwecanpredict their communication techniques? After all, we don't use Wright Brothers-typeairplanesanymore...

Itravelalot,asdoesSethShostak,tolectureandeducateandcommunicate.Somepeopletraveltovisit,dobusiness,perform,compete,orhide.WhenCharlesLindberghflewsolotoFranceinMay1927,his33.5-hourtripwasunique,andhewonahuge(forthetime)prizeof$25,000.Nowadays,10millionorsopeoplecrosstheAtlanticeachyear.Practicallynonebutthepilotson thehugeairlinersmaking the journeyare intrepidflyersaswasLindbergh. Inotherwords, it seemspretty clear that thenumberofpeople travelingbetweenpointAandpointBisverymuchdependentonhowlongittakes,howfrequenttheflightsare,andwhattheycost.Thecheaperandfaster,themoretravelersandtheeasieritistofindanexcuseformaking the trip. Many million people per year fly to tourist centers such as Las Vegas,Hawaii,andParis.Wemustalsolooktoourownpasttotrips,oftendifficultones,madebylargenumbersofpeopletohard-toreachplaces.ThinkofthoseseekinggoldinCaliforniain1849,or inAlaska in1897-1898. Incontrast, thinkofsports fans today flying to theWorldSeries, or to soccer or hockey championships. Plane loads of tourists fly from Japan toPrince Edward Island every summer to see Anne of Green Gables, the Canadian musical,becausetheyconsideritaJapanesestory.Theywouldn't,iftheyhadtogobyaslowboat.Itiseasy to forget that Magellan's ship took three years to go around the world. Now, theInternational Space Station flies around the world about every 90 minutes. It covers thedistance of Lindbergh's flight in less than 15 minutes. A hundred years ago, millions ofimmigrantscamefromEuropeandAsiatotheUnitedStates.Itwasn'tafuntrip,especiallyinsteerage.IenjoyedaweeklongvoyageontheQueenElizabeth2fromSouthamptontoNewYork.Igavethreelecturestoearnmyway,asdidShostak.Wewouldn'thavedoneso if thetriphadbeenthehardshipitwasfor,say,ColumbustotraveltotheNewWorldin1492.

Thinkofhowconfusing itmusthavebeen fornativesof thenewworld trying tomakesenseofthevariousgroupsofwhitemenvisitingintheirlargeshipsforthenext300years.Therewerepeople fromSpain,Portugal,Holland,France, Italy,England, andmore. Someweretheretofindgold.Somewerelookingfornewlandsfortheirkings.SomewerelookingtoconverttheHeathens.Somewerelookingfornewcommercialgoodstotakeback,suchaspotatoesandtobacco.SomeofthefirstsettlersinGeorgiaandAustraliacamefromdebtors'prisons. My grandparents and many others came from Eastern Europe in the time framebetween1900and1910toevadetheoppressionundertheCzarandtomakenewhomesfortheirfamilies.Theirpassagetookmuchlongerandwasfarlesscomfortablethanwasmine.

Ibelieveitisuseful,indealingwithclaimsofthenoisynegativiststhattherewouldbenoreasonforadvancedbeingstocomehere,toreviewwhatisspecialaboutEarth.

1.Itisatthistimetheonlyplanetinthesolarsystemmostlycoveredwithwater.

2. It is the only planet in the solar system to have a high level of oxygen in theatmosphere.

3. It is the densest planet in the solar system (not the heaviest or the biggest). Onaverage,acubiccentimeterof theEarthweighsmore thanacubiccentimeterofanyotherplanetinoursolarsystem.Thismeansthatonewouldexpect tofindagreaterabundanceofheavymetalsherethanonanyoftheotherplanets.Weknowfromstarspectrathatheavymetalsarefairlyrareinthegalaxy.ByheavymetalsImeansuchelementsasuranium,gold,tungsten,osmium,rhenium,platinum,andsoon.Theyaremuchdenserthanlead,andmanyhavespecialproperties,someofwhichwereunknowneven100yearsago.Themajoruseforuraniumback thenwasasayellowcoloringagentforglazingchinadishes!Zirconiumandtitaniumarecomparatively lightmetals, but alsohavepropertiesofno interest a centuryago.Thepipingandplumbinginnuclearsubmarinesandothernuclear-poweredvessels ismostlymade of zirconium alloys, because of its combination of lowneutroncapture cross-section and corrosion resistance. Neutrons were not evendiscovered until 1932. Titanium is a relatively light but strongmetal, used, forexample,inthehigh-speedSR-71reconnaissanceaircraft,andincasesforlaptopcomputers.An entire newmetal-forming industrywas created for each of thesemetals.

4.Itshouldfurtherbenotedthattherearemanyresources,suchasmetallicnodules,atthebottomoftheoceans.ManydiamondsthathavebeenrecoveredoffthecoastofAfricahave special properties (besides beauty).Awide variety of interestingpoisonsandpotentiallybeneficialbiologicalagentshavebeenrecoveredfromseacreatures,andcertainbiologicalmaterials(drugs,forexample)haveanenormousvalueperpound.

5.Earthhasawidevarietyofplantandanimallifeconceivablyofinteresttoother-worldersforimprovingtheirstocks.

6.With many different races and more than 6 billion earthlings, there is a hugevariety of human genetic combinations. For example, we have been improvingdomesticanimalsbycrossbreedingandartificialinsemination.Soonitwillbebycloningandgeneticmanipulation.Aliensmightbedoingahugesurveyof genecombinations, looking for the unusual characteristics that can improve or harmhybridizationactivities.

7.Manygenetic diseases are relatively rare, occurring in only one in a thousand,10,000,ormillionearthlings.Alienswouldhavetopickupahostofspecimenstofindthespecialones.

8.TheEarth-mooncombinationisuniqueinthesolarsystem.Themoon is larger,comparedtotheEarth,thanisanyotherplanetarysatellitecomparedtoitsplanet.Becauseitkeepsthesameface toward theEarth, theothersidewouldbeagreatlocation for an alien communication system to contact other bases, with nobackgroundinterferencefromtheEarth,aswellasagoodplaceforhugemotherships, because it has no atmosphere, as opposed to the much higher surfacegravityanddenseatmosphereoftheEarth.

9.Fromatouristviewpoint,Earthhasmanyfineandremotelocationsforhunting,fishing,swimming,hiking,andmountainclimbingforair-breathingcreatures.

10.Uniquewithinthesolarsystem,Earth,throughoutthelast100years,hasrapidlyincreaseditsproductionofradio,TV,andradarsignals that leave theplanetandprovideinformation(aswellasinfomercials)tovisitingintelligenceagents.

PrimaryAlienMotivation

I wish to make only one assumption about all advanced technological civilizations: Ibelieve they are all concerned about their own survival and security. Therefore, theymustkeeptabsontheprimitivesinthelocalneighborhoodtoassuretheyarenotbecomingathreat.Close tabswould be necessary onlywhen the newbies show signs of being able to botherthem.Itisonethingtodevelopblastfurnacestoproducesteelfromironoreandanumberofothermetals.ButbytheendofWorldWarIIwehadprovidedthreeclearsignsthatsoon(inless than 100 years) earthlings would be capable of traveling to nearby solar systems,indicating that we would be a threat on the basis of our war-making tendencies, whichcertainlydidn't stop in1945at theendof thewar.Wecollectivelykilled50,000,000of ourownkindduringthatwar.

Thethreeclearsignsofpotentialforinterstellartravelintheverynearfuturewere:

1.Thedevelopmentanduseofnuclearweapons.Onlytwowereused inanger,buthundredswereexplodedas theyrapidly increased inpower.Theiruse iseasy todetectusingradiationdetectionequipmentandairsampling,butprobablynotusingMogul balloons. Hiroshima involved an atomic bomb releasing the energyequivalentof12,000tonsofTNTinAugust1945.By1952wehadexploded thefirstH-bomb(usingnuclearfusionaswellasnuclearfission),havingthepowerof10milliontonsofTNTandcreatingafireballthreemilesacross.Russialaterexploded one with energy equivalent to 50 million tons of TNT. As noted inChapter 2, despite the apparent ignorance of the SETI cultists and other noisynegativists, fission and fusion could be used for deep-space travel. As Icommented in Chapter 2, appropriate fusion reactions in a rocket can exhaustparticles having 10million times asmuch energy per particle as in a chemicalrocket.Progresscomesfromdoingthingsdifferentlyinanunpredictableway.Itshould also be noted that the fuel/propellant for fusion rockets are isotopes ofhydrogen and helium, the lightest and most abundant elements in the universe.Everyadvancingcivilizationwilldiscoverfusion,becauseitistheenergysourceofallthestars.Wediditin1938.Only14yearslaterweexplodedanH-bomb.

2.ThedevelopmentofevermorepowerfulrocketsasdemonstratedbythemanyV-IandV-2 rockets usedby theGermans to attackEngland.Theywere loadedwithexplosives, not airmail. These were followed by ever more powerfulintermediate-range ballisticmissiles, then intercontinental ballisticmissiles, and

hugebehemothssuchasthepeacefulSaturn5.Progresshasbeenrapid,but,again,primarilyformilitaryutilization.

3. Finallywe have the amazing growth in the development of electronic systems.RadardevelopedinsecretduringWWIIbytheGermans,English,Americans,andRussiansputsoutevermorepowerfulsignalsleavingtheEarth,unlikeAMradiosignals. Miniaturization, so that radar systems and then computers could beinstalled inaircraftand thenon rockets, followedvery rapidly.Wequicklywentfrom vacuum tubes to transistors to integrated circuits to micro-integratedcircuits. Computer circuitry continues to evolve. Costs and weight and powerconsumptiongodown,andcapabilityrapidlyimproves.Somepeoplewanttogivethe credit for the incredible progress to back-engineering of Roswell or otheralienwreckage. Idon't. Iwant togivecredit to theexpenditureofhuge sumsofmoneyforimprovementinmilitarycapability.

IfinditveryinterestingindeedthattheonlyplaceonplanetEarthwhereallthreeareasofnewthreateningtechnologycouldbecheckedoutinJuly1947wassoutheasternNewMexico.OurfirstnuclearexplosiontookplaceatTrinitysiteonWhiteSandsMissileRangeJuly16,1945,leavingaradioactivespot.ThatisalsonearwhereweweretestingabunchofcapturedGermanV-2rockets,andwherewehadourbestradartotracktherockets,whichsometimeswentwell off course.Roswell, of course, is also in southeasternNewMexico.AnEnglishastronomer tried to sayalienscouldhavegone to theSovietUnion for the samepurposes.Sorry,buttheydidn'ttesttheirfirstatomicbombuntilAugust1949.

Insummary,Ithinkeverycivilizationinthelocalneighborhood,andanylocalsubsetofthegalacticfederation,hasputoutthewordthatEarthisaseriousthreattotheneighborhood.Ofcoursetheywouldbeconcernedaboutus.AlsoIshouldnotethatthetransitionfromlow-techtohigh-techcanbeamazinglyshortonacosmictimescale.Thatmeansthatwemaywellbe the only planet in the local neighborhood at this intermediate stage of developmentbetweenbeingabletomakeamessofourownplanetandbeingabletowreakourbrandofhavoc elsewhere as well. The bottom line to me is that a major reason for aliens to becheckingusoutistoquarantineusifweshownoprogressinactingasresponsiblegalacticcitizens. I am only grateful that they haven't yetwiped us off the slate and decided to start

again.Throughout theyears Ihaveaskeda lotofpeople,"Ifyouwereanalien,wouldyouwantearthlingsoutthere?"Theanswerhasalwaysbeenno.

I should stress that, considering all the good reports of huge space carriers (motherships),eachcarryingmanysmallerEarthExcursionModules,thateachEEMmaybeherefora different reason: graduate students, communications experts, genetic sample-gatherers,miningengineers,vacationers,honeymooners,specimengatherers,andsoon.

ReasonsforVisiting

Hereisalistoffthetopofmyheadofreasonsforalienstovisitus,innoparticularorder:

1.Graduatestudentsdoingtheirthesisresearchon:

a.Thedevelopmentofaprimitivesociety.

b.Geology,meteorology,sociology,biology,icthyology,entomology,religion,andsoon,onaprimitiveplanet.

c.Foreignlanguages.

d.Thesuccessorfailureofcolonizationorinterferencefrommanyyearsago.(PerhapsEarthwasusedasapenalcolony,asortofDevil'sIslandoftheneighborhood,andthatiswhywearesonastytoeachother.)

2.Broadcasterswithaweeklyshow:IdiocyintheBoondocks.

3.Specimen-gatheringforanETzoo.

4. Participation in galactic chess competitions (recall Bobby Fisher and BorisSpasskymeetinginIceland).

5.Corporations planning for the equivalent of a new coaling station for the localgalactictransportationsystem.

6. Mining engineers seeking new supplies of special items such as gold andplatinum.

7.Preparingremotestoragesitesforweaponstobeusedinafuturewarwithotheraliensorwithearthlings.

8.Gas,food,andlodging.

9.Punishmentforspacemiscreants:twoweeksnearEarthispunishmentenoughforalifetime.

10. Space electronics experts checking on new sources of interference for theirspacecommunicationssystems,asusedbyasteroidminers.

11.PlannersfortheequivalentoftheOlympicGamestobeheldonneutralground.

12.Advancemenforspacemissionaries (justasmanymissionarieswent toChinaandAfricatoconvertthelocals).

WhyDon'tAliensLandontheWhiteHouseLawn?

This is a simplistic question, and I need to give my overview of the situation beforeansweringit.Firstly,Ithinkthatallgalacticfederationintelligenceagencieswoulddoalotofsurveillance as soon as they recognized how rapidly our technology is changing and howwarlikeearthlingsocietieshavebecome.LookatthechangesinflightcapabilitybetweentheWrightBrothers and the rapid increase throughout the next 43 years in the speed, altitude,range,andpayloadcapabilityofaircraft.Lookattheincreaseindestructivecapabilityofthebombs and antiaircraft shells and rockets, and the cleverness of our radar and proximityfuses.Note thatpropellerswere replaced by jet engines; 10-ton blockbusters by 12-kilotonnuclearweapons.WarsevolvedfromtrenchwarfareoftheFirstWorldWarinvolvingmostlymilitarycombatants,tothemassbombingsoftheSecondWorldWarmostlyoncivilians.(Asingle mass bombing of Dresden or Tokyo killed tens of thousands of noncombatantcivilians.)Estimatesvary,but there isageneralconsensusthatWWIIsawthedestructionof1,700 cities and about 50million earthlings. It was followed, not byworldwide peace andprosperity (despite the Marshall Plan in the immediate post-war period to help starving

civilians inWesternEurope),butbyacoldwar involving twomajornationsbuilding evermorepowerfularmaments(nuclearweapons),evermoresophisticatedmeansfordeliveringthem,andevermoresophisticatedskymonitoringsystems(suchasradar)toprotectagainstincursionsbytheotherside.

Clearly,alienvisitorswouldhave tobe totallystupid-hardly likelynot tocollectdetailedinformation on the location of airborne military radar systems, airfields with militaryinterceptors,antiaircraftgunsandrockets,andsoon.Theywouldmakeitapointtodeterminethe maximum velocity, maneuverability, altitude, and offensive weapon capabilities, frommachinegunstoair-to-airmissiles,airborneradar,andsoonandsoforth.Rulenumberoneforintrudingaircraftmustbetotrytoavoidthelocaldefenders.Asageneralrule,despitealltheairborneencountersbetweenearthlingaircraftandflyingsaucers,thealiensdon'tseemtoshow signs of wholesale retaliation. (For those who aren't aware of the many encountersbetweenflyingsaucersandearthlingaircraft,bothmilitaryandcivilian,IwouldreferreaderstothefilesofNARCAP[NationalAviationReportingCenterforAnomalousPhenomena].Dr.RichardHaines, a scientistwithNASAAmesResearchCenter formanyyears, had alreadycollectedmorethan1,000pilotsightingswhenheappearedinmydocumentarymovieUFOsARERealin1979.Thenumberisuptomorethan3,000now.)

BacktolandingontheWhiteHouselawn.Firstly,theWhiteHouseandenvironsareinano-fly zone. There is a lot of radar coverage, andmany interceptors ready to chase awayintruders,astheydidduringthehugewaveofradarvisualsightingsoverD.C.inthesummerof1952.Themessage,loudandclear,isSTAYAWAY.Secondly,thoughIhatetobringitup,thepresidentoftheUnitedStatesdoesnotspeakfor6.5billionearthlings!Clearlyhedoesn'tevenalwaysspeakfor300millionAmericans.IsthereanybodywhodoesspeakforEarth?Idon't know of anyonewho does, not even the head of theGeneralAssembly at theUnitedNations.Somepeoplemightsuggestthat,asademocraticsociety,weshouldelectaleadertorepresent the planet. Surely the galactic federation would only allow for planetaryrepresentatives.A real problemwith theAmericannotionof "oneperson, onevote," is thesimplefactthatChinahas1.3billionpeople,IndiaIbillion,andsoon.TheUnitedStates,withonly300million,wouldneveragreetosuchasystem.

WhyAreAstronomersGenerallySoAnti-UFO?

I havehadmanyopportunities to observe astronomers and reador hear their views onUFOs.For themost part they are indeedgenerallynegative. I think twowords provide thereasons: ignorance and arrogance. They are almost completely ignorant about the UFOevidence,notjustthestudiesnotedinChapter1,butthemorethan4,000physicaltracecasesfrommore than 70 countries collected byTed Philips, the detailed photo analysis ofUFOpictures, and accounts of alien abductions. They are not just ignorant about advancedtechnologythatmightbeusedfordeep-spacepropulsionorforhighlymaneuverablesystemsin the atmosphere. They are also ignorant about the national security aspects of the UFOproblem.Theypresumethatbecausetheirconcernis theuniverseoutsideEarth, theywouldknow about alien visitors, who would most likely want to talk to them. The history ofastronomy is full of false claims by the leading lights. I have on occasion noted thatastronomy seems to be sort of a democratic science: The leading lights get together anddecideontruth,andwoebeuntohewhodisagrees.Thereisnoplacetopublish,andacademiaischaracterizedbypublish-or-perish.

Goodexamplesincludethesizeandageofthegalaxyanduniverse,bothofwhichgreatlyexpanded in the 20th century, as did knowledge of the physical processes that produce theenergyofthestars.ItwasphysicistHansBethewho,in1938,figuredoutthatitwasnuclearfusion thatpowered thestars-notanastronomer.Generallyspeaking, there isnothing in thetrainingoreducationofastronomersthatprovidesabasisfortheirfrequentclaimsthatalienscan'tgetherebecauseitwouldtaketoomuchenergy.ThereisnoquestionthattheamountofenergyittakestotravelfromsayZetaReticulitoEarthisentirelydependentonthepathtaken,and the energy source. All our deep-space probes take advantage of clever engineering,cosmic freeloading, and more. It is absurd that astronomers refer to the use of chemicalrocketsorcoastingforstartravel.Ofallpeople,theyshouldknowaboutnuclearfusion.IwastrulyshockedwhenDr.Tyson,headoftheHaydenPlanetariuminNewYork,claimedonthePeter Jennings mockumentary of February 24, 2005, that our fastest craft, the Voyagerspacecraft,wouldtake70,000yearstogettotheneareststar.Thisistrue,buttotallyirrelevant.NomentionwasmadeofthefactthatVoyagerhasbeenessentiallycoastingsinceitleftEarth.Ithasnopropulsionsystem.

Ihavealsofounditlaughablethatastronomersoftenactasthoughtheywouldbeexpertsonthebehaviorandmotivationofaliens.NotonlyaretheynotprofessionallyknowledgeableaboutUFOs or propulsion systems, but surely they are not experts about the behavior andmotivation of earthlings, much less aliens. Perhaps psychiatrists, social workers, doctors,nurses,andevenlawyerswouldbebettersuited-allareprofessionalsaccustomedtodealingwith living, thinking beings. But astronomers? One astronomer told me that he couldn'timaginealiensvisitingjusttostopautomobiles.Icanfindnoindicationthatthepurposeofthevisitsistostopengines,anymorethanthatpeopledroveautomobilesinthelate1890sforthepurpose of scaring nearby horses. Stopping cars could easily be for the purpose ofcontrollingthedrivers,or,asintheIranianjetcaseof1976,forpreventingmissileattacks.Itcould also be an unintentional consequence of the presence of sophisticated energyproductionorcommunicationsystems.

OnepeculiaraspectIhavefoundisthat,perhapsbecausetheyaremore interested in thehugeuniverse rather than the localneighborhood, astronomersoften act as thoughvisitorswould have to come from another galaxy. In a radio discussion, one famous astronomerstartedbysayinghejustdidn'tthinkpeopleknewhowmuchenergyitwouldtaketogetherefromanothergalaxy,asAndromedaismorethan2millionlight-yearsaway.ZetaReticuliis39.2light-yearsaway,whichisaverydifferenttransportationproblem.Ifweneedaloafofbread fordinner, I simplyamnot concernedabout it being9,000miles to a finebakery inSydney,Australia;thereisagoodonelessthantwomilesaway.

Another problem is that at least some astronomers think linearly. Allen Hynek used topointoutthatifthethicknessofoneplayingcardrepresentedthedistancetothemoonfromtheEarth,thantheneareststaris16,000milesofplayingcardsaway.Inaddition,twiceasfartakestwiceas long.Forspacetravel this issimplynot true.Ifwecoulddoubleour rocket'sspeed at burnoutwhen heading toward themoon,wewould get there 20 times faster. Theeffective thrust is the difference between two similar quantities: the thrust of the rocketpushingup,andthegravitypullingdown.Iftheybalanced,therocketwouldn'tgoanywhere.If the thrust is a bit bigger at the start, than the rocket will accelerate because it is losingweight(propellant).Thedifferenceissteadilyincreasing.ItriedwithnosuccesstogetAllentolookatthevastliteratureoninterstellar travel.Admittedly,notmuchofit ispublishedin

astronomical journals. Information about flying saucers almost never appears in suchjournals. But then, studies of stars, galaxies, and satellites don't involve unexpectedobservations without instrumentation by non-astronomers of activities controlled byintelligentbeings.IwonderhowmanyastronomerssubscribetotheMUFONjournalorUFOMagazine,ortheInternationalUFOReporteroftheCenterforUFOStudies.

Ioftenaskduringcollegeclassvisitshowlongittakes,atoneGacceleration,toreachthespeedof light.Manyprofessorsguess1,000years. In reality, it isonlyoneyear. Ignorancemaybebliss,buthavingitpointedoutisnot.

I can't find any reason for thinking, per some astronomers, that knowledge of alienvisitations would be immediately spread far and wide. Admittedly, the SETI people wouldprobably make a noisy announcement should they ever pick up a signal, but that wouldcertainlynotchangethingsasmuchasadmissionofanalienpresencehereandnow.Thinkofhow upset astronomers will be when the government finally provides proof of alienvisitations. The famous Brookings Institute Report on the impact of contact withextraterrestrialsnoted that theegosofscientistswouldbegreatlybruisedbyrecognitionofhowlittletheyknow.

Science,ScienceFiction,andUFOs

Severalgroups(besidesgovernment-paiddisinformationspecialists)canbecitedasbeingmost responsible for the general ignorance of the public about flying saucers, and thestronglynegativeattitudeshownbyanumberofpublicfigures.Theyarethemembersofthemediawho haven't done their jobs, the science fictionwriterswho can't accept the idea ofUFOs,andtheSETIspecialistswhofeelitnecessarytoattackthenotionofspacevisitorsinordertogainsupportforthestrangeideaoflisteningforsignalsinstead.TherearealsotheacademicswhopubliclyexpressstrongviewsagainstUFOrealitywithoutbotheringtostudytheevidence.Thereis,ofcourse,anothergroup:thekookyelementthatgetsfarmoremediaattention than it deserves, as well as some apologist ufologists and closet ufologists. Themore they apologize and stay in the closet, the less likely the public and scientificcommunitiesare tocome tounderstandhowmuchevidence there really is. In addition, thegovernmenthascreatedasubstantialmythology(asdescribedinChapter4).

Throughout theyears I have found thatmanypeople are surprisedwhen I point out theantipathy to the notion of alien visitation of various well-known science fiction writers.Peopleseemtothinkthatbecauseitwasthesciencefictionwriterswho,manyyearsago,weretalking about space travel and publishing such stories as those involvingBuckRogers andFlash Gordon, and those pulp magazine articles featuring space aliens, that they wouldnormallybepleasedbythesuddenrespectabilityofspacetravel.Thatishardlythecase.

Iwilldealindetailwiththreeofthebest-knownsciencefictionwriters:Dr.IsaacAsimov,BenBova,andArthurC.Clarke.Theirviewshaveunfortunatelybeenwidelyspreadbecauseoftheirstatus,andhavehadastrongnegativeinfluenceamongthegeneralpublic-notjusttherelativelysmallsci-ficommunity.Almostneverhavetheybeenheldtoaccount,thoughIhavetried.

IsaacAsimov

Dr. Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) was a prolific writer of nonfiction books and sciencefictionnovelsandstories.Hisbooktotalismorethan400(withsomeuncertaintyduetotheinclusionofsomecoauthoredbooks,anthologies, and soon).Healsowrotemanyarticles.ThoughhisPhDisinchemistry,hehasalwaysearnedhislivingasanauthor.Ihaddiscussedhisanti-ufologicalattitudesasexpressedinhisbookIsAnyoneThere?inmy1973MUFONsymposium paper "Ufology and the Search for ET Intelligent Life." Someone unknown toeither of us sent him a copy of the symposiumproceedings.He noted the comments I hadmade, and was stimulated to write a supposedly scientific article entitled "The RocketingDutchman" for the February 1975 issue of Fantasy and Science Fiction. A much shorterversionappearedasa"Background"articleinTVGuideforDecember14,1974.Botharticlesdeserved awards for massive misrepresentation, lack of awareness of the relevant data,arrogance, illogicality, and irrationality. Theywere fine examples of the pseudoscience ofanti-ufology. I will focus on the Fantasy and Science Fiction article because it was moredetailed,although, considering that TVGuide, at that time, had aweekly circulation of 18million,itundoubtedlydidfarmoredamage.

Asimov began by casting aspersions at me and other UFO "believers." He quoted mystatement that "Manypeople are surprised that twoof the noted science fiction and sciencewriters Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke are both quite vehement in their anti-UFOsentiment."Heresponded:"ThatFriedmanmeetspeoplewhoaresurprisedatthisindicates,Isuppose,thelevelofthecircleshemovesin.Afterall,whyshouldthefactthatArthurandIares.f.writersleadpeopletosupposethatwehaveforfeitedourintelligenceandmustsurelybelieveanymysticcultthatseemstohavesomeelementsincommonwithsciencefiction?"

ThepeopletowhomIwasreferringwerethestudentsandprofessorsatthehundredsofcollegesatwhichIhadspoken,aswellasthescientistsandengineersatthemanydozensofprofessional engineering and science organizations that had sponsored my programs. Heobviously hadn't noted the background sheet aboutme, which appeared on page 10 of the

same MUFON volume as my paper. If he had, he would have noted that we were bothmembers of Mensa, and that I belonged to the American Nuclear Society, the AmericanPhysical Society, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and was then aFellowof theBritishInterplanetarySocietyofwhichArthurC.Clarkehadbeena founder. Ihadworkedfor14yearsasaprofessionalnuclearphysicistforsuchmajorcompaniesasGE,GM,Westinghouse, TRW System, Aerojet General Nucleonics, andMcDonnell Douglas. Iworked on awhole host of highly classified advanced research and development projects,including nuclear aircraft, fission and fusion rockets, and nuclear power plants for spaceapplications.Ithinkadispassionateobservermightconsiderthosecirclesatleasttheequalofthoseofasciencefictionwriterwhohadneverworkedasascientist,despitethePhD.Itwasprettysillyforhimtosuggestthatonlypeopleoflowintelligencebelongingtomysticcultsaccept thenotionof flyingsaucer reality.Asdetailed inChapter8, therewasplentyofdatathen, as well as now, indicating that the greater one's education the more likely one is tobelieve in flying saucer reality, and that amajority of engineers and scientists involved inR&Dactivitiesdoaswell. Ihaveseennopollofsciencefictionwriters.Asimovobviouslyhadn'teither,becausehegavenoevidenceatalltosupporthisnegativeposition.

Hisarticlewaswritteninquestion-and-answerformat.Unfortunately,heaskedthewrongquestions,studiednorelevantdata,providednoreferences,andcametofoolishconclusionsbecauseofhisbias and ignorance.He startedby focusingon theunanswerable questionofwhether or not there are other intelligent life forms in the universe. He starts with theassumptionof640,000,000Earth-likeplanetsinthegalaxy-nobasisisgivenforthisnumber.Weknowthatthereareroughly256,000,000,000starsintheMilkyWaygalaxy(plusorminus100billion).Soheissayingonly1in400hasanEarth-likeplanet.Atthattimenoexoplanets(planets in other solar systems) had been discovered. From whence cometh his number?Throwing darts at a dartboard?We have not yet found any truly Earth-like planets in ourneighborhood, but our techniques are primitive, and will certainly improve as newinstruments are launchedwithin the next 25years (as discussed inChapter 5 onSETI).Wehavealreadyfoundmorethan290exoplanetsaround200stars-afairlysignificantpercentagecompared to 1/400. Asimov whittles his number down by an amazing sequence ofassumptionshavingnobasisinfact.HenotesthatEarthhashadlifeforabout3billionyears,a civilization for about 10,000 (1/300,000 of its history), and an industrial civilization forabout200years(1/50ofthetimeforcivilization).HethereforereducesthesupposednumberofEarth-likeplanetsinthegalaxybydividing640millionby300,000,andthenby50,togive

43industrialcivilizations,andassumes(heclaims)thatweareroughlyaverage,sothatthereare21civilizationsmoreadvancedthanwe,andperhapscapableofspacetravel.Hedoesn'tseemtoknowthedifferencebetweencalendars,whichmeasuretime,andmaps,whichshowthedistributionofthingsinspace.Knowingthefractionofavailabletimeforwhichtherehasbeenacivilizationhere(weactuallydonotknowthat)tellsusnothingaboutwhatfractionofplanetshavecivilizationsnow,inthepast,orinthefuture.Forallweknow,therecouldhavebeen 50 different civilizations on Earth alone throughout the past billion years. It tookdiggingdown75feetforHeinrichSchliemanntodiscoverthe"mythical"cityofTroy,thoughitexistedjustafewthousandyearsago.Wealsorecognizethatcatastrophiceventsthatcouldchangethesurfaceoftheplanet,canoccur,suchasbeinghitbyanasteroid,oracomet,oranuclearwar.VerylittleofEarthhasbeenexploreddown75feet.

WhenIfirstwroteaboutthis,InotedthatIhadbeenmarriedtomywifeforonly7percentof my life. Now it is about 45 percent. Did that mean that only 7 percent of the malepopulationwasmarried?Myfatheratthattimehadbeenbaldfor2/3ofhislife.Didthatmeanthat 2/3 ofmen are bald?Of course not.ButAsimovwasn't even assuming that Earthwasaverage.Hewasassumingthatnobodygotstartedsoonerthanwedidathavinganindustrialcivilization.Thatisfranklyabsurd,especiallywhenonenoticesthatthegalaxyisabout13.6billionyearsold,andthattheEarthhasbeenaroundabout4.56billionyears.Anerrorofonly1/10 of one percent in the 3 billion years would be 3 million years. He was also totallyneglectingcolonization,migration,theexilingofprisoners,orthedispersalofcivilizationsbythosewhostartedearlier.

Asimov then compounds totally false reasoning with more of the same in trying todetermine the distance between civilizations so that he can show how terribly far away thenearest one supposedly is. He imagines the 21 advanced industrial civilizations distributedrandomly throughout the galaxy, which means, he says, that they would be, on average,13,500lightyearsapartfromeachother.Hedoesn'tgiveanydetailsaboutthecalculation,andseems toassume that theconditionsare the same throughout thevolumeof thegalaxy.Hisnext statement isa trulyunscientificclaim:"With thenearesthomeplanetof flying saucers13,500light-yearsaway,thechanceofvisitinguswouldseemsmall."Butasanyrealscientistwouldnote,theonlywaytoconverttheaveragedistancebetweencivilizationstothedistance

tothenearestoneistoassumeuniformdistribution.Buthesaidhedistributedthemrandomly.Thatmeansthenearestonecouldbe15light-yearsaway,or39.2,asinthecaseofZetaIandZeta2ReticuliintheconstellationofReticulum,asdiscussedinCaptured!Inotherwords,hisapproach was totally unscientific and illogical. Any high school student would know thatbecausetheaveragedistancefrommyhometothe10largestmetropolitanareasintheUnitedStatesatthattimewas1,800miles,certainlydidn'tmeanthenearestonewas1,800milesaway.Asithappens,itwasonly30miles.

Then Asimov, realizing that he may be treading on thin ice with his pseudoscientificcalculations, becomesmagnanimous and says thatmaybe the Earth is only 100 light-yearsfromaveryadvancedcivilization."Thiswouldbetremendouslyunlikely,"hesaid.Thisisascientist?Hehasnodataatallaboutthedistancestoanyothercivilization,butheknowswhatisunlikely?Heneverbotherstomentionhowmanystarsarewithin100light-years,oreven50.Weknowthatveryfewpeopleare7feettall.Doesthatmeanthattherewouldneverbetwo7-footers in the same area at the same time? Obviously not, if one looks at NationalBasketballAssociationgames,inwhichthereareoftentwo7-footersonthecourtatthesametime. I should note that there are between8,000 and15,000 starswithin 100 light-years, ofwhich roughly 360 are sun-like stars, and might, not unreasonably, be expected to haveplanetsofsomekind.Theirdistributioniscertainlynotuniform.Theneareststarofanykindtothesunis4.3lightyearsaway.ButZeta1ReticuliandZeta2Reticuli,bothsun-likestars,areonly1/8ofalightyearapartfromeachother.Thisis35timesclosertoeachotherthanthesunistothenextstarover.Ofcourse,thoughjustdownthestreetfromus,theyarealsoabillionyearsolderthanthesun.Inhabitantsonplanetsaroundeitherstarwouldhavehadfarmore incentivefor thedevelopmentof interstellar travelwitha targetsoclose,andwithsomuchmoretimeattheirdisposal.

ItisbadenoughthatAsimovwasirrationalaboutthedistributionandnumberofplanetshavingacivilization,butsurprisingly,foranoutstandingsciencefictionwriter,heseemstohavenoimaginationaboutthemotivationsofalienbeings.Hewrote:

Ifweignorethequestionofdistance,thereremainsthatofmotive.IftheseRocketingDutchmen are buzzing around Earth deliberately and for some rational reason, itmustbebecauseEarthintereststhem.ButwhatonEarthcanpossiblyinterestthem?It

is natural (if perhaps egotistical) to assume that to any outworlder the mostinterestingthingaboutEarthismanandhiscivilization.Butiftheflyingsaucersareinvestigatingus,whydon'ttheycomedownandgreetus?Theyshouldbeintelligentenoughtoworkoutwhoourspokesmenareandwhereourcentersofpopulationareandhowtogoaboutmakingcontactwithourgovernments.

Iwouldsuggestthatanybodythinkingthismakessensereviewmylistofreasonforaliensto come to earth in Chapter 6. For one thing, neitherAsimov nor I can be sure that therehaven'talreadybeenmanycontactsbetweenaliensandgovernment leaders.At that time (inthe 1970s), thousands of people made their way to Alaska to help build a pipeline-not tosocialize with the Eskimos. The same goes for those thousands who made a much moredifficult trip to the Klondike in 1887 to seek out gold deposits. Columbus wasn't ananthropologist.Hehadtodealfairlywiththenativesbecauseheneededthemtoprovidefoodandwater,andnottobeaggressivetowardhimandhiscrew.However,thealiensseemtobeabletodotheirthingwithoutanyhelpfromus.Furthermore,alienswouldhavetobetotallystupid not to realize that ours is a primitive, warlike society.We Earthlings operatemanyradarsystemstodetectenemiesandUFOs,andinterceptorstotrytodestroyorcapturethem.Militarytypeswouldlovetobeabletoduplicatealientechnology,notforsocialpurposes,buttodestroyothercivilizations.Very littleeffortwent in toProjectPlowshare, to try tobuildcanalsandlakeswithnuclearweapons,asopposedtothreateningdestructionwiththem.Itcostabout a billion dollars to land the Viking spacecraft onMars in 1976, and there were notranslatorsonboardtodealwithfriendlyMartians.Therulehereisshootfirst,askquestionslater...atleastwhenaTexanispresident.That3-milewidemushroomcloudwhenthefirstH-bombwastestedin1952spokevolumesaboutwhatearthlingswereallabout:war.

But let us bemagnanimous and accept Asimov's suggestion that the aliens are here toinvestigateearthlingsandour"civilization,"suchasit is.Heassumes theyhaven'tcontactedEarthgovernments,apparentlybecauseheisn'tawareofsuchcontacts.Wenow,byAsimovianlogic, have the notion, popular amongst UFO deniers, that absence of evidence can bepresumedtobeevidenceoftheabsenceofit.ImustadmitthatIhavebeenunabletofindanyevidencethatheeverhadahigh-levelsecurityclearanceoraneed-to-knowforsuchdata.

Surely even a science fiction writer would admit that rule number one for any alienexplorers has to be to try to be sure you can get home. It seems quite clear that every airforce,zoo,TVtalkshowhost,andsoon,wouldlovetogetitshandsonaflyingsauceranditscrew.ThefirstgovernmentabletoduplicateflightbehaviorofthesaucerswouldbewellonitswaytorulingplanetEarth,becausetheywouldmakewonderfulweapons-deliveryanddefense systems. Surely Asimovwould have been aware that billions of dollars are beingspentbyEarthgovernmentseveryyear todevelopbetterweaponssystems,suchas theB-1,theSR-71,thestealthfighterandbomber,andcruisemissiles.Surelyhewasalsoawarethattherewasnoleader(thenornow)whospeaksfortheplanetandcouldnegotiatewithaliensonbehalfoftheplanet.

Intherealworldwemakeuseofsilentsentriesinspacetodeterminethecapabilitiesofourenemies,asopposedtoaskingthemwhatsystemstheyhave.Surelyacivilizationwouldfind outmore about its opponentswith instrumentation, and bymonitoring our TV, radio,telephone,andnowInternetsignals,thanbylandinginTimesSquareortheKremlin.PerhapsAsimovwasn'tawareofthebig-budgetagenciessuchastheNROandNSA.TheyandtheCIA,KGB,andFBItrytogatherasmuchinformationaspossiblewithoutrisktotheagents.

Asimov said: "Nor is it conceivable they canbe afraid of us."Hewas actually serious!However,ablow-gundartcanbejustasdeadlyasalaser.PerhapsAsimovhasforgottenournuclearweapons, conceivably directed by our radar systems?We certainly tested not onlynuclearweapons,butantimissilemissiles.Hesaidthatifaliensfindtheplaceunpleasant,theyare surely intelligent enough to communicatewith us. Furthermore, he said, "On the otherhand,iftheyareinterestedinusbutdonotwishtomakecontactwithus,iftheydonotwishtointerfere,theyarecertainlyintelligentenoughandadvancedenoughtobeabletostudyus inwhatever detail they needwithout ever letting us be aware of them.No, they should eithercomedownandsayhello,ortheyshouldgoaway.Iftheydoneither,theyarenotintelligentlyguidedspaceships."IwastotallyshockedwhenIreadthis.SincewhendidDr.Asimovbecomeanexpertonthebehaviorofrealaliensandofplanetarygovernments?Hesetupastrawman,andexpectsrational,thinkingpeopletoblindlyaccepthisincredibleconclusions.Surelythereisamiddlegroundbetweensayinghelloandhidingfromus.Wedon'ttakeeitherextremeinourdealingswithstrangers.Idon'tnormallytalktothesquirrelsinmybackyard.Butthen,I

don'thidefromthemeither.

Surelyevenanoutstandingsciencefictionwriterwouldrecognizethat:

1.Rule number one for visitors ought to be to try to get home. It is obvious thatweapons of mass destruction are here in the hands of people who don't mindslaughteringmilitarypersonnelandcivilians.Thisisahostileplanet.

2.Everymilitarygroupwouldliketogetitshandsonadvancedsystemsinsecrettotry to figure out how theywork and to keep others from finding outwhat theyknow.

3.Usuallynegotiationsoccurbetweengroups at roughly the same level of power.Theycancomeandgoas theyplease, thoughapparentlydestroyingaircraft thataretoobothersome,asreportedinShootThemDown.Wearenottheirequals.

4.Noadvancedvisitorswouldtrustearthlingswiththeiralientechnology,especiallybecauseitcouldbeusedagainstthem.

5. Those in our galactic neighborhoodwould be concerned about earthlings whoshortlywillbeabletotakeourbrandoffriendship(generallyknownashostility)tothestars,tomakeasbigamessoutthereaswehavehere.

Dr.Asimovthenproceededtowhatapsychiatristwoulddescribeasaprojection.Heasksaquestionaboutalienmotivationandthenclaimsthatitisthebelieverswhoarepilinguptoomany conditions, such as assuming "at least one civilization improbably near to us," "theachievementoffasterthan-lighttravel,"and"thattheyfindEarthinterestingenoughtopesterrepeatedly,butourselvesofsolittleinteresttheywon'ttalktous,whileontheotherhandtheydon'tcareifweseethem."

Thereisnoneedtomakesuchassumptions.ItistheworldwidedatathatconvincesthosewillingtostudyitthataliensarevisitingEarth.ExceptfortheoutstandingworkofMarjorie

FishwiththeBettyHillstarmap,pointingtoZetaIandZeta2Reticuli,wehavenocluesastofromwheretheyareoriginating.JustasIdon'tneedtoknowhowdigestionproceedsinordertoeatdinner,Idon'tneedtoknowwheretheyoriginatetosaytheyarefromofftheEarth.Ifwedon'thaveanatlasshowingthe locationsofothercivilizations,wecan'tsaywhether thevisitorsoriginateprobablyorimprobablyneartous.Whysuggestthatfaster-than-lighttravelis required,whenEinstein's lawsof relativity,well establishedby experimentation, indicatethatasonegetsclosetothespeedoflighttimeslowsdownforthingsmovingthatfast?(ThiswasdiscussedinChapter2.)Thereisalsonoreasontosaythateveryonecomingheremusthavecomedirectlyfromanothersolarsystemasopposedtofromabasemuchclosertous.Mylongestlecturetripinvolvedspeakingat25campusesin35daysin15states(whenIwasmuchyounger).Iwasgonethewholetime,ratherthangoingoutandbackandoutandback.CaptainCook,inhisvoyagesofdiscovery,wentfromonenewplacetothenext.

NextDr.Asimovadmittedthathehasnotinvestigatedevenonereportofextraterrestrialspaceshipsorofbeingsonboardtheships.Inaphoneconversation,hefurtheradmittedthathehadnotreadmuchoftheUFOliteratureandthathedoesnotreceiveanypublicationsoftheUFOgroups.Ishouldhavethoughtthatwouldhaveautomaticallydisqualifiedhimfromwritingasupposedlyscientificarticle.Ifinditdifficultasascientisttoacceptthenotionthatawriter,supposedlyalsoascientist,shouldexpressanopinionaboutasubjectaboutwhichheapparently knows nothing besides what he reads in the tabloids. His justification fordismissingsuchreportsoutofhandisthat"eyewitnessevidencebyasmallnumberofpeopleuncorroboratedbyanyother sortofevidence isworthless."Here isyet another strawman.Becausehehasn'texaminedanyoftheevidencehowishejustifiedinclaimingthereisn'tany?OneofmymajorrulesforUFOdeniersis"Don'tbothermewiththefacts,mymindismadeup."Hecertainlyfollowedtherules.

The fact of thematter is that there aremany good reports, in documents such as bothvolumes ofTheUFOEvidence, in J.AllenHynek's bookTheUFOExperience, in ProjectBlueBookSpecialReportNo. 14, in theCongressionalHearings of 1968, and even in theCondonreport,asdiscussed inChapter1.Thereare amyriadofphysical tracecase, radarvisualcases, andphotographs thathavepassedmuster. IfAsimovhadbothered to readTedPhillips'spaper,"LandingTraces:PhysicalEvidencefortheUFO,"intheverysamevolume

ofMUFONpapersasmine,hecouldhavereadof546physical tracecases.A latervolumefromPhillips,PhysicalTracesAssociatedwithUFOSightings,wouldhaveprovidedhimwithdata onmore than 800 cases. Now Phillips's files includemore than 4,000 cases from 70countries. About 1/6 of these cases involve reports of creatures, usually diminutive,associatedwiththelandedcraft.Evenbackthenthereweredozensofcasesofabductionsonfile. Asimov could have checked with Dr. Jacques Vallee's computerized catalog of closeencountersbetweenUFOsandearthlings.Morethan1/3involvedobservationsofhumanoidcreatures. I am certainly convinced that if writers such as Asimov had been less negative,despite their ignorance,wewouldbe awareofmanymore such cases.Hemight also havelookedattheexcellentpaper,"BasicPatternsinUFOObservations,"byValleeandDr.ClaudePoher,aFrenchscientist,comparingAmericanandFrenchcases,tofindgreatsimilarities.Asithappens,PohermadeastrongpresentationattheNationalPressClubinWashington,D.C.onNovember12,2007,basedonhismanyyearsofinvestigation.

Asimovwentontosaythathewanted"somethinglesspronetodistortionandlesssubjecttohoaxingthaneyewitnessevidenceis.Iwantsomethingmaterialandlasting,somethingthatcanbestudiedbymany. IwantanalloynotofEarthmanufacture. Iwantadevice thatdoessomethingbynoprincipleweunderstand.Bestof all Iwant a ship inplainview, revealingitself to human beings competent to observe and study them over a reasonable period oftime."So do I.Andwhynot?All alien civilizationswould turn over their craft to us nice,curious,peacefulguysonEarth,right?Thisistrulysciencefiction.Surelymostpeopledon'tturnoverloadedgunsto3-year-oldstoplaywith.Asimovpresumesthatnosuchmaterial isstudiedinsecrecy.Thustherealtestseemstobetofindasaucerthathecanclimbaround.Iamnotsurprisedthatheisnotdemandingaride,though,becausehewaswellknownforhisunwillingnesstoflyinairplanes.

It is strange, but I don't think Asimov has worked with many police forces, or radaroperators, or secretU.S.military groups that evaluated captured enemy equipment such ascryptographic machines or crashed airplanes. Such things were not put on display. Theinformation obtained by the Soviet Union about the Manhattan Project, from spies whoworkedatLosAlamos,certainlywasn't.Itwasdefinitelybelievedin,eventhoughapparentlyno volume of fissionablematerialwas turned overwith it.We also don't have pieces of a

blackholeorneutronstareither,butIwouldbethedidn'trejectthem.

Asimovwent on to state that, "If flying saucers are spaceships, thismust be proven bydirectevidence.Itcanneverbeprovenbywailingbutwhatelsecanitbe?"'Here,Iagreewithhim.Noneofthemanyscientistswhoagreewithmethatthereisoverwhelmingevidencethatsome UFOs are manufactured craft behaving in ways we can't duplicate, and thereforeoriginatingofftheEarth,wail,"Butwhatelsecanitbe?"Afterall,wedon'tknowmuchaboutthe aliens or whether they are cyborgs or servants or big shots. Perhaps they are beingpunishedforpasttransgressionsandareservingasentencetospendtwoweeksworkingonEarth.Badcrimesgetthree-weeksentences.Ishouldpointoutthatthefirstlivingthingsputintoorbit aroundEarthwereadogandamonkey-hardly thebuildersof thecraft inwhichtheyflew.

Inresponsetohisownquestion,"Whatdoyouthink,yourself,thatflyingsaucersare?"hestates,"Myownfeelingisthatalmosteverysightingiseitheramistakeorahoax."Atleastheadmitsthatthisisafeelingandnottheresultofanyinvestigation.HefollowsthesecondruleforUFOdeniers: "What thepublicdoesn'tknow, Iwon't tell them."As Ihavediscussed, inProjectBlueBookSpecialReportNo.14,21.5percentofthe3,201sightingsinvestigatedbythe USAF could not be explained, completely separate from the 9.3 percent listed asinsufficient data. Fewer than 5 percent were listed as hoaxes, and fewer than 2 percent ascrackpotcases.ThespecialUFOsubcommitteeoftheAmericanInstituteofAeronauticsandAstronauticsnoted(in"UFO:AnAppraisaloftheProblem"inAstronauticsandAeronautics)that30percentofthe117casesstudiedbytheCondonCommitteecouldnotbeexplained,andthatonecouldcometotheoppositeconclusionsfromDr.Condononthebasisofthedatainhisreport.

AsimovdidhavesomenicethingstosayaboutDr.J.AllenHynek,apparentlybecauseheknewhimpersonally,andbecauseheapprovedofHynek'snoncommittal,non-controversialattitude about UFOs. Speaking of the cases available for Hynek's study, he says: "Thesereports are so riddledwith hoaxes, and the flying saucer enthusiasts have somany cranks,

freaks, and nuts among them, that Hynek is constantly running the risk of innocentlydamaging his reputation by being confused with them." Here again we have assertionscompletely unsupported by any evidence and contradicted by readily available data. Rulesnumber3and4fordeniersaredemonstratedinspades:"Ifonecan'tattackthedata,attackthepeople," and "Do one's research by proclamation, not investigation. It is easier, and mostpeoplewon'tknowthedifference."

Dr.Asimovfinisheshisparodyofthescientificmethodbynotinghowdifficultitwouldbetostudythegenuinepuzzlers,"because theyappearunheralded,unexpected,andwith theutmost irregularity in space and time. There is noway of laying a trap for them short ofsettingupaworldwidemonitoringsystemthatwouldbefearfullyexpensive."Againwehaveincrediblenaivety:Therearedefinitelynumerousradarmonitoringnetworkssetupallovertheworld. There are spy satellites covering theworld for theUnited States and the SovietUnion,andnowothercountries,insecret.Theysurelydon'tcomecheapandareintendedtocatch the unexpected, in secret. I must remind the reader of the National ReconnaissanceOffice,theNationalSecurityAgency,theAerospaceDefenseCommand,andtheirSovietandChineseequivalents,andsoon.Dr.Asimovclosedhisarticlewith,"Weendupwithanecdotalhalfmemoryofsomethinghalfseen."Thismayindeedbetrueforsomeonesodazzledbyhisownbrillianceandknowledgeofeverythingimportantthathecan'tadmithisownignorance,or see that the real world is loaded with data to be seen by those with vision instead ofprejudice.

I sent a tightly packed letter to Fantasy and Science Fictionwith specific criticism andreferences to thesourcesofdata.Muchof itwaspublished in theMay1975 issue,butwithnoneofthereferences.Hisresponsewas,"Mr.Friedman's letter is the typical lucubration[Ihadtolookthatup]oftheprofessionalufologistwhomakesagoodlivingbylecturingtothenaive. The worst thing that can happen to him is to have a real spaceship land-for thenconventionalscientistswilltakeover.Idaresayhedoesn'tworryaboutthatmuch."AsIwroteinmy1977paperforMUFON,"ScienceFiction,Science,andUFOS":"Ithinkthatthereader,learningthatIhavelecturedatmorethan350collegesin47statesandfourprovinces,andtodozensof professional groups, and that I spent 14yearsworking as a scientist in industry,mightagreewithmethatthisisagoodexampleofpsychiatricprojection."

ItwasDr.Asimov's article that is the typical bit of prose by a professionalwriterwhomakesagoodlivingwritingforthenaive.Theworstthatcouldhavehappenedforhimwouldbetohavehadarealspaceshipland,andforthescientists,suchasmyself,totakeover.Idaresayhedidn'tworryabout thatverymuch. I shouldadd thathisFantasyandScienceFictionarticlewasreprintedinabookofhis"sciencearticles"withoutmycritique.Hecertainlyhadplentyofchutzpah.

Ialsohadsentanarticle toTVGuidespecificallycriticizinghissupposed"backgroundarticle" in theDecember 14, 1974, issue, giving data and references. They sent me a notesayingthatmymaterialhadbeensentontoDr.Asimov(wewouldn'twanttoeducatethe18millionreadersofhisunscientificfiction,Iguess).Therewasnoresponsefromhim...untilIsenthimacopyofthe1977MUFONpaper.Heisfamousforreplyingtoallcommunications,andIgotbackapostcardsaying,"Idon'twantyoutothinkIdidn'tgetyourletter-sothatyouwouldbeforcedtowriteagain.Ireceivedyourletter.Idonotwishtoanswer,andinfutureIwillnotevenacknowledge."There'snothinglikearroganceandignorance.

I have gone into detail about Dr. Asimov because his approach is so typical of thenonsense that has led so many scientists, journalists, and the public to denigrate anythingabout flying saucers. There is no doubt he was a fine writer, and (unfortunately) hadenormousinfluenceaboutthissubjectonsomanypeople.

BenBova

BenBova(1931-?)isanotedsciencefictionwriterwhohadbeeneditorofANALOGandtheneditorofOMNI,aquitefancypublicationthatmixedsciencefictionandscience.Hehaspublishedmorethan115futuristicnovelsandnonfictionbooks.Hehadworkedinindustry,ispresidentemeritusoftheNationalSpaceSociety,andisapastpresidentoftheScienceFictionand Fantasy Writers of America. Late in life, he earned a PhD from California CoastUniversity in1996.Hemadehisviewabout flyingsaucersclear inacomment in theBrassTacks section of ANALOG on December 25, 1975, in response to a letter suggesting

thatANALOG open its pages to a responsible debate on the UFO evidence within theframeworkofthescientificmethod.Bovasaid:

1. "It's been well established that most UFO sightings are unusual, but perfectlynaturalphenomena."

2. "The unexplained sightings are simply those for which there is too littleinformationtoprovideasolidfactualbasisforanexplanation."

3. "To date there has been no (repeat NO) valid evidence for extraterrestrialvisitations."

4."Wouldthattherewere."

His firstsentence is true-asare thefacts thatmost isotopesaren't fissionable,most starsaren't supernovas, andmost chemicals cannot treat anydisease. Item2 is absolutely false. Iwould thoroughlydisagreewith item3,and the fourth iswindowdressing thatmycontactswith science fiction writers clearly have been shown not to be the case: If they wantedvisitations to be real, the best they could do would be to study the readily available datainsteadofignoringitandmakingtotallyfalsestatements.IwrotealettertoBovaspellingoutwhyitem2wasfalse,giving14referencestodataandincludingthesummarytablesofdatafromProjectBlueBookSpecialReportNo.14aboutthecategorizationandqualityevaluationof3,201sightings.Bovamustbegivencreditforrespondingpromptly,thoughheobviouslydidn'tlookatthetablesoranyofthereferences.Hewrote:

I'vebeenintotheUFOcontroversyformanyyears.Thethingthatimpressesmethemost isnot thefact that therearesomanyunexplainedsightings,but thatsomanypeoplearewilling to leapfromsuchsightings to theconclusion thatwearebeingvisited by extraterrestrials-the lack of explanation of the sightings in question isactuallya lackof information.Wheneverenoughinformationaboutasightinghasbeenobtained thephenomenonhas turnedout tobe terrestrial inorigin.... Itwouldseem there would be a fewwith enough information about them to show that noterrestrial explanation is sufficient.... I've never seen such a report. I'll be glad torevisemyopinion.

Herewegoagainwithfalseproclamationsandwindowdressing.ThedataIsentprovedthat thesightings thatcouldnotbeexplainedwereabsolutelynot thoseforwhich therewasinsufficientinformation.Obviously,hereallywasn't"into"theUFOcontroversy,orhewouldhave looked at the evidence. If he had, he would not have come to the same conclusion,especiallynotingthatthebetterthequalityofthesightingthemorelikelytobeunexplainable-meaningthatithadcharacteristicsthatcannotbeexplainedbyterrestrialphenomena.

I did send another letter, but nothing was published. Again we have the basic tenet ofdebunkdom:Don'tbothermewiththefacts;mymindismadeup.Bovaatleastisconsistent.Hewroteanarticle in theNaples,Florida,DailyNewsofOctober13,2002,27years later.Thistimetherewereinsults.Heusestheterm"UFOFaithful"threetimes,totallyignoringthefact that even in 1977 the greater the education, themore likely to acceptUFO reality.Hestated that Walter Haut's press release about Roswell referred to the wreckage as a disk.Certainly.The terminology inuseat the time inhundredsofarticles subsequent toKennethArnold'sJune24,1947,observation,andpriortoHaut'sJuly8,1947,story,waseitherdiskorflyingsaucer.Theseweregenericterms.Bovaadded,"Thediskwasdefinitelyaflyingsaucer.Three alien crewmenhadbeen recovered, twoof themdead and the third badly injured." Iwouldbehappy topay$100 toanyonewhocanprovideanyarticle fromJuly1947 talkingaboutaliencrewmen.Thisistrulysciencefiction.

He added further nonsense with this comment: "For nearly half a century Roswell hasstoodasaclassicexampleof thegovernmenthiding the truth'about flyingsaucers."Funnythat the first such claims appeared in TheRoswell Incident in 1980, only 22 years earlier.Bovathenadmitstherewasacover-up(lasting47years),becauseRoswell,heclaims,wasaMogulballoon,citingKarlPflock'sbookRoswell:InconvenientFactsandtheWilltoBelieve(2001), even though nothing aboutMogul fits thewreckage, the timing, or the location ofwhatwas found nearRoswell. Pflock himselfwas active in science fiction circles, and theintroductiontohisbookwaswrittenbyanothersciencefictionwriter,JerryPournelle.Bovaalsocommentedabouthis"investigativeefforts"reUFOswhenhewaseditorofOMNI.Hesaid,"Itisalltooeasytofallforunsupportedstoriesthattelluswhatwewanttobelieve."Thisisanexcellentdescriptionofthenonsensebeingspoutedbyanti-UFOsciencefictionwriters.Theywanttobelievethereisnoevidencesotheywon'thavetoadmittheyhavebeenignoring

suchanimportantstoryforsolong.Theycreatescenariostobackupthisplotline,havingnobasisinfact.

Bova went further, rather surprisingly for someone who has spent so much time withfiction.He said, "Why the governmentwould try to cover up alien visitors is something Idon't understand."He really can't imagine the effect it would have on our society, and thedevelopmentofadvancedweaponryfromduplicating the technology?Healsosaid,"Howagovernment that leaks like a sieve could possibly cover up such a story for nearly half acenturyisbeyondmycomprehension."Ibelievehewasbeingtruthful,andnaive,becauseheseemednot tobeawareof themanymultibilliondollarblackbudgetprogramsdiscussed inChapter 4, which had not been publicly discussed until decades after coming to fruition.Naturallyheadded,alaAsimov,"Iwouldliketoseesomescrapofhardpalpableevidence."Herewe go againwith the foolish notion that absence of evidence in his sight or hand isevidenceforabsence,andthathewouldhaveaneed-to-knowtoseeit.

ArthurC.Clarke

Arthur C. Clarke is certainly one of the best-known science fictionwriters of the 20thcentury.Hewastheauthorof2001,and,perhapssurprisinglytosome,ofanumberofbooksrelatingtospacetravel.HewroteanearlystudydemonstratingthattheclaimsofDr.Campbellback in 1941 (about the difficulty of getting to themoon) as discussed in Chapter 2 werenonsense. He was the first to suggest that satellites in high orbits could be used ascommunication-relayers.HewasoneofthefoundersoftheBritishInterplanetarySociety(IdoubtheknewthatIhadbeenafellowoftheBIS).Itsjournalhadpublishedseveralextensivebibliographies on interstellar travel. He was, therefore, much more knowledgeable aboutadvancedspacetechnologythanwereAsimovandBova.Unfortunately,forwhateverreason,hechosetospeakoutaboutflyingsaucers,demonstratingasurprisinglyunscientificattitudein a generalmagazine: the summer 1971 issue of the Saturday Evening Post, which had alarge circulation at the time. The title was, "Whatever Happened to Flying Saucers?" Thearticleoccupiedafullpage.AswithAsimovandBova,heimpugnedthementalcompetenceofthosewhoclaimtohaveobservedUFOs.Hesaid,"ThePublicisnolongerworriedaboutthem-nolongernews.Thehystericalcredulityofthelate'40shasbeenreplaced-exceptinthe

mindsof the few surviving cultists-by a realization of the fact that the heavens are full ofextraordinary sights (astronomical, meteorological, and electrical)." I suspect he was alsoinfluencedbythefalseclaimsbytheUSAFwhenProjectBlueBookwasclosedattheendof1969,aswellasthetotallymisleadingandwidelypublicizedwordsofDr.Condonwhenthefinalreportofhisstudywasreleasedinearly1969.WhatClarkesaid,surprisingly,was thatwhatkilledthevisitors-from-spaceconceptwastheInternationalGeophysicalYear (IGY),aperiod from July 1957 toDecember 1958, dedicated to scientific efforts around theworld."Theyneverdiscoveredasingleflyingsaucer,"hesaid.Nobasisisgivenforthatstatement.UFO aficionados arewell aware that an excellent set of four daytime pictures of a flyingsaucerweretakenonboardtheBrazilianshipAlmiranteSaldanhaonJanuary16,1958,byanofficial naval photographer.The shipwas there off the IslandofTrinidade participating inInternationalGeophysicalYearactivities.Thereweremorethan40witnessesonthedeckofthe ship to the pictures being taken, and they were finally released to the public by thepresidentofBrazil,JuscelinoKubitschek.IhavenoreasontopresumethatClarkewouldhavehad a need-to-know for any official observations made for the United States or othergovernmentsbymilitaryparticipantsintheIGY(thoughit iscertainlytruethathewasverymuchinvolvedinthesecretdevelopmentofradarinBritainintheearly1940s).ThelaunchofSputnikonOctober4,1957,aspartoftheIGY,puttheUnitedStatesverymuchonedgeaboutanyspace-relatedphenomena.

ThebestoffourTrinidadeBrazilUFOpictures,relasedbytheBrazilianpresident.Courtesyoftheauthor.

Inhisarticle,ClarkediscussedtheBallisticMissileWarningradarsystemandthefactthatit iscapableofdetecting individualnutsandbolts.He implies that suchsystemshaveneverdetected UFOs-or, in the fancy intelligence-community language, "uncorrelated targets." Ican't find any reason to believe that he would have had a need-to-know and appropriatesecurity clearance for such observations about intruders inU.S. airspace in the late 1950s.There were no regular, open publications about uncorrelated targets. William Moore hadtriedusingtheFreedomofInformationActtoobtainsuchreportsforaparticularperiodoftime,andwasaskedforasearchfeeofmorethan$100,000.Oneofmyfantasiesusedtobe,whatwouldhavehappenedifsuchapaymenthadbeenmade?

Clarkestates thatwewon'thearanymoreabout"encounterswith littlegreenmen fromVenus"nowthatweknowabouttheconditionsonthesurfaceofVenus.Imustadmit,Ihaven'theardanylegitimateaccountsoflittlegreenmenfromVenus.Thatmaybeastapleofsciencefiction,buthardlyofscientificufology.But therehavecertainlybeenmany fascinating andapparently legitimate encounters between earthlings and aliens from outer space, rangingfrom the Betty and Barney Hill case (New Hampshire in September 1961), to the case ofCharlesHickson andCalvin Parker (Pascagoula,Mississippi, onOctober 11, 1973), to theTravisWaltonabduction(November5,1975).Theseandmanymorehavebeen investigatedbysuchmenofscienceasDr.LeoSprinkleoftheUniversityofWyoming,thelateDr.JamesHarderof theUniversityofCalifornia atBerkeley, and the lateDr. JohnMackofHarvard.Clarkeclaimed,"No-flyingsaucersaredead."Hesurelywasn'tmuchofaprophet,judgingbythe myriad of cases that have occurred since his article was published, and before it waswritten(aboutwhichheapparentlywasignorant).Ithinkofthe41excellentcasesreportedbyDr.JamesE.McDonaldinhisCongressionaltestimonyofJuly29,1968.

Clarkesaid,"Weandourworldareinnowayunique."Icertainlyagreewiththat,thoughitmayturnoutthatwehavemorethanourshareofvicious,evilfolks.Hethenasks,"Well,whyaren't there anyvisitors from space?Where is everybody?"Obviously I don't knowwhere

everybodyis.Idoknowthatthereisoverwhelmingevidencethatsomeofthebeingsfromoutthere have been reconnoitering Earth for some time, gathering and evaluating specimens,destroyingaircraftwhenattacked,monitoringtheflightcapabilitiesofour interceptors,andapparentlyignoringsuchsciencefictionlegendsasAsimov,Bova,andClarke.

In another good example of psychological projection, he says, in discussing why wehaven'tbeenvisited,thatweshouldwaitpatiently,"ratherthangetinvolvedinanymoreofthehalf andwhollybaked speculations,which, for the last 15 years, havehindered the seriousscientific approach to the most important question that man can ask of the Universe."Presumably he is talking aboutwhether or not aliens exist. Unfortunately, it is the Clarke,Bova, and Asimov writings about UFOs that must be considered half-baked; not those ofprofessional people such asMcDonald,Harder,Vallee,Hynek, Sturrock, and the like,whohavestudiedthedataindicatingthatEarthisbeingvisited.

IfounditintriguingthatinClarke's1968bookThePromiseofSpace,hestatedthat"after20yearsofthewretchedthings,IamboredtodeathwithUFOs.Anylettersonthesubjectwillnotbeforwardedbymypublishers.Ifforwarded,theywillnotberead.Andifread,theywillnotbeanswered."OnehastoaskwhyhewrotethearticleinthePost.HehasalsodabbledonTV,makingnegativeremarksonaDickCavittnetworkTVshowonNovember1,1973.Asamatteroffact,thesubjectwasbroachedonaprogramoftheTVserieshostedbyhimseveralyearslater,andhewasnotnearlysonegative.Earlyonhehadapparentlyindicatedinterest.Dr.DavidRudiak,anoutstandingresearcher, recentlydugoutaNewYorkTimesarticleofJune22,1952,which includeda reviewofClarke's just-publishedbookTheExplorationofSpacebyrocketexpertWillyLey."Eventhepossibilityoftripstoothersolarsystemsisgivensome attention," Ley writes. "Nobody, Mr. Clarke notes, will come out and say that heconsiders it a future possibility, but if anyone attempts to prove the total impossibility ofinterstellarflight,thereisagreatshowofindignationandcalculationsarepromptlyproducedrefuting the critics." In connectionwith this idea, Clarke carefully enters the flying saucercontroversy.Thequestion:Ifeveninterstellartravelseemsultimatelypossible,whyhavenoneoftheotherintelligentracespresumedtoexistevervisitedEarth?Hisansweristhatthismayhave happened before recorded history: "...themost reasonable attitude toward themwouldseem tobeoneofopen-minded skepticism." Ibuy that, thoughonewouldhope that strong

opinionswouldn'tbeexpressedwithoutseriousexaminationoftherelevantdata.

Againwehave certainty expressed about novisits, despite no effort to look at theveryevidenceindicatingtheplanetisbeingvisited.Itisperhapsfittingthatonhis90thbirthday,onDecember16,2007,ClarkewasquotedintheLondonObserverashavingthreewishesaboutwhat he would like to have happen before he died. First, he would like evidence ofextraterrestrial life. "Ihave alwaysbelieved thatwearenot alone in theuniverse," he says."ButwearestillwaitingforETstocallus-orgiveussomekindofasign."Thesecondwas,"Iwouldliketoseeuskickouraddictiontooilandadoptcleanenergysources."Thethirdwas,"IdearlywishtoseelastingpeaceestablishedinSriLankaassoonaspossible."(Hehaslivedtherefor50years.)Inmyview,thesignsofETareallabout.Ifonedoesn'tlook,onewillnotsee.

Many other comments about flying saucers have beenmade by science fictionwriters.OneIverymuchapproveofwasmadebyRobertHeinlein(1907-1988),a trulyoutstandingsciencefictionwriter.HewasaskedforhisviewsbyJ.NeilSchulmaninoneofmanywrittenquestionshe posed toHeinlein in June 1973. "DoesHeinlein think any of theUnidentifiedFlyingObjectshavebeenactualcontactswithbeingsfromouterspace?"heasked.Heinleinrespondedinascientificfashion,notafictionalone:"Idon'tknow,"heanswered."Isimplydon'thavedata.TherehavebeensomeUFOsightingsthatareextremelyhardtoexplain.I'mremindedofsomethingWillieLeysaidtome,oh,20or25yearsago.Hesaid,`Vun.Dereissomethingdere.Two,Idonotknowvatitis.'I'mjustaboutwhereWillyLeyputitthen;thereis somethingout thereand Idonotknowwhat it is."Sounds likeheplaced thequestion inwhatIwouldcallhis"graybasket."Thereisnothingwronginsaying"Idon'tknow."

A number of years ago I visited a science fiction book store inBerkeley, California. IaskedwheretheUFObookswere.Iwasinformed,withgreatdisdain,"Wedon'tcarryanyofthatgarbage."Perhapsitwouldbemuchmorehonest if thetermwassciencefiction.Ihave

oftensuggestedthattherereallyisaneedformoredoctoralthesesrelatedtoUFOs,besidesthe dozen or so that have already been done.A good onewould dealwith the intersectionbetweenflyingsaucersandsciencefiction.TheInternetcertainlymakesiteasiernowthanitwould have been 30 years ago: A recent Google search for "science fiction and flyingsaucers"returnedmorethan200,000hits.

UFOsandPublicOpinion

SomereadersmaybesurprisedtofindachapteronpublicopinionaboutUFOsinabookentitledFlyingSaucersandSciencebyanuclearphysicist.Thefactisthatpeople'sopinions(nomatterhowinaccurate)aboutflyingsaucersareanimportantpartofthemix,especiallywhen they are (often) completely incorrect. Opinions have a strong influence on both thepressandthescientificcommunity.FordecadesIhavebeenaskingthis firstquestion in thequestion-and-answer session after my more than 700 lectures: "How many people herebelievetheyhaveseenwhatIwouldconsidertobeaflyingsaucer?"Idefinemytermsatthebeginningofmylecture,whichisentitled"FlyingSaucersAREReal."IstressthatIamonlyinterested in reports by competent observers of strange phenomena in the sky or on theground that the observer cannot identify, and which also remain unidentified afterinvestigation by competent investigators. Furthermore, their appearancemust indicate theyare manufactured, and their behavior that they are manufactured elsewhere than on Earth(because we can't build things that look and act that way). Therefore, they were builtsomewhereotherthanonEarth.However,thesecasesmaynottelluswherethealienvisitorsoriginate, why they are here, how they operate, and why they don't do many things somebelievetheywouldorshould.

IusuallymakeajokethattheCIAwasn'tinvited.Normallythefirsthandsthatgoupareraisedhesitantly,becauseeachwitnessseemstobeundertheimpressionthatheorsheistheonlyoneintheaudiencewhomayhaveseenone.TheyknowIwon'tlaugh,buthowabouttherestofthecrowd?Ipointandcounthands:1,2,3...whenIfinallygettotheothersideof thehall,thehandsgoupmuchmorereadily,apparentlyoutofreliefthateachwitnessobviouslyisn'ttheonlyone.Typically,thenumberofwitnessesisabout10percentoftheaudience.SoifIhave500attendees, that'sabout50UFOsighters.Then Iask,"Howmanyofyou reportedwhatyousaw?"Typically,90percentofthehandsgodown.Ifthereseemtobeappropriatehandsleft(nottooyoung),Iask,"Howmanyofyouwereinthemilitaryatthetime?"Ifsomehands are still left, I ask, "Do you want to tell us about it?" I get some very interestinganswers.Oneman,infrontof1,350peopleatEastTexasStateUniversity,said,"Ican't;theytoldmenottosayanything."Another,atIndianaUniversityinIndianapolis,said,"Theytookmypictures."Iwaited,andthensaid,"Iwon'taskyournameandyoudon'tneedtostandup,

but Iamsure theaudiencewould like tohear the restof the story."Everybodyclapped.Heremainedseatedandsaid,"Iwaspilotingafour-engineUSAFplaneoverthePacificwhentheplane20milesaheadradioedthattherewasasaucerheadingourway.Wehadguncamerasandmanagedtogetsomepictures.Weradioedthebasetowhichwewereheading,sincethefilmishandledbyintelligencepeopleatthebase,notthecrew.Whenwelanded,theytookthefilm,andthecrewwasdebriefedandtoldnevertosayanything."

I have heardmany similar stories.One formermilitaryman toldme hewould tellmeaboutitlater.Herelatedthis,nearmytable:"IwasflyingahelicopterinVietnamwhenasleeksaucerflewaroundustwice.WethoughtitmustbeanewRussianvehicleandwewouldsoonbe dead. It just dashed off. So back at base, as required, I reported the observation. Thecommand likes to know about new enemy technology. The next day the base commandercameoverandasked,Youdidn'tseeanythingstrangeyesterdayLieutenantJones,didyou?'Isaid,`Yes,sir.IdidandIreportedit.'Hesaid,Youdidn'thearme,didyouLieutenantJones?T'Well,sir...,' [Isaid.]`Doyoulikeflying,Lt.Jones?' [heaskedme].`Yes,sir.'Youdidn't seeanythingstrangeyesterdaydidyou?TNo,sir."'

Thepointofrelatingthesestoriesisthatmostpeopleseemtofeelthatsightingsareveryrare, and some still think there is no cover-up or intimidation of witnesses. Furthermore,whenpeoplequietlytellmeoftheirsightings,oftenfor thefirst time,Iaskwhytheyhadn'treported it. The answer is usually, "They would think I was some kind of a nut." Fear ofridiculeseemstobeapowerfulhumanconcern.Concernwithnationalsecurityisanother,forpeoplewhohavehadsecurityclearances.

Once,inacampusclassroom,manyhoursbeforemylecture,Itoldaclassofabout100studentsthatIwantedtoknowtheirfeelingsaboutsomethings,butdidn'twanttheirvotestobeinfluencedbytheirclassmates,soIaskedthemtorespondbyraisingtheirhands,butwiththeireyesclosed.TheirinstructorandIwouldcountthevotes.Iwantedtofindoutfirstwhatthey thought other people thought about flying saucers, and then what they themselvesthought.About80percentfeltthatmostpeopledidn'tbelievethatanyUFOswereintelligently

controlledETspacecraft.Whenaskedfortheirownopinions,however,80percentsaidtheydid thinksomeUFOswerealien spacecraft.Myobservation is thatpeople'sbehavior is farmoredeterminedbytheirperceptionofhowotherswillreactthanbytheirownbeliefs.Mostpeople,perhapsunderstandably,aresheep,notshepherds.

Thisperceptionof settingoneselfup for ridiculehas some seriousconsequences:Mostpeopleareclearlyunwillingtoreport theirsightings;mostpeopleare likely to laughwhensomeoneelsebringsupthesubject;mostprofessorsarenotwillingtoteachacourseaboutUFOs,andarereluctanttosponsoragraduatethesis.Fortunatelytherehavebeenanumberofcourses taught by courageous professors, and at least a dozen PhD theses done on UFO-related topics. For example, my talk at East Texas State University was sponsored by thephysicsdepartmentprofessor,whowasteachingsuchacourse,andhadmespeaktohisclassaswellasatthelargepublicaudience.Thefunnythingis,afteritwasdeterminedthatmanystudentswere interested, theEnglish department tried to get the course and entitle it "UFOLiterature." (Department income was partially related to the number of students taking acourse.)Thephysicsdepartmentwonthebattle.

Perhapsofmoreconcernis thefact thatmanypeopleinthemediaareafraid tocoveraUFOlectureorasightingreportinaseriousfashionbecausetheirbosseshaveindicatedtheywant a light story, as there is nothing to this silly stuff about UFOs. This also means thereporters see no point in getting educated about the topic. I can guarantee ignorance iswidespread.

Ifrequentlyrunacrosscommentssuchas,"Ofcoursemostpeopledon'tbelieveinUFOs,"and"Certainlymostscientistsdon't."Iknowthatmostpeopleareunfamiliarwiththeseverallarge-scalescientificstudiesdiscussedinChapter1,becauseIask,afterIshowaslideandtalkabouteachone, "Howmanyherehave read this?"Typically it isonly Ior2percent. Iwasasked to speak toagroupofCanadian journalistshavinganannualconference inSt. John,NewBrunswick. The letter I received later indicated that there had been a huge change inattitudeaftermylecture.Attendeeshadhadnoideatherewassomuchsolidinformation,as

opposedtothetabloidnonsensetheythoughtwastheprimarysourceofUFOdata.

AgoodexampleofhowimportantperceptionofattitudesiscameinOctober1994whenIwas on the outdoor set of a two-hour Larry King broadcast from way out near Rachel,Nevada (populationabout105),more than100milesnorthofLasVegas, andnot far fromArea51.Therewerefourliveguests:Dr.StevenGreer,researcherKevinRandle,localArea51expertGlennCampbell,andmyself.Theshowwasduetostartat5p.m.localtimefortheTurnerNetwork.InmidafternoonIaskedoneoftheproducers(nottheoneIhadbeendealingwith)whetherwewouldbetakingphonecallsinthisremoteplace.Shesaid,"Oh,yes.TheywillcomeintoAtlantaandbetransferredbysatellitetothattruckwayoverthere.Wewill,ofcourse,screenthemveryclosely,becausemostpeopledon'tbelieveinUFOs."Ireactedverystrongly,sayingthatthepolls(discussedinamoment)showedthatthatsimplywasn'ttrue.Notonly were believers in the majority, but also the greater the education, the more likely apersonistoacceptflyingsaucerreality.

Shewasshocked,buttheimportantimpactofthefalseperceptionwasthat,oftheroughly10shortclipsshownofvarious"experts,"thegreatmajoritywerefromnoisynegativists.Thereasonwasthatif,forexample,Timemagazinegets50lettersaboutanarticleand80percentarefavorable,theymightonlypublish10,buteightwouldbefavorable,toreflecttheattitudesoftheresponders.Oneofthe"experts"wasCanadianactorWilliamShatner(apparentlysomethoughtofhimasaspacescientistorastronaut!).Hemadeafoolishcommenttotheeffectthatwitnessesareonlywishful thinkingbypeoplewhowantBigBrother fromthe sky to comedownandsavethem!Inshort,falseperceptionstooktheplaceofreality.

Publicopinionpollsareoftendifficulttointerpret,becausetheinterpretationdependsonhowrandomlytherespondentswereselected,thesizeofthesample,howthequestionswereworded, and how themedia often presents a quickie or even quirky version of a complexsituation.Forexample,whatdoyoumeanifyousay,"UFOsarereal?"Askepticmightsay,ofcoursethereare"real"unidentifiedflyingobjectsintheeyesofthebeholder,buttheycanallbeexplained.Somemight take thewordUFOtobea short formof "ExtraterrestrialSpace

Ship."Inamomentyouwillseeaquestionasking,"Doyouthinktherearebeingssimilartousonotherplanets?"Well,doesthatmeanhumanoid,withtwoarms,twolegs,ahead,andabody?Wouldlittleguysunder4feettallwithbigheads,skinnybodies,largeeyes,practicallyno ears, a slit for amouth, and grayish skin be considered "similar to" us?Once, after alecturetoapackedauditoriumattheUniversityofManitobainWinnipeg,thefirstquestionerintheaudience(Iselecttotallyatrandomfromraisedhands)askedmetopollthataudience,asIhadearliershownaslideofsomeofGallupresults(shownonpage207).IindicatedthatIwasn'taccustomedtoaskingtheattendeestosticktheirnecksout.Herespondedthathedidn'tthinkpeoplewouldmind.Theaudienceclapped,soIasked,"HowmanythinksomeUFOsarealien spacecraft?" and "How many think no UFOs are alien spacecraft?" Only about 10percentsaidnoUFOsareETcraft.Thiswashardlyafairpollorrandomsampling,becausetheyhad just sat througha fact-loaded90-minute illustrated lectureentitled"FlyingSaucersAREReal,"but itshouldencouragethosewhowant tospeakout-withfacts inhandfirst,ofcourse.

Publicity in thepresscanbemisleadingaswell. In1966 thepresscoverage focusedononly46percentbelievinginUFOs,clearlyimplyingthat54percentdidnot.Infact,only29percentdidn'tbelieve.Theother25percentweren'tsure.Onecan'tcounttheuncertainvotesoneithersideofthequestion.

It seemed strange to me that many scientists are under the false impression that mostpeople,andespeciallymostscientists,don'tbelieve.Dr.J.AllenHynek,thenthechairmanofthe astronomy department at Northwestern University, and Project Blue Book scientificconsultant until 1969, once told me in his office, "Stan, the problem is that 90 percent ofscientistsdon'tbelieveinUFOs."Hemayhavebeenrightifhehadrestrictedhiscommenttoastronomers,butphysicists,chemists,biologists,geologists,andsoon,arealsoscientists. Idid point out that I had a good response from various engineering societies. Amazingly,debunker Phil Klass similarly claimed in UFOs Explained that the ratio of believers tononbelieversisabout1to11.ThoughbothauthorsstronglydisagreedaboutUFOs,theywerealsobothtotallywrongaboutwhatpercentagebelievessomearereal-asthedatashows.IwascertainlyconvincedthatoneofthereasonsHynekhadbeensoreluctanttotakeastrongpublicstand foranyUFOsasalien spacecraft is the falseperception that the scientific community

wouldcomedownhardonhim.IwaspresentwhenhewasintroducedataUCLAlecturebyProfessorAbell of theUCLAastronomydepartment,with a number of negative commentsaboutthesubject.Hynekdidnotrespondatall,otherthanbeingapologeticabouteventalkingaboutUFOs.Ifeltforalongtimethatoneofthereasonsscientistswerereluctanttospeakoutwas a combination of Allen's failure to speak out and the noisy negativism from anotherastronomer,Dr.DonaldMenzel,ofHarvard.Thethinkingwouldbethatiftherewasanythingtothissubject,theywouldhavespokenoutpositively.

Dr.JamesE.McDonald,anatmosphericphysicistwhomIconsider tohavebeen the topufologistever,wastotallyshockedwhenhevisitedProjectBlueBook in the1960s inOhioand found case after case that was challenging, and yet had been casually dismissed. HeblamedHynek for not alerting the scientific community. (Their battle is described in AnnDruffle'soutstandingbookFirestorm:Dr. JamesE.McDonald'sFight forUFOScience.)AnumberofhisbestcaseswerepresentedattheCongressionalhearingsof1968.Itshouldbenoted that Menzel's first book, Flying Saucers, had been published in 1953 (and eventranslated into Russian). Hynek had favorably reviewed Menzel's book, despite its beingunscientific and biased. McDonald, in contrast, wrote papers scientifically destroyingMenzel's"scientific"explanations,butnotmanygeneralarticles.AsIwilldiscussinChapter11,Menzel had been involved in highly classified intelligence activities with theNSA, theCIA,andsoon,andwasamemberof theTOPSECRETOperationMajestic12.Hewas theonlyoneofthe12originalmemberswhohadwrittensciencefiction,sohewouldhavebeenperfect for debunking and influencing the scientific and journalistic communities. HisnegativeviewswerepresentedindepthintheJune9,1952issueofTimemagazine.(Thiswasbefore the huge flap of sightings over Washington in July 1952.) Perhaps this was inaccordancewiththecommentintheNovember18,1952,EisenhowerBriefingDocument(seeChapter11)about"asignificantupsurgeinthesurveillanceactivityofthesecraftbeginninginMayandcontinuingthroughtheautumn...."

AseriesofGalluppollsusingthesamequestionseachtimewereconductedthroughoutaperiodofmanyyears,withresultsshowninTable1onpage207.Becauseoftheunsurevote,Ihavealsoincludedthepercentageofthosewhoexpressedanopinion,leavingthevotesfor"notsure"outofthepicture.Ireallydon'tlikethewordbeliever,butIamstuckwithit.Notice

that thebelieversoutnumberednonbelievers each time, except for thosewithonly agrade-schooleducation in1978.JamesOberg,whoworked in the spaceprogramformanyyearsandhasbeenconsistentlyanti-UFO,claimedthatthereasonforthehighnumberofbelieverswasallthetabloidTVprogramsandtabloidnewspaperarticlestoutingUFOreality.Dr.CarlSagansurprisinglycited the tabloidWeeklyWorldNewsmore thananyother sourceaboutUFOs in his book Demon Haunted World. This is a testable hypothesis. Presumably, thegreatertheeducation,thelesslikelytobeinfluencedbytabloids.Thepollsnormallyincludedresultsasafunctionoftheeducationandageoftherespondentsaswellasbysexandregionofthecountry.

Do note that the greater the education, themore likely a person is to be a believer! Ingeneral, theolder the individual, the less likely tobe abeliever, at least back in the1960s,'70s, and '80s.Thismaywellhave something todowith the fact thatmanyyears agomostscientistsassumed that theprocess thatproduced theplanets inour solar systemwasa rarenearcollisionoftwostars.Consideringhowfarapartstarsarefromeachother,thiswouldn'thappen often (aren't we lucky), and there may well be no other planetary systems in theneighborhood.Muchnewerastronomicalscienceindicatesthatplanetaryformationispartofthe life history of many stars.We know that more than 290 exoplanets have already beendiscovered,despitethecrudeobservationalinstrumentsthatarepresentlyinuse.AsnotedinChapter 2, new techniques for measuring the distances to stars in the neighborhood haveimproved enormously as we have used instruments that are outside the atmosphere, onsatellites, rather than on the surface of the Earth. Within 25 years it is expected that newsatelliteswillbeinspaceandabletodiscernplanetsaroundallthestarsnearby,ifthereareany there. This means, of course, that an alien civilization a little older and moretechnologicallysophisticatedthanours(sayamerethousandyears)wouldhavebeenabletodo that a relatively long time ago. I think every library in the local galactic neighborhoodwouldknowthatthereisadvancedtechnologicallifeonEarth.Also,beforethefirst landingonthemoonin1969,thereweremanywell-educatedscoffersaboutspacetravel.Ifwecan'tget to themoon, they thought, thenmanned trips to other planets in the solar system, andcertainlybeyond,wouldbeimpossible.HereisatypicalnegativestatementabouttraveltothemoonfromLeeDeForest,thefatherofmodernelectronics:"Toplaceamaninamulti-stagerocket and project him into the controlling gravitational field of the moon, where thepassengerscanmakescientificobservations,perhapslandalive,andthenreturntoEarth;allthatconstitutesawilddreamworthyofJulesVerne.Iamboldenoughtosaythatsuchaman-

mademoonvoyagewillneveroccur,regardlessofallfuturescientificadvances."(February25,1957,St.LouisPostDispatch.) It tookonly12years toaccomplish the impossible.TheAstronomerRoyal of theUKwas also quoted around that time as saying space travelwas"utterbilge."

An importantpollwas takenby IndustrialResearchandDevelopmentMagazineback in1971,andrepeatedagainin1979.Thisisacontrolledcirculationmonthlypublicationgoingtoabout100,000peopleinvolvedinresearchanddevelopmentactivities,andthereforehavingahigher level of education than the general public. As a matter of fact, 40 percent had BSdegrees,25percenthadMastersdegrees,and23percenthadaPhD.Theyhaveareader-reply-cardpollineveryissueaboutanyofawidevarietyoftopics.NoteinTable3onpage209thefavorableresponseinbothpolls,againwithbelieversoutnumberingnonbelievers.Ifindthisconsistentwith theenthusiastic responseI receivefromlectures toR&Dpeople. Itwasalsofoundthatperhaps8to12percentoftherespondentshavehadsightings.

Moreor less similarpollshavebeenconductedbyotherprofessionalgroups.Dr.PeterSturrock, now a retired Stanford University astrophysicist, polled the membership of theAmericanAstronomicalSociety.Unfortunately,heuseddifferentquestionsthanthoseusedbyGalluporR&D,sodirectcomparisonscannotbemade.Hehadalso, in1973,surveyed themembers of the San Francisco chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics andAstronautics.Animportant(andunsurprising)resultofSturrock'ssurveywasthefactthatthegreatertheamountoftimeonespentonreadingUFO-relatedmaterial,themorelikelyoneisto accept their reality. Sturrock found that there had indeed been sightings (more than 5percent), but almost none of the respondents would allow their names to be used. A widediversityofopinionswasexpressed.

GertHerbconductedasurveyofamateurastronomerswho,asarule,spendmoretimeatnightoutside lookingat thesky thandoprofessionalswho rarely look through scopes, butprograminstrumentstoexamineandphotographaparticularpreprogrammedlocationinthesky.He had responses from1,805members of theAmericanAstronomicalLeague.Of therespondents, 23.9 percent claimed to have observed "an object which resisted [their] mostexhaustiveeffortsat identification";8.9percenthadseenaHighStrangenessObject.Only6percentwereskepticalaboutUFOs.

Strangely,despitethefacts,acommonclaimbydebunkersisthatneitherprofessionalnoramateur astronomers ever see UFOs! Dr. David Morrison, senior scientist of NASA'sprestigious Astrobiology Institute at Ames Laboratory near San Francisco, made such aridiculousclaimineSkeptic,ablogmagazinepublishedbySKEPTICmagazinepublisherDr.Michael Shermer, in November, 2007. There is no reference to any of these sources, ofcourse.ShermerandIclashedonaLarryKingshowonJuly13,2007,andagaininathree-hourdebate(justthetwoofus)onGeorgeNoory'sCoasttoCoastradioprogramonAugust1,2007.Noorypolledhisaudienceattheend;80percentthoughtIwonthedebate.Thereasonwas obvious: Shermer had apparently not done any homework about the subject, ever. Hegavenoreferences,madefalseclaims,andsoon.Inthe19daysbetweenthetwoprogramsI

dugouttwoofhisbooksfromtheUniversityofNewBrunswickLibraryandwasabletousehiswords to refute his own arguments. He hadn't bothered to get any data or to read mybooks. Some psychologist ought to do a PhD thesis on resistance toUFO reality by someprofessionals. Shermer's explanation inWhy Smart People BelieveWeird Things of whysensiblepeoplebelievestrangethingscertainlyappliestothose,suchashimself,whoclaimthat there is nothing toUFOs.On page 283 hewrites, "Smart people believeweird thingsbecausetheyareskilledatdefendingbeliefstheyarrivedatfornon-smartreasons."Hegivesasecondreason,whichIfindequallyimportantforthewelleducateddebunkers,onpage299:"TheConfirmationBias,or the tendency to seekor interpret evidence favorable toalreadyexistingbeliefsandtoignoreorreinterpretevidenceunfavorabletoalreadyexistingbeliefs."Thisisamuchmoresophisticatedwayofgivingoneofmymajorrulesfordebunkers:"Don'tbothermewiththefacts;mymindismadeup."Shermercontinuedtoexpresshis irrationalnegativityinappearancesinJanuary2008,attackingthesightingsinStephenville,Texas,onLarryKingandelsewhere.

SomepeopleactuallythinkthatastronomyprofessorsusetheirtelescopestolookaroundtheskiesandwouldsurelyseeUFOs.However,asmalltelescopeseesonlyaverytinyregionofthesky.Rarelyareairplanesseen,because,notonlyisthefieldofviewverysmall,butalsoaplaneorUFOwouldpassthroughitalmostinstantaneously.

Animportantpollhadbeenconductedin1991and1998bytheRoperOrganizationtotrytodeterminenot onlypeople's views, but also some indication as to howmanyAmericansmayhavebeenabductedbyalienvisitors.Anumberofquestionswereaskedthatindividuallydidn'tmeantoomuch.Itwasthoughtthatiftherewasayesanswertofouroutoffiveof thequestions, therewasagreat likelihoodthat therespondenthadhadanabductionexperience.Thepollhasbeentakenseveraltimes,andseemstoindicatethatperhapsIto2percentofthepublichavebeenabducted.Thatiswelloveramillionpersons.Muchnewspapercoveragehasunfortunatelyimpliedthatthatnumberofpeoplehadclaimedtobeabducted,whichisnotthecase.Thestatistics,whenoneisdealingwithasmallsubsetof10 to15peopleof the1,000polled, arepoor. Inaddition,whatdoesonedoabout falsepositives? Inallmedical testingone typically finds initial test results suggesting that a certain condition might be present,when subsequent,more sophisticated tests indicate the initial diagnosiswas in error.There

mayalsobefalsenegatives:peoplewho,uponlatertesting,doturnouttohavetheconditionbeingevaluated.Asitturnedout,about7percentofrespondentsinbothpollsindicatedtheyhadseenaUFO.Somedayitmightbepossibletotestalargenumberof"certifiedabductees"andacontrolpopulation to try toevaluate the test results.The importantpoint is that somesignificant number of Americans have apparently been abducted. If, as noted previously,peoplearereluctanttoreportacommongarden-varietyUFOsighting, theywouldbemuchlesslikelytoreportanabduction,especiallyifthememoryissuppressed,aswasthecaseinthe abduction of Betty andBarneyHill (described in Captured! TheBetty andBarneyHillUFOExperiencebymyselfandKathleenMarden,Betty'sniece).

UnsophisticatedPolls

Aside from the large-scale, sophisticated polls, many more have been conductedinvolving people responding to a TV or radio show. Here are some examples: On April28,1974,TheSanDiegoTVstationKFMBaskeditslistenerstorespondwithayesornotothisquestion:"DoyoubelievethatUFOshavebroughtintelligentvisitorstoEarthfromOuterSpace?"ThequestionwasaskedinconjunctionwithadebateaboutUFOsbetweenmyselfandDr. Elia Schneor, a former member of the National Academy of Sciences Committee onExtraterrestrialLife.A totalof361people (75percent) saidyes, andonly116 (25percent)saidno.TVOntario, an educationalTVnetwork, had a debate betweenmyself (on the proside)andDr.RobertF.Garrison,aUniversityofTorontoastronomer(ontheconside).Thediscussionquestionon theFebruary1983programSpeakingOutwas,"Doyoubelieve thatsomeUFOsareextraterrestrialspacecraft?"Thetallywasrecordedelectronicallyfromcallsplacedtoonenumberforyesandanothernumberforno.Of the1,244votesrecorded,908(74percent)wereyes,withonly336(26percent)beingno.Ipresumetheaverageeducationalattainmentoftheviewersishigherthanforthegeneralpublic,asthevotematchesthatofthe1978Galluppollforthosewithacollegebackground.

OnMarch 14, 1988, a UFO debunker, the late Philip Klass, and I, appeared on a live,widely distributed TV program called PeopleAre Talking in Secaucus, New Jersey. AtelephonepollwasconductedusingtheGalluppollquestion(realorimaginary),withoutthe"unsure"category.Fully83percentofthecallerssaidUFOsarereal.

I also found friendly audiences in England. In October 1995 I did a debate at OxfordUniversity Debating Union. The debate concerned the statement, "This house believes thatintelligent alien life has visited planet Earth." My teammate on the pro side was barrister(attorney)HarryHarris.InoppositionwasEnglishauthorPeterBrookesmithandacoupleofstudents.Iusedslidesofdata.Peterusedquotesfromtabloids.AboutamonthlaterhecalledtobuycopiesofsomeofthereportsIdistribute-alittlelate.Avotewastakenofdebateunionmembers:60percentsaidmyteamwon.Thiswasparticularlysatisfying,asIdidatotalof41interviews while giving a number of lectures during that visit to England. None of thejournalistswerewell informedatall.Thedebatewasactuallycoveredbya reporter for theForteanTimes(namedafterCharlesFort,whowasanearlycollectorofvariousanomalies).Hisarticlewasn'tused,apparentlybecausemyteamhadwonthedebate!

OnJune27,1997, theITVTVnetwork in theUKsponsoredamuch less formal debatewithalivestudioaudienceandanationwideTVaudience.MyteamincludedtwotopEnglishufologists, Nick Pope and Tim Good. The other team had three PhDs: a physicist, anastronomer,andapsychologist.Noneofthemhaddoneanyhomework.Theaudiencecalledintheirvotesinresponsetothisquestion:"ArealiensvisitingEarth?"Myteamgot92,000ofthe100,000votes.Thatisapowerfulaffirmation.Theliveaudiencevotedbeforethedebate.Only73percentsaidyes.

None of these polls could be considered scientific, and all involved exposure by therespondentstocommentsbymyselfandbynonbelievers.Buttheydohelppeopleunderstandmyresponsewhenwell-meaningreporterssuggestImustgetahardtimeforcomingonsostrongly. Idon't, asdemonstratedby the fact that in40yearsof lecturing tomore than700audiences,Ihaveonlyhad11hecklers,twoofwhomweredrunk.IamsureIwouldhavehadatleastasmanyifIwastalkingaboutsports,religion,orpolitics.

Itcomesasasurprisetomanypeople,butseveralpublicopinionpollswerealsotakenforthe University of Colorado Study of UFOs as reported in the Condon report. There is adetailed chapter (pages 209 to 243)with a total of 21 tables of data.The 1966Gallup poll

results were reviewed, and a variety of polls taken in 1968 of adults, teenagers, UFOobservers,collegestudents, those takingcoursesonUFO,andsoon.Theseagain indicatedthatthegreatertheeducation,themorelikelyoneistobeabeliever,andthatmore than60percentoftherespondentsfeltthatthegovernmentwasnotrevealingallitknows.Dr.Condondid note the positive effect of education on attitudes in his summary, but added(unsurprisingly, in light of his many unsubstantiated negative comments about UFOs):"Perhaps this result says something about how the school system trains students in criticalthinking."Iwouldsayhiscommentreflectsbothhisbiasandhisignoranceofthesubject.

Overandoveragainpollshaveshownthatasubstantialmajoritybelievethegovernmenthasn't told us all it knows about UFOs. And yet over and over again I hear derogatorycommentsfromnoisynegativistsaboutsupposedconspiracytheorists.Havingworkedundersecurity for 14 years, I have never thought that keeping classified materials classifiedconstituted a conspiracy. It is following regulations established under law. No, we are notguaranteed access to any classifiedmaterials,much less to them all. Rule number one forsecurity is thatonecan't tellone's friendswithout tellingone's enemies.There arenationalsecurityconsiderationsforallcountries:Thefirstcountrytoduplicatesaucertechnologymaywellruletheworld.Flyingsaucerscanflycirclesaroundanythingweearthlingscanfly.Wecertainlydon'twantanybodyelsetoknowwhatwehavelearnedfrommonitoringUFOflightsandfromanalysisofwreckage.Wealsowouldliketotrytodeterminewhatothercountrieshavelearned.Thosewhoscoffatthenotionofacover-uphaven'tbeenabletoshowwhatisunder thewhite-outon156formerlyTOPSECRETULTRApagesofoldUFO informationfromtheNSA,orthemanyheavilyblacked-outpagesfromtheCIA.Peoplelookingatthesedocumentshavesometimesaskedmeifthatwaslegal.Yes,itislegal.Frustrating?Yes.Butthedocumentsprovideproofthatmaterialisbeingwithheld.

Asanindicationofhowmuchthingshavechangedin60years,herearetheresultsoftheAugust1947Galluppollquestion,"Whatdoyouthinkthesesaucersare?"

Noticethat"spaceshipsfromotherplanets"wasn'tevenacategoryonthelist!Alsonoticethat,althoughtheGermanshadusedV-1andV-2rocketstobombEngland,notmanythoughtflyingsaucerswereRussianrockets,despitethefactthatthecoldwarwasrapidlyheatingupin 1947. The weather balloon explanation for Roswell on July 9, and mention of tests ofweatherballoonssupposedlyexplainingawayUFOsingeneral,don'tseemtohavehadmuchinfluenceonthesurveyresults.Incidentally,therewasahighawarenessscorefor"HaveyoueverheardaboutFlyingSaucers?"Manymaynotbeawarethattherewasahugeamountofnewspaper coverageof flying saucers (or flyingdisks) in July 1947, especially during theJuly4weekendbeforetheJuly8Roswellcoverage.ThephonyweatherballoonexplanationforRoswellonJuly8and9didn'tseemtohaveconvincedtoomanypeople.

Therealityof flyingsaucersasalienvisitors isnotdeterminedbypublicopinionpolls.However,onecanunderstandwhytherehasbeensomuchdisinformationandmisinformationputoutbypeoplesuchasColonelWeaverinhisviciouslyinaccurateRoswellReport:Factvs.FictionintheNewMexicoDesert.Aslongasthepressemphasizesthenasty,noisynegativismofthedebunkers,manyscientists,journalists,politicians,andretiredmilitarypeoplewillbereluctanttospeakoutforfearofridicule.

Itwouldcertainlyappeartobepasttimetoliftthelaughtercurtainthatgetsinthewayoffull disclosureby individuals, and inhibits full investigationby scientists and journalists. Ifyouarereadytospeakout,pleasecontactmeatfsphys@rogers.com.Mytoll-freenumberisonmyWebsite,www.stantonfriedman.com.

UpdateonCrashedSaucersatRoswell

ItissurprisingtomethattherecoveryofcrashedsaucersinsoutheasternNewMexicoinJuly1947isstillamajorboneofcontentionin2008.Ibeganthecivilianinvestigationoftheso-calledRoswellIncidentbackintheearly1970s,havingfirstheardaboutitfromawomannamedLydiaSleppy,whohadbeenworkingataradiostationinAlbuquerque.Iwastalkingtoherwithanassociate, the lateBobbiAnnSlateGironda,withwhomIhadbeenworkingonsomeUFOmagazinearticles.Shewasafinewriter.I,asascientist,hadtomakethingsclearenoughthatshecouldunderstand themandwrite theminpopular language.WehadspokenwithSleppy's son, aCalifornia forest ranger,whohadhad an excellent recent sighting.Hesuggestedwetalktohismother,whohadhadagoodsightingintheAlbuquerqueareamanyyears earlier. Her sighting was an interesting one, and she mentioned that years ago herstationhadreceivedacallfromtheirRoswell,NewMexico,affiliateaboutacrashedsaucer.Shewasagood typist, thoughnota journalist,andwasasked to type thestoryon thenewswire. TheRoswell source said that a saucer had crashed andwas being shipped toWrightFieldinOhio.AsshetypedthestoryfortheAssociatedPresswire,abellwentoff.Amessagesaid,"Donotcontinuethistransmission,FBI."ShecheckedwiththeRoswellsourceandwastoldtofollowinstructions.Ihadheardseveralearlierstoriesaboutsupposedcrashes,suchasfromacharacternamedRobertSpencerCarr,buthadbeenquiteunimpressedwhenIcheckeduponit.

IfollowedupwithseveralofthepeoplewhosenamesLydiacouldremember.ButIcouldonlygosofar-peopleeithercouldn'trememberorcouldn'tbefound.SoIfiledLydia'sstory.Icould find no reason not to believe what she said. Thus, I was ready when, entirely byaccident,IagainheardaboutaRoswellcrashedsaucerstoryin1978.IwasataTVstationinBatonRouge,Louisiana,scheduledtodothreedifferentinterviewstopromotemylecturethateveningatLouisianaStateUniversity.Thestationmanagerknewthewomanwhohadbroughtme to the station. The first two interviewswent offwithout a hitch; the third reporterwasnowhere to be found (there were no cell phones back then). The station manager, JohnnyAllen,wasgivingmecoffee,lookingathiswatch,andfranklywasembarrassed.HeknewI

had other things to do.Completely out of the blue, he suddenly said, "The guy you reallyought to talk to is Jesse Marcel. He handled wreckage of one of those saucers you areinterested in when he was in the military." I was shocked. I thought, my lecture title was"FlyingSaucersAREReal,"sopresumablyhefeltsafe talkingtome.Itwasclearhewasn'tjoking.Therewasnooneelsearound,soIaskedformoreinformation."JesseandIareoldhamradiobuddies,"hesaid."HelivesoverinHouma.Greatguy.Yououghttotalktohim."Ihad no idea where Houmawas (though I have been there since, to interviewMarcel).Wetalkedabitmore,andAllenspokeveryhighlyofMarcel.Finally thereportershowedup. Ididtheinterviewandmovedon,andhadagreatresponsethatnightatLSU.IfoundoutmuchlaterthatallAllenhadreallyknownwaswhatwasinaNewOrleansnewspaperarticleaboutthe crash. It hadmentioned Jesse having been fromHouma.Years later,whenAllen askedMarcelaboutit,hewastold:"Ican'tsayanythingaboutthat."

The next day, from the Baton Rouge airport, I called information in Houma, and thentalkedtoMarcel.Ididn'thaveataperecorderwithme,and,ofcourse,Ihadnoideathat30yearslaterIwouldstillbeworkingonthecase.Hegavemearundownontheevent:Hewastheintelligenceofficerofthe509thBombGroupbasedatRoswell,andonthatSundayhewasthe duty officerwhen the sheriff called to say that a local rancher had come inwith somestrangewreckage.Therewasanagreementbetween thebase, thenknownasRoswellArmyAirField(RAAF),andthesheriff,thathewouldcallthemifanythinghappenedthatmightberelatedtothebase(itcouldbeadrunkenairman,anairplanecrash,orthelike).Thesheriffsaidthematerialwasverystrange.Marceltalkedtothebasecommander,ColonelBlanchard,whoinstructedhimtocheckitoutatthesheriff'sofficeafewmilesnorthofthebase.Marceldidso,andreportedto thecolonel that theranchersaid therewasa lotof thisverystrangestuffinsmallpiecesoutatthesheepranchhemanaged.Marcelsaidhecouldn'tidentifyanyofthestuff;therewasnothingconventionalaboutit.

ColonelBlanchardtoldMarceltofollowtheranchertotheranch,andtakealongoneoftheCounter IntelligenceCorpsguys,SheridanW."Cav"Cavitt.The colonelwas concernedaboutwhomightbespyingonthe509th,whichwasthemostelitemilitaryunitintheworld,having dropped two atomic bombs on Japan in August 1945 to end WWII. They wereinvolvedin1946withtheexplosionoftwomorenuclearweaponsatatestseries,Operation

Crossroads,inthePacific,beforebeingrelocatedtoRoswell.AgreatdealofotherclassifiedworkwasalsogoingoninNewMexico.Therewasmuchmoretothestoryaboutthetriptotheranch:asubsequent trip toFortWorthwith someof thewreckage, anorder there fromColonel Blanchard's boss, General Roger Ramey in Ft.Worth, forMarcel to say nothingwhilethegeneralexplaineditawayasaweatherballoon.ButMarceldidn'thaveanexactdate,andIknewthatthesummerof1947,afterKennethArnold'ssightingonJune24,wasfullofUFOsightings.Remember,asIfoundoutlater,thatMarcelwasmentionedbynameinalotofeveningpapersonJuly8,1947.Thathewasinvolvedcouldnotpossiblybedenied.

MajorJesseMarcelwithsubstituteballoonwreckageforRoswellwreckage,FortWorth.CourtesyoftheUniversityofTexasarchives.

Afewmonths laterata lecture inBemidji,Minnesota,at thestatecollege, Iheard fromVernandJeanMaltaisanotherstoryaboutacrashedsaucerinNewMexico,asobservedbyaSoilConservationServicefieldoperator,theirfriendBarneyBarnett.IsharedthestorywithBill Moore, whom I saw the next day in Minnesota. Again there was not a specific dateassociatedwiththecrash.SoonhehadanotherstoryaboutacrashedsaucerinNewMexicointhelate1940s.IthadbeenreportedintheFlyingSaucerReview,anEnglishjournalstillbeingpublished. An English actor named Hughie Green had been driving from Los Angeles toPhiladelphia and heard a story on the radio about a crashed saucer in New Mexico. HeexpectedabigfussinPhiladelphia,buttherewasnone.Hecouldrecallthedateasbeingearlyin July1947, as thatwasn't a triphemadeoften. I did talk tohim inEngland later on, andMoore went to the University ofMinnesota Library periodicals department and found thestory.Thisgaveusmorenamesofpeople,andbecauseofthedateofthefirstarticles,July8,1947,awaytofindanyotherstoriestheremighthavebeeninotherpapers.ItalsogaveusachancetoverifywhatIhadheardfromLydiaSleppyandfromMarcel.

BillMoore and I played detectives for the next few years, spending a lot ofmoney onphonecallsandtravelinthosepre-Internetdaystotrackdownpeoplementionedinthemanynewspaperaccountswediscovered.By1980wehadfound62peoplewhohadaconnectiontothe crash. The first book on the subject, The Roswell Incident, was published in 1980 byMoore andCharlesBerlitz, ofBermudaTriangle fame.Moore and I did 90 percent of theresearch;Berlitzdidmostofthewriting.(IgotapercentageofMoore'sroyalties.)By1986,ourtotalwas92people,andwehadpresentedanumberofpapersatMUFONsymposia.AsIwill detail in Chapter 10, I convinced the Unsolved Mysteries NBC TV program to do asegment on Roswell, which brought in another batch of witnesses. I coauthored the bookCrashatCorona:TheDefinitiveStudyoftheRoswellIncidentin1992,withasecondeditionin1997,withDonaldBerliner, anaviationwriterwhohas been active in ufology since the1950s.MoorehadtalkedtoBarnett'sbossandfoundagainthatthedateofthatcrashwasearlyJuly1947.

I have gone through these details so that the reader will know the falsity of a host ofchargesbyRoswelldebunkers.Forexample, somehaveportrayed thewitnessesascomingforth for fame and fortune. They didn't-we had to find them; sometimes I got lucky. For

example,IcalledtheRoswellDailyRecordandaskedforthe1947editor.Hewaslonggone.ItoldthereceptionistIhadastoryaboutthebasepublicinformationofficer,WalterHaut.Iwasshockedtofindthathiswifeworkedat thenewspaper,andthathewasstill inRoswellaftermorethan30years!Healsohadabaseyearbookfor1947,andwasmosthelpful.IhappenedtocallInformationlookingforanyonewhomightberelatedtotherancher,MacBrazel.ThatgotmehissonWilliam,whohadjusthadaphoneinstalledlessthantwoweeksearlier.

TheauthorholdingtheJuly8,1947LosAngelesHeraldExpressfrontpageRoswellstory.Courtesyoftheauthor.

Peopletoldustheirstories.TherewereahostofnewspaperstoriesineveningpapersonJuly8,1947, fromChicagowest.Becauseof the timezones,papersoutwesthadhadmoretime to check formore informationwith people inRoswell. Thiswas front-page headlinematerial.TheoriginalpressreleasehadgoneoutfromHaut,thenthebasepublicinformationofficer, justafternoon,NewMexicotime-toolatefor theEastCoastpapers,andforall themorningpapers.BythetimeofthefinaleditionoftheLosAngelesHeraldExpress,GeneralRogerRamey,headofthe8thAirForceinFortWorth,Texas,ofwhichthe509thwasavitalpart,hadissuedanewpressreleaseexplainingawaytheflyingsaucer(alsocalleda"flying

disk")as simplya radar reflector/weatherballooncombination.Pictures taken inhisofficewere flashed around the world. They indeed had balloon wreckage that had replaced thematerialactuallybroughttoFortWorthbyMajorMarcel.

At least four pictureswere taken in the office;Marcelwas in one.General Ramey andColonelThomasJeffersonDuBose,hischiefofstaff,wereinothers.AmeteorologistnamedIrvingNewtonwasinanother,sayingthatwhatwasshownwasjustaweatherballoon/radarreflectorcombination.

Despite all the research that had been done before the TV cameras came into play, thenoisynegativistsarestilllyingthroughtheirteethaboutwhatactuallyhappenedandhowthestorycameout.OnJanuary9,2008,Dr.JoeNickel,thepaid"scientific"investigatorforthegroup formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of theParanormal, now renamed the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, on Coast to Coast radio,madetheoutrageousclaimthattheRoswellstorywasanothing-storyaboutarancherfindingsticksandpaperandbringingthemintoRoswell."Ifonlypeoplewouldlookattheoriginalstory,theywouldknowitwasabigdealmadeuplaterbyothers,"hesaid.His"originalstory"waspublishedonJuly9,aftertherancherhadbeenbroughtbackintotownbytheU.S.ArmyAirForceandgivenanewstorytotell.IfNickell,whosethreedegreesareallinEnglish,haddoneanyresearchatall,hewouldhaveknownthat.Thissamelieusingthecover-upstoryhasbeentoldoverandoveragain.Ithadanewdatefortherecoveryofthewreckage:mid-June.Thereal,original,July8storiesallsaid"foundlastweek."

GeneralRogerRamey,8thAirForcecommander,andColonelT.J.DuBose,July8,1947,withsubstitutedRoswellwreckage.CourtesyoftheUniversityofTexasarchives.

IsupposeIshouldappreciatethefactthat,10yearsearlier,Nickellhadmadeanevenmoreoutrageous claim to a TV reporter in Los Angeles while I was also being interviewed inRoswell.Wecouldn'tseeeachother,butcouldhearovertheearphones.Nickellclaimedthatthestoryhadbeenmadeupby"thepublicinformationofficer"togetattention.Hedidn'tevenknowHaut'sname!Healsodidn'tseemtounderstandhowabsurdhisclaimwas,asthe509th

wassuchanimportantgroup.Haut,whomIhadknownforalmost20yearsbythattime,wasaprominent citizen in Roswell, had flown as a bombardier onmore than 20missions overJapan,andhadbeenchosen,becauseofhisskills,todroptheinstrumentpackageduringoneof the two 1946 Crossroads nuclear weapon tests. Nickell said nothing on Coast to CoastaboutMajorMarcel,Haut,thesonsofrancherMacBrazelandMajorMarcel,retiredGeneralThomas Jefferson Dubose (whom I had tracked down years earlier), or a host of otherfirsthandwitnesses.Hedidn't even seem toknow thatBrazeloperated theFoster ranch, butdidn'townit.WitnessDubosehadtoldmefacetofacethathehadtakenthecallfromGeneralRamey'sboss(GeneralMcMulleninWashington,D.C.)orderingtherealstorytobecoveredup. DuBose, as had Marcel, had appeared in pictures on July 8, 1947. This had all beenpublished,ofcourse.NickellfollowedoneofthemajorrulesforUFOdebunkers:"Whatthepublicdoesn'tknow,Iwon'ttellthem."

Nickell also claimed that he had participated in a Discovery channel "documentary" inwhichitwasshownthattheexplodedsimulatedballoontrainthatwassupposedtomatchtheMogulballoonexplanation(positedin1994)matcheditwell.Everyoneelsewhoparticipatedsaid that it showed the balloon wreckage produced could not possibly match what thewitnessesdescribed.Eventhenthesimulateddebrisfielddidn'tmatchwhatMajorMarcelhadsaidtomeonthephone,andonfilmforUFOsAreReal.Hesaidtherewasahugearea,morethanhalfamilelongandhundredsoffeetwide,strewnwithsmallpiecesofverylightweightmaterials,includingafoil-likematerial,andI-beams.Therewasnothingconventionalaboutthewreckage,asonewouldexpectfromanairplane,orasillyballoon,oreven thevauntedMogulballoontrain.Thedebunkersinsistontotallyignoringthefirsthandtestimonyofthosewho were involved, including, for example, Jesse Marcel, Junior, now a medical doctor,flight surgeon, and helicopter pilot,who recently returned from a year as a colonel in thereserves in Iraq.That stint included225combathoursasapilot.AndNickelwants to keephimandhisfatheroutofthestory,despitehishavingheldpiecesofthewreckageathishome,broughtbackfromanovernightstintatthecrashsitebyhisfatherin1947!

TheauthorwithretiredGeneralThomasJeffersonDuBose.Courtesyoftheauthor.

Nickellandotherdebunkerscan'tbringthemselvestoadmitthatifalltherehadbeenwasaweatherballoon,Brazelwouldhavebrought it to town,and therewouldhavebeennoneedforMarcelandCavitttogoallthewayouttotheranch-aroughtripovercountryroadswiththelastlegmore than10milescross-country. Ina laughablestatementbyCavitt toColonelWeaver,authoroftheAirForce'smonstrous1994report,Cavitthadstatedthatalltherewaswasaballoonthatwouldeasilyfitintoonevehicleandcoveredanarea20feetsquare!Thisisdespite the fact that thecover-up storyon July9 (Nickell's "original report")noted that thewreckagehadcoveredanarea200yardsindiameter.Mogulhad20-plusballoons,at20-footintervals,sono-buoys,radarreflectors,andsoon-thatwouldhardlyfiteasilyinonevehicle,asclaimedbyCavitt.Thesamearticlealsonoted that therancherhadpreviouslyrecoveredweatherballoons,andwas"surewhatIfoundwasnotanyweatherobservationballoon."The

commentwasleftoutofColonelWeaver'shugereport.Whystarttellingthefactswhenlieswilldo?

NickellandCSICOPhaveprettymuchbeengivenafreeridebythepressandthescientificcommunity. (He had even explained the socalled Flatwoods monster seen by a number ofwitnessesinFlatwoods,WestVirginia,onSeptember12,1952,asjusta6-foot-tallowlseenafterameteorcamedown!Anumberofwitnesseshadactuallyseenthesocalledmeteormakeaslowturnaroundthetownandcomedownslowlyonahill.Therewasnocrater,noshockwave, and nometeor.Nickell visited Flatwoods, but didn't talk to themajorwitnesses, anddidn'tvisittheactualsite.Ihavedoneboth,andagainwasappalledathispseudoscience.(ThisisdiscussedinmoredetailinShootThemDown.)Onewouldneverknow,fromlisteningtohim,aboutalltheotherfirsthandRoswellwitnesseswhohadbeeninterviewedthroughouttheyears by serious investigators, as recorded, for example, on the 105-minute videoRecollections ofRoswell,with testimony from27 firsthandwitnesses,most ofwhomhavesince passed away. In the business world, one would have to say he has been guilty offraudulent misrepresentation. The people who made the 2005 Peter Jennings ABC TVmockumentaryaboutUFOshadacopyofthatvideo,butbasicallyignoredthedatainit.Andyes,forthosewhosawtheprogram,Istronglyresentmybeingcalledapromotertwice,myprofessional credentials being ignored, and the use of only 20 seconds of an hour-longinterview.

DukeGildenbergandDr.CharlesMoore,Roswellballoonexpertdebunkers.CourtesyoftheU.S.government.

In2007twomorebookswerepublishedaboutRoswell.OnewasbyColonelJesseMarcel,Jr.,MD:TheRoswellLegacy.Thisbookpresentshispersonal insights into the livesofhisparents,and thedetailsof the incident. It includesa reviewofhismeetingwithDr.CharlesMoore,andMoore'sattempttoconvinceMarcelthatthesymbolshesawonalightweightI-beamwerejustontoymakertapeusedtoholdthesupposedradarreflectingkitetogether.Theattempt was not successful. (Funny how the Air Force never produced any photos of thattape...)Iwrotetheforewordforthebook.

ThesecondbookwasWitnesstoRoswell,byTomCareyandDonSchmitt,whohavebeenresearchingRoswellformanyyears.TheyhavefoundsomenewwitnessesandevidenceoftherehavingbeenanotherUFOcrashmuchclosertoRoswell,discoveredwhileJesseMarcelSr.wasofftotheFosterranchcrashsite.OfmostimportanceisanaffidavitsignedbyWalterHautwellbeforehisdeath,butpublishedforthefirsttimeinthisbook.Theauthorsmaketheclaimthat,contrarytoallhispreviousstatementsabouthavingseennothing,Hauthadinfactbeen shownabodyandwreckage. In addition, they claim thatGeneralRamey andColonel

DuBosehadactuallycomeoverfromFortWorthandhadattendedthemorningmeetingatthebase on July 8, at which Jesse Marcel had been instructed by Colonel Blanchard to takewreckage to Ft.Worth toGeneral Ramey. I certainly don't feel that Haut was intentionallylyingaboutthis,butIwouldlikesomeevidencethatRameyandDubosehadmadethatquicktrip.WeknowtheywerebackinFt.WorthwithMarcellaterthatday,becauseofthepicturestakeninRamey'soffice.(Effortisbeingmadetofindflight logs.)ThestatementfromHautwould indicate thatMarcel also saw a body. There is some indication that Haut had beenhaving somememory problems-he had certainly been interviewedmany times. Hopefully,newevidencewillbefoundtosortoutthisnewinformation.NeitherDuBosenorMarcelhadtoldmeorJesseJr.aboutthattripofRameyandDuBose's.

IamabsolutelysurethattherearestillpeoplewhoarealivewhowereconnectedwiththeRoswellIncident,eventhoughitwasmorethan60yearsago.AlotofmenwereusedtogoovertheFosterranchsitetomakesurenotascrapofthestrangestuffwasleftbehind.(ManyWWIIveteranswere in thehabitof takingsouvenirs fromwarzones.)Apparently,Roswellpilot PappyHenderson had kept a small piece. The descriptions from theMarcels and theBrazels indicatemanysmallpieces. I feelcertain thatsomearestill inbureaudrawers.Theproblem is thatmany veteranswould have been afraid to speak out for fear of reprisal orpossiblelossofmedicalbenefits,andfearofpossiblelaughterfromanyonetheytriedtotell.(Theyortheirfamiliesarewelcometocallmytoll-freenumber:(877)457-0232.Iwon'tusewitnessnameswithoutpermission.)Howwouldyoufeel ifyouhadseenanalienbody,andyourgovernmentissayingthatallthestoriesareduetocrash-testdummiesdroppedinNewMexico-after1953?Manyinthepresslettheliarsgetawaywithit.Asascientist,Iamangryaboutsuchintentionaldeception.

Crash-testdummySierraSaminthemiddle,Madson,inchargeoftheprogam,ontheright.1953.CourtesyoftheU.S.government.

Dr.ParkDeception

AstudenthadsentmeacopyofanarticleaboutUFOswrittenbyawell-knownphysicist,Dr.RobertL.Park.Thearticleisentitled"AnAlienSpaceshipDidNotCrashinRoswell."IncommonwithUFOdebunkersandpropagandists(sometimesthereisn'tmuchdifference),hemakes sure he lets us know how smart he is compared to an average Joe. On the way toRoswell in 1954 as an Air Force officer, he experienced two sightings, which he easilyidentified.Parkclaims thatRoswell at the timewas thehubofmany speculationsabout theUFOsightings that seemed tomake thenewsalmostdaily (I very seriouslydoubt this).Hethendoessomeamateurpsychologyaboutpeopleknowingwhatsaucersaresupposedtolook

likeandshapingobservationstofittheirpreconceptions.

Parkfurthermakes thisextraordinaryclaim:"Thecurrent fascinationwithalienscanbetracedbacktothestrangeeventsthattookplacenearRoswell,NewMexico,inthesummerof1947."Thisiscompletelyabsurd,astherewereonlytwomentionsofRoswell-inaccurateandlessthanapageinFrankEdward's1966FlyingSaucers:SeriousBusiness,andafast,just-as-inaccurate, one-paragraph mention in Ted Bloecher's Report on the UFO Wave of 1947-between1947and thepublicationofTheRoswell Incident in1980.Aliens certainlyweren'tmentionedinconnectionwithRoswelluntiltheneither.Parksays,"OnJune14,1947,WilliamBrazel,theforemanoftheFosterranch,75milesnorthwestofRoswell,spottedalargeareaofwreckageabout sevenmiles from the ranchhouse.Thedebris included neoprene strips,tape,metal foil, cardboard, and sticks."This is a commonly repeated lie about the event. Itappeared in the frontpage July 9 article in theRoswellDailyRecord, headlined "HarassedRancherWhoLocated `Saucer' SorryHeToldAbout It."Brazel had been brought back totown and fed a new, false story. The article also includes the comment that the wreckagecoveredanarea200yardsindiameter.Park,similartoNickell,seemstobeunawareofthefact that theJuly8articleson thefrontpagesofeveningpapers, fromChicagowest, notedthat thewreckagewas found "lastweek"-hardly June 14. Park says, "Weeks later he heardabout reports of flying saucers.The next day he drove to the little town ofCorona to sellwool,andwhiletherehewhispered,kindofconfidential-like,totheLincolnCountysheriff,GeorgeWilcox,thathemighthavefoundpiecesofoneofthethoseflyingdiscspeopleweretalkingabout."Moreslicesofbaloney.Therancher,accordingtowitnesstestimony,foundthewreckageaboutJuly2or3,andwentintoCoronatodohisusualSaturdayshoppingonJuly5.When there he heard about flying disks at the general store, and also that rewardswerebeingoffered.Brazeldidn'thaveelectricityorgetanewspaper.Thepeopletheresuggestedhegotothesheriffsoffice-whichisinRoswell,notinCorona,andinChavezCounty.HedidsoonSunday,July6.

WilcoxcalledthelocalbaseandtalkedtoMajorJesseMarcel.HecheckedoutthesmallamountofmaterialBrazelhadbroughtin,founditwasveryunusualindeed,andcertainlynotaweatherballoon.ThearticlenotesthatBrazelhadpreviouslyfoundballoonsandcollectedsmall rewards for their return. Marcel was then instructed by base commander Colonel

Blanchardtotakeacounterintelligenceofficer(SheridanCavitt)withhimandcheckout thelargedebrisfieldobservedbytherancher.Theofficersfollowedhimout(theranchwasinthe middle of nowhere), had a can of beans, stayed overnight in their sleeping bags, andviewed thedebris fieldonMondaymorning.They thencollected somemoreof thedebris,leavingmostof itbehind,andcamebackthelongwaytoRoswell.Marcelstoppedathomeandshowedsomewreckagetohiswifeandson.

Thenextmorning,Blanchard,afterreviewingthewreckage,orderedMarceltohaveoneof the B-29s fly him and the wreckage toWrightPatterson AFBwith a stop at the 8th AFheadquarters inFortWorth,which is on theway.He also orderedWalterHaut to issue theinfamouspress release.Of course,Blanchard andMarcelwere quite familiarwithweatherballoonsfromtheirairserviceinthePacificduringWWII.The509thatRoswellwas,afterall, themostelitemilitarygroupintheworld.Marcelwasalsofamiliarwithfoilandpaperradarreflectorsfromacoursehehadrecentlytaken.BeforehearrivedinFt.Worth,ColonelThomasJeffersonDuBose (chief of staff toGeneralRamey,Blanchard's boss), took a callfromGeneralRamey'sbossinD.C.,GeneralClementsMcMullen,instructingRameytosendthewreckage toD.C.with one of his couriers, to get the press off their backs in anywaypossible, andnever to talk about it again.WhenMarcel arrived,GeneralRamey instructedhimnottosayanything.Picturesweretakenwithphonywreckage,andthecoverstorywentoutfromFt.Worth-notRoswell-withinhours.Blanchardwentontobeafour-stargeneralandvicechiefofstaffoftheAirForce.

None of these experienced officers could recognize a standard, runof-the-mill weather

balloon??

Dr.Parkseemsblissfullyunaware.HowdoIknowmyversionismoreaccurate?BecauseIgotitfirsthandfromMajorMarcel,fromhisson,Dr.JesseMarcel,Jr.,fromretiredGeneralDuBose, from Brazel's son, from Brazel's neighbors, from Blanchard's family, and manymorepeople,aswellasfromcontemporarynewscoverage.

HereisanothersillyquotefromPark:"Thesheriffreportedthemattertothenearbybase.The army sent an intelligence officer,Major JesseMarcel, to check out the report.Marcelthoughtthedebrislookedlikepiecesofaweatherballoonorradarreflector;inanyevent,allofitfiteasilyintothetrunkofhiscar...."Moresillynonsense.Marcelhadstayedovernightontheranch,hadobservedadebrisfieldmorethanhalfamilelongandhundredsofyardsacross.Henotedtomeinourfirstconversation(andlateroncamera)thattherewasnothingconventional about thewreckage:nowires, vacuum tubes, rivets, orpropellers.Heandhisson both noted this. Therewere I-beams that couldn't be broken, burned, or bent, that hadstrangesymbolsonthem;foil-likematerialthatwasamemorymetal.HefurthermoremadeclearthatalthoughheandCavittbroughtbackwhattheycouldintheircars,mostofthedebriswasleftoutthere.Ifatrunkloadhadbeenalltherewas,therancherwouldhavebroughtitinandtherewouldhavebeennoneedfortheofficers'triptotheranch.

Parkgoeson:"By1978,30yearsafterBrazelspottedwreckageonhisranch,actualalienbodieshadbeguntoshowupinaccountsofthecrash."Really?Iwonderwheretheseaccountsappeared.IfirstheardstoriesaboutbodiesattheBarneyBarnettcrashsitein1978.Thefirstmention of Roswell-related bodies came from mortician Glenn Dennis to me in 1989 inLincoln,NewMexico,onBillytheKidday.Parksays,"MajorMarcel'sstoryaboutloadingsticks, cardboard, and metal foil into the trunk of his car [there never was such a story]mutatedintothesagaofamajormilitaryoperationwhichallegedlyrecoveredanentirealienspaceship." In truth, itwasall small, strangepieces.Hardlya spaceship.Mostof itwas leftbehind.

Under the heading "A Full-ScaleMyth," Park has the gall to lie: "Like a giant vacuumcleanerthestoryhadsuckedinandmingledtogethersnippetsfromreportsofunrelatedplanecrashes [Where? With whom?] and high-altitude parachute experiments involvinganthropomorphic dummies, even though some of these events took places years later andmilesaway.Andwithyears'worthofimaginativeenergytodrivetheirbasicbeliefs,variousUFO`investigators'managedtostitchthosemythsintoafull-scalemythofanencounterthathasbeencoveredupbythegovernment."

Does physicist Park have any idea of the stupidity of what he is saying? It was USAFColonel Weaver and Captain MacAndrew in the two ridiculous USAF volumes of TheRoswellReportwhointroducedthecrazynotionofcrash-testdummiestoexplainthebodies(eventhoughnoneofthedummiesweredroppeduntil1953andlater,andwere6feettallandweighed175pounds).ItwastheUSAFthatintroducedhigh-altitudeparachutejumper/balloonpilotJosephKittingerastheredheadreportedatthebaseinJuly1947,butwhowasn'tactuallythere until 1959.The supposedUFO investigators in questionwere twoAir Force officerslyingthroughtheir teeth.Weseriousinvestigatorshaddonefirsthandhomework,unlikeDr.Park,whohaddonenone.

ParkthenbuysintotheMogulballoonexplanationhook,line,andsinker,asespousedbyColonelWeaverinTheRoswellReport:Factvs.FictionintheNewMexicoDesert(1995).Heclaims Mogul was still classified. This is false. He touts Dr. Charles Moore's Flight 4,althoughDr.DavidRudiak'scarefulworkindicatesitwasn'tevenflown,andcouldn't,becauseof theweather,havemade it to theranch.Parksays,"Thedebris foundon theFoster ranchcloselymatched thematerials used in the balloon trains." Yet another lie, if one notes thereportsfromsuchwitnessesasMajorMarcel,hisson,Brazel'sson,neighborLorettaProctor,radiostationmanagerJuddRoberts,andmore.Therewasalsotheabsenceofanystring(20-plusballoonsweretied20feetapartbystring),nomentionofsono-buoys,radiotransmitters,orthelike.Parkistryingtomakeasow'searintoasilkpurse.HethentalksaboutVol.2:CaseClosedasamassivereportthatcollectedeveryscrapofinformationdealingwiththeRoswellIncident reportpublished in1997.Funny,CaseClosedwasmuchsmaller thanVol.1,whichwastheMogulexplanationpublishedin1995.

ParkthenbuysintotheCIAliesaboutmanyUFOreportsinthe1950sbeingtheresultofobservationsofsuper-secretU-2aircraft,andlatertheSR-71.TheCIAwasgladtodeceiveallbyacceptingthosereports.Parkprovidesnobackupforthisbaselessclaim,whichDr.BruceMaccabeehasdemonstratedwasclearlyfalse:ThenumberofUFOsightingsdidnotincreasewhen theystarted flying.Park's last line ismore true thanhe intended: "Concealment is thesoilinwhichpseudoscienceflourishes."Ifullyagreethatorganizedanti-ufologyisindeedapseudoscience, concealing and ignoring facts and data and doing its research byproclamation..Hismotto is, "Don'tbothermewith the facts;mymind ismadeup." It is ofinterest that Park doesn't referencemy bookCrash at Corona: TheDefinitive Study of theRoswellIncident,althoughIamamemberof theAmericanPhysicalSociety,withwhichhehadbeencloselyassociated.Hedoesn'tmentionWeaver's report or theRandle andSchmittbooks. He doesmention the debunker books byKlass, Korff, Schaefer, and Peebles. This,indeed,ispseudoscience.(OnecanreadmoreofhispseudoscienceinVoodooScience:TheRoadFromFoolishnesstoFraud.HistotallybiasedandignorantcommentsarealsonotedinaJanuary18,2008Newsweeksciencestory.)

JamesT.Westwood

TherewasanotherseeminglyscholarlyattackonRoswellinNovember2004,byJamesT.Westwood of Military Science and Defense Analytics. He claims to have shown, using"historiographical"methods,andprimaryhistoricalresources,thataUFOdidnotcrash,andthuswasnotrecoveredinNewMexicoinJuly1947.Hissubjectis"ProvingaNegative:TheRuseThatWasRoswell."His three sources areTruman in theWhiteHouse: TheDiary ofEbenAyers(editedbyR.H.Ferrell,U.ofMissouriPress,1991),TheForrestalDiaries(WalterMillis,VikingPress,1951),andasmalldiarykeptbyTrumanhimself,notfounduntil2003.(Thelostdiarycanbefoundatwww.trumanlibrary.org/diary/transcript.htm.)

Westwoodalsoplacesgreattrustinanunnamedsource,whoclaimstohavebeenengagedinmilitary duties in Forrestal's office untilmidSeptember 1947, and says that "there neveroccurredinhiskeepinganyprintedorvoicedmaterial,data,orotherinformationwhatsoeverconcerningthecrashrecoveryofaspaceshipfromadistantplanet."Noreasonisgivenforthinkinghewouldhavebeenawareofeverything,nomatterhowclassified,thathappenedin

theoffice.Westwoodhadn'tcheckedtheWeb,orhewouldhavenotedthatTruman'sjournalabouthisdecision touse theatomicbomb"waskepteven fromEbenAyers,whohadbeendirectedtoprepareanaccountoftheatomicbombdecisionduringthePotsdamConference"(seewww.he.net/douglong/guide3.htm).Ayerswasapresssecretary.Wouldhebeexpectedtohaveaccesstoeverything?Hardlylikely.

The first problemwithWestwood's conclusions is that the threewritten sources are allunclassified. Certainly onewouldn't expect to find TOP SECRET or TOP SECRETCODEWORDmaterial in them.Somehave said that, surely, all thematerial from 1947 has beendeclassified!Nonsense. The Eisenhower Library toldme in 2003 that they still have about300,000pagesofclassifiedmaterial.WestwoodhimselfnotesthattheForrestalmaterialhadbeencarefullyreviewedbeforebeingreleasedin1951.

Thesecondproblemisthis:Whyshouldweexpectanyofthesourcestocovereverythingthathappenedduringthattimeperiod?Ididanarticlein2003abouttheTrumandiary,whichonly contained 42 handwritten entries. The first 160 pages contain member listings andadvertisements fromtheRealEstateBoardofNewYork,whichhadgivenhim thediary. Itwas not classified. The July 2003 press release about the diary notes that Truman was anerraticdiarist.Indeed.TherearenoentriesbetweenJanuary16andMarch2,betweenMarch31 and June 27, between October 1 and November 17, and between November 17 andDecember 13. Would Westwood have us believe that Truman did nothing during theseperiods?In actuality, 1947was averybusyyear,whatwith theMarshallPlan, thegrowingcoldwarwiththeSovietUnion,theformulationoftheDefenseDepartment,theconversionoftheCentralIntelligenceGroupintotheCIA,theestablishmentoftheU.S.AirForce,separatefromtheArmyAirForce,theestablishmentoftheNationalSecurityCouncil,andsoonandsoforth.

According to George Elsey, with whom I had several phone conversations, and whoworked for Truman the entire time he was in theWhite House (April 1945 until January1953), Truman was very security conscious. (Elsey walked in once when Truman was

chewingoutasenatorforbeingcarelessaboutsecurity.)Thediaryentriesseemedtobebrief,mostlypersonalnotes.

Westwood says nothing about having visited the Truman Library in Independence,Missouri, or the Firestone Library at PrincetonUniversity, where the Forrestal papers arehoused.Havingspenttimeatboth,Icanattesttothefactthattherearehugepapercollections,including daily calendars in which arementioned variousmeetings. Frequently the entriesgivenoclueastothesubjectofdiscussion.

Westwoodsaysnothingatallabouttheeyewitnesstestimonyofpeoplewhoweredirectlyinvolved in the Roswell crash, such asMajorMarcel, his son (nowDr.) JesseMarcel, orretiredGeneralThomasDuBose.Hemakesnomentionoftherancher,MacBrazel,orhissonBill,orneighborLorettaProctor.Hedoesn'tmentionthecontemporarynewspapercoverageinfront-pagestoriesineveningpapersfromChicagowestonJuly8,1947.Iamsurprisedhedoesn't try touse absenceof anarticle aboutRoswell in theNewYorkTimeson July8 asevidencefor theabsenceof thecrash. (Thepress releasehadgoneout too late tomake theNYT.)Westwoodcan'tbebotheredtoreferencethebooksthatnotethetestimonyandresultsof serious investigations, such as Don Berliner's andmyCrash at Corona: The DefinitiveStudyoftheRoswellIncident.

Westwood'sfindingis,"Thethreediariesmakenomention,directorbyinnuendo,ofsucha bizarre, sensational, and unlikely event as an ET `hardware' crash and recovery in July1947, sensational books by such authors as Randle, Friedman,Moore, Berlitz, and otherssince1980-tothecontrary.Allofthediariesarefrank....Ayersspokewiththepresidentalmostevery day...." SurelyWestwood is well aware of the need not only for high-level securityclearances,butalsoaneed-to-knowfortheinformationforthepersoninvolved.Onemighthope hewould provide evidence that peoplewith such clearances andneed-to-knowwoulddiscusshighly classifiedmatters in unclassified entries, books, and comments.Often,mostpeopleinaparticulargroupwouldhaveaclearance,butnoneed-to-know,forparticularTOPSECRETCODEWORDinformation.

PresidentTrumanbecamevicepresidentinJanuary1945.Hewasnotinformedaboutthevery expensive Manhattan Project to develop nuclear weapons until well after becomingpresident(uponthedeathofPresidentRoosevelt)inApril1945.Hehadn'thadaneed-to-know.President Eisenhower, in his book Mandate for Change, describes a meeting that he, aspresidentelect,hadwithPresidentTrumanat theWhiteHouseonNovember18, 1952, twoweeksaftertheelectionandtwomonthsbeforehisinauguration.IkemakesnomentionofthefactthatheandhisadvisorswentdirectlytothePentagonfromtheWhiteHouseforabriefingonhigh-levelnationalsecuritymatters.Weknowthemeetinghappened,notonlybecauseofanarticleintheNewYorkTimes,butalsobecauseofdeskcalendarentriesfromotherswhowerethere,suchasArmyChiefofStaffCollinsandUSAFVice-ChiefofStaff(andMajestic12member)GeneralNathanTwining.Theentries,ofcourse,givenoclassifiedinformationastowhatwasdiscussed.ThatIkedidn'tmentionitcertainlydoesn'tmeanthatitdidn'thappen.November18,1952,is thedateoftheEisenhowerBriefingDocumentdescribingOperationMajestic12.

Westwoodcan'tbebotheredtotellthereaderwhyheconsidersthecrashandrecoveryofEThardware"bizarre,sensational,orunlikely."Therewere2,000sightingsofflyingsaucersduringthesummerof1947;whywoulditbesurprisingifsomeofthemcrashed?Plentyofouraircrafthavecrashed.ThefirstcluethattheU.S.governmenthadthattheGermansweredeveloping rockets during the early years of WWII came from analysis of a piece of"bizarre"wreckagefromaGermantestrocketthathadcrashedorexplodedinSweden.

Westwood chastens those of uswhohavewritten in-depth investigations of theRoswellIncident:"Noneoftheeminentufologiststhathavewrittenandspokenatinsufferablelengthabout theRoswellUFOevent have evermentioned yet theAyers and Forrestal diaries andwhattheydonotreveal."Thisistrue...andtrulyabsurd.Thereareliterallymillionsofpagesat theTrumanandEisenhowerLibraries andamultitudeofother archives that saynothingaboutRoswell.Goldoreisworthminingifthereisanounceofgoldinatonofore.Onlyoneofhundredsofnaturallyoccurringisotopesisfissionable.Shouldwesaythereisnogoldinthemtharhillsorthatnoisotopesarefissionable?Itistheevidencewehavethatmatters,notthatwhichwedon'thave.

Westwood brags that even the Air Force reports on Roswell didn't take note of his"sources," but makes the claim that "they do make much use of historical research andhistoriographicalmethods."Quitefrankly,bothgovernmentreportsareloadedwithfalseandmisleadingstatementslies-andareeasilyshowntobesplendidexamplesofpropagandasuchasdescribed in a paper byWilliamBroad, "TheRoswell Incident, theUSAF, and theNewYorkTimes."RememberthattheUSAF"CaseClosed"reporttriedtoexplainreportsofsmallbodies noted in connection with New Mexico crashes as crash-test dummies. This isn'tresearch.Itisbaloney.

Most scientists I know say that one shouldn't try to prove a negative.Westwood bragsaboutdoingso,andcomplainsthatothersdon't.Ifthisrepresentshistoriographicalresearch,thenIwantnopartofit.Idon'tfeelmymanyvisitsto20archivesanddiscussionswithmanydozensofwitnesseshavebeeninvain.Mygoalhasalwaysbeentofindoutwhatdidhappen,nottodeterminewhatdidn't.

OnethingIcanbesureofisthattherewillcontinuetobeattacksontheRoswellIncidentbypeopleunwillingtodotheirhomework.

ThePressandFlyingSaucers

Dr. Herbert J. Strentz, in his 1970 PhD thesis, "A Survey of Press Coverage of UFOs,1947-1966" at the Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, had some verystrong comments to make about press coverage of UFOs: "The high degree of ridiculepresentintheUFOphenomenonwasreflectedinthepresscoverage....Thecoveragehasbeenmarked by superficiality, redundancy, silliness, careless reporting, and lack of relevantinformation.The lackof relevant informationwas also attributable to the reluctanceof thepress toferretout informationabout thephenomenonand those involved in it."Heactuallylookedattensofthousandsofpressclippings-notajoyfulexperience.

Therehasbeensomeimprovementinthe38yearssincethen,butnotnearlyenough.AsInoted inChapter8onopinionpolls, therehasbeenagooddeal ofmisleading coverage. IshouldstressthatIpersonallyhavehadoverwhelminglydecentcoverage,aboutwhich,takenasawhole, Ican'tcomplain.Thenewspapercoverageofmeandmyviewsasexpressed inlectures has also, with some few exceptions, been accurate and fair. I have beenmet by areporterandstudent-activitiesrepresentativein themorningat theairport inacollege townwhere I was to speak, and found a good article in the afternoon paper. I apparently hadconvinced the reporter I was legitimate, and he used the material I gave him. But presscoverageofthesubjectasawholedeservesaflunkinggrade.

Manysmall-townnewspapershavegivendecentcoveragetolocalsightings,oftenbecausethe witness is known to the editor or another journalist at the paper. The sightings in theStephenville,Texas,areainJanuary2008receivedstraightcoverageinthelocalpaper,whichinturnencouragedotherstocomeforth.Therealproblemscomewithregardtocoveragebysuch nationally reputed newspapers as theWashington Post and the New York Times. So-called television documentaries have been amixed bag, with some outstanding shows andsomerealduds.Iwouldsaythatmostpeopledon'tunderstandhowmostTVdocumentaries,

say,ontheHistoryChannelortheLearningChannel,aremade.Generallyitisnotthechannelthatmakesthedocumentary.Usuallyanindependentproducercomesupwithanidea,writesasummary and proposal, approaches a network for funding, and, if lucky, gets both theapprovalandthefunding.Oftenthismeansbringinginindividualswhoareinterviewedandthensenthome.Rarelyaremanyoftheintervieweesbroughttogether.Thentheproducerandhiseditordoacut-and-pastejob.Ihave,forexample,appearedinthesameportionofashowwithRobertLazar,whomIbelieveisafraud(notascientist),andhasnottoldthetruthabouthisbackgroundorhis experiencesatArea51andLosAlamos.Theviewerwouldhave noway of knowing that he is lying about himself and his "research."Neither of uswas therewhen the otherwas interviewed.Contrary towhatmany people seem to feel, accuracy andtrutharenottheprimaryconcernsofthesponsoringchannelsornetworks.Ratingsare.

OneexampleofanexcellentjobisashowdonebyUnsolvedMysteriesin1989abouttheRoswellIncident.TheshowhadpreviouslydoneagoodjobonUFOsightingsaroundGulfBreeze,Florida.Oneofthescientistsfeaturedinthatshowwasanoldfriendofmine,andoneofthetopufologistsintheworld,Dr.BruceMaccabee,anopticalphysicist.IcalledMaccabeeand asked for the name and number of his contact person on the show, produced byCosgrove-Meurer forNBC. I called his contact and leftmessages twice,with no call back.ThethirdtimeImanagedtoreachher.TurnsoutshesomehowconfusedRayStanford,whohadbeenobstructiveabouttheGulfBreezeshow,withStantonFriedman.IguessStantonandStanfordsoundsimilar...Anyway,IpitchedtheideathatUnsolvedMysteriesshoulddoashowabout Roswell, and during a visit to Southern California had detailed discussions with thepeopleatCM.Theywantedsomenewpeople,and,besidesasmallconsultingfee,agreedtocoversomeresearchcosts.

Aprimaryeffortwastoobtainback-upinformationonastorythatlong-timeresearcherLeonardStringfieldhadpublishedintheMUFONjournalaboutSapphoHenderson.Shehadtoldhimthatherhusband,PappyHenderson,hadbeenapilotatthebaseinRoswellin1947,andhadtoldherin1980,afterseeinganarticleinatabloidaboutRoswell,thathehadflownsomeofthewreckagefromRoswellandhadseenatleastonebody.Hepresumedthatbecausethestorywas inanewspaper, itwasno longerclassified.Hedied in1986. IwasconcernedbecausethereweresomeotherclaimsIknewtobefalseinthearticle.Stringfieldrefusedto

tellmehow to reachSapphoor tohavehercallmecollect. I stressed theneed for findingback-up witnesses besides Pappy's wife. Stringfield wouldn't cooperate because he was"protecting"Sappho. Iplayeddetective,with calls to theRoswellLibrary and the referencelibrarian.ShelookeduplistingsinoldcitydirectoriesfortheHendersonsandthennamesandnumbersofthosewholivednearbyatthetimewhentheyleft.Thenshefoundthosewhowerestill therewhen I called.They referredme to otherswhoknew theHendersonswell, and Ifinally obtained an obituary from the Roswell Daily Record (people there, perhaps notsurprisingly,havealwaysbeenhelpful), after,withmucheffort, findingadateofdeath forPappy in California. The obituary gave the names of survivors, including of his marrieddaughterwho lived inHawaii.Obviously,onehas trouble findingamarriedwoman if youdon'tknowthenameofherhusband. Ieventually foundher,andshewasmostcooperative,givingmehermother's number inCalifornia. I hadbeenonly 20miles away a fewweeksearlier.SapphogavemecontactinformationforfivedifferentfriendsofPappy'stowhomhemight have spoken about the Roswell Incident. One was Pappy's WWII bombardier, VereMcCarty,whohadbeenapallbeareratPappy'sfuneral.PappyhadindeedtoldhimthestoryattheirlastWWIImilitarygroupreunion.McCartywrotemealettertellingthestory.

SapphoHenderson,wifeofRoswellpilotPappyHenderson,whohandledwreckageandsawabody.Courtesyoftheauthor.

TheproducersatCMwerefavorablyimpressed,andusedSapphoontheshow.Stringfieldhad, for reasonsunknown,even tried tokeepher fromappearing.He justdidn'tunderstandthat shewanted to validate Pappy's experience. She understood that her word reallywasn'tenough.Asamatteroffact,aftertheshowappearedonNBC,inSeptember1989,asseenby28millionpeople,shewascalledbyanotheroldbuddyofPappy's,JohnKromschroeder,adentist, towhomhehadveryquietly told thestoryandevenprovidedapieceofwreckage,whichwastakenbackrightaway,andnownowheretobefound.

Cosgrove-Meurersentaproducerouttotalktoeachpersontheywereplanningtobringon,topicktheirbrains.HeactuallyvisitedmeinFredericton.AllofuswerethenbroughttoRoswell,wherewewere interviewed by the producer. The showwas extremelywell done.When repeated in early 1990, it was seen by 30 million people. There were some minormistakes, but overall the showwas quite accurate. Because theywere trying to present thefacts,theydidnotbringonadebunker,who,knowingalmostnothing,wouldjusthaverantedthatitwasallbaloney.Incontrast,theFebruary24,2005,ABCmockumentary,hostedbyPeterJennings,wasonlyseenby11.6millionpeople.It,andmanyguestshowssuchasLarryKing,seemstothinkithastohavedebunkers-nomatterhowlittleinvestigationtheyhavedone.

AnumberofmyexperienceswithTVcrewshavebeenbad.OneoftheworstwasaUPNnetwork show about the supposed permanent alien abduction of theMacPherson family inMinnesota. Supposedly they had disappeared, but left behind a videotape of the alienswhoabducted them. I was called by a production company in Hollywood asking me to fly toCaliforniatobeinterviewedaboutUFOabductions.(AswithmostTVshows,Iwasn't tobepaidformytime,thoughFrederictonisfourtimezonesaheadofCalifornia.Iwouldbeableto seemy daughter, who lives in the L.A. area, I would get frequent flyer points, andmyexpenseswouldbecovered,soIagreed.)Supposedlythenetworkwasinahurrytofixupapartially completed show forDickClark Productions. I figured that if one can't trustDickClark,whocanonetrust?Iwaswrong.

ThestudioinBurbankwasanoldconvertedhouse.Thewomanwhoaskedthequestionshadobviouslydoneherhomework,andaskedsensiblequestions.Theymusthave likedmyanswers, because they even used some things I said in the commercials for the show, andincludedanumberofmycommentsintheshow.Theyhadn'tshownmethesupposedvideothathadbeenshotbythefamilythathad"disappeared,"andhadn'taskedmeaboutit.ViewersweredefinitelygiventheimpressionthatIhadseenthefootageandwasfavorablyimpressedby it. The screen would show an electromagnetic effect, and then me talking about sucheffects.Itwasskillfullydoneandtotallymisleading.IwasquiteangrywhenIsawit,becausetheproducersevenhadat theendof theshow thenamesof theactorswhoplayedAlien1,Alien2,andAlien3.Onepollindicatedthathalfthepeoplewhosawtheprogramthoughtitwasfactual!

However,Iwasseverelycriticizedbymanyufologists.KevinRandlehadevencomplainedthatIshouldhaveknownbetterthantodealwithanyprogramwithwhichRobertKiviathadbeeninvolved.IcertainlyagreedthatIwouldn'thavedoneanotherprogramforKiviat,whohad been heavily involved in another misleading and sensational show, by Fox Network,about the so-called alien autopsy footage. I was in that one too. However, Kiviat had hadnothing todowith theUPNshow. I finallymanaged togeton the late-nightCoast toCoastradio program with Art Bell to explain what had happened. I should stress that no onecomplained about what I had actually said, only about the misleading picture presented. Iaskedseveralpeopleiftheywouldhavepreferredhavingsomebodyonwhoknewlessaboutthesubject.Theanswerwasno.IwasalsoaskedwhyIdidn'tsue.MyanswerwasthatsuingforlibelorsomesuchintheUnitedStatesisdifficult,butdoesenrichlawyers.(ThelawsinEnglandaremuchmoreinclinedtoprotectreputationsthanintheUnitedStates.Ididwinanout-of-court settlement with an English researcher and the Manchester Evening News forlibelousstatementsshehadmadethathadbeenprinted.Thereputationofa"publicfigure"intheUnitedStatesisnotnearlyaswellprotected.)

WhileonCoasttoCoast,IpointedoutthatNightlinewithTedKoppelhadmeappearwithPhilipKlassonJune24,1987,the40thanniversaryofKennethArnold'sfamoussightingofnine flying discs near Mt. Rainier. I was in Washington, D.C., for the 1987 MUFONSymposium,wherethefocuswassupposedtobeonthecover-up.ThestartofthediscussionwassomewhatdelayedbythefactthatJackieGleasonhaddiedearlierintheday,andatributewasexpressed.Whenwewenttogointhestudio,Ihadseveralblacked-outNSAdocumentswithmetoprovethecover-up.Iwasnotallowedtobringthemin.Iargued-tonoeffect.Therewasproof!Thentheytoldeachofus,sittingabouttwofeetapart,nottolookateachother,butonly"lookatyourcamera."Strangewaytodiscussatopic.ItalsoturnsoutthatwenevermetKoppel,anddidnotseehimonamonitor.Weheardhimthroughearplugs,soweredeniedall the nonverbal input one normally has, such as a raised eyebrow, a smirk, and the like.PeopleattheMUFONconferencethenextdayaskedhowitwent.IhadtoadmitIhadnoideabecauseIhadnoclueastowhattheyactuallysawfromthethreecameras.WhenIfinallysawthetapemywifehadmade,Iwasreasonablypleased.

Another experience with Klass was at a Detroit TV studio. I had just come back from

Europe.WeweretoldonaPBSshowthatwecouldn'tbringanythingin.Assoonaswewereinthestudio,Klasspulledoutagrosslymisleadingclippingfromhispocket!Oneoftheusualdebunkingploysistoraiseirrelevantquestionstoavoiddiscussingthesolidstuff.AgainwithKlass inHamilton,Ontario, he suddenly brought up the stupid question as towhy I hadn'tappliedfortheCuttySarkScotch$1millionawardforanyevidenceofflyingsaucers.Ihadtowastetimepointingoutthetermsoftheaward,whichincludedprovidingeitherasaucerorapieceofasaucercertifiedbytheNationalAcademyofSciencesasbeingofETorigin.Ofcourse, I had never claimed to have such evidence. Furthermore, such evidence would beworth farmore than amillion dollars, and theU. S. and other governmentswould have astronginterestinpreventingitfrombeingturnedovertoCuttySark.

Iamnotaconspiracytheorist,asIcancertainlyprove,asnotedinChapter4,thatagenciessuchastheNSA,theCIA,andtheAirForcehavebeencoveringupUFOinformation.Idon'tknowwhytheWashingtonPostandtheNewYorkTimeshavebeennotonlynegative,butalsoguiltyofpoor journalism.Mybest suggestion is that bothhavebeen suffering (alongwithothers) from the David Susskind Syndrome, a medical condition I derived from myinteractionswithTVtalkshowhostDavidSusskind.IwaslivinginSouthernCaliforniaaftertherehadbeenamajorwaveofsightingsinthe1970s.HispeopletoldmetheywereplanningashowonUFOs.Theywantedagoodabductioncase,soIputthemintouchwithBettyHillandJohnFuller,authorof thebookTheInterruptedJourney.Theywantedagoodskeptic. Inotedthat therereallyweren'tany,butreferredthemtothelatePhilipKlass.Theywantedagood,recentcase.IsuggestedtheColonelLarryCoynehelicoptercasethathadhappenednotlongbefore.Theywantedmetosendthemmuchmaterial,whichIdid.ThentheybroughtalltheactorsinthistalkshowtogetherinNewYork.Thesetwasquitetenseanduncomfortable,incontrasttoashowIhaddonenotlongbeforeinTorontowithNormPerryoftheCanadianTelevisionNetwork.Betweentapingsegments,Susskindsaid,"IreadtheNewYorkTimesandhaven'tseenanythinginit toconvincemethesethingsarereal." Iamsurehehadn't. Ihavecome to delineate the Susskind Syndrome this way: Susskind and everyone else wouldacknowledge that, if alienswere visiting Earth, and the government was covering it up, itwouldbeabigandimportantstory.ButbecauseheandotherbrightbutcluelessintellectualssuchasDr.CarlSaganandDr.IsaacAsimovtakegreatprideinknowingabouttheimportantstories,andhaven'tknownanythingaboutflyingsaucers,thentheymustnotbereal.Anyonewhothinkstheyaremustnotbeverybright,anddoesn'tunderstandthatsuchsecretscouldn'tpossiblybekeptfromsuchsmartpeopleasSusskind,etal.Right?

Absolutelywrong.JournalistsfortheNewYorkTimesandtheWashingtonPostseemtothinkthesameway.Afterall,theTimeshadbrokentheDanielEllsbergPentagonPapersstoryaboutVietnam.ThePost hadbroken the storyof thepoliticalWatergate.Theyearned theirstripesbyreallydigging in, sowhybotherwith saucers?Of course, there is the additionaldifficultyofhaving toadmit theyhadneglectedsuchan importantstoryforall theseyears.Mostofusdon'tliketoadmitwehavemadeamistake.Bettertokeepthestatusquo.PerhapsIshould add, having grown up in Linden, New Jersey, 18 miles from New York City, thatespeciallybackinthe1940sand'SOs,EasternerswereconvincedthattheEastCoastwasthecenter of the universe-art, science, politics, sportsa sort of holier-than-thou attitude. (NewYork City was the most populous city in the United States; New York was then the mostpopulousstate.)

Herearesomestoriesthatweren'tcoveredproperly:

Roswell, July 9, 1947. How could anyone accept the notion that the commander(ColonelWilliamBlanchard)andtheintelligenceofficer(MajorJesseMarcel)ofthe509thBombGroup, theonlyatomicbombinggroup in theworld,couldnotimmediatelyrecognizeaweatherballoon?IncasethereaderhasseenallthoseTVdramatizationsofRoswellshowingahugepolyethyleneteardrop-shapedballoon,forgetit.ThemysticalMogulinvolvedstandardroundneopreneweatherballoonsthenflowneverydayallaroundtheworld.Theyturnedtodustwhenoutinthesunforaweekortwo.

How could the press blindly accept the temperature inversion explanation for themultiple aircraft and multiple radar observations of flying saucers overWashington,D.C., in the summer of 1952?How could they blindly accept theseclaimsofUSAFGeneralSamford?

AVWhydidneitherthePostnortheTimescarrytheofficialAirForcestatementthatinterceptor pilots had been ordered to shoot them (UFOs) down if the saucersdon'tlandwheninstructedtodoso?Thestorydidappearinotherpapers.WhydidneithercarryMajorGeneralRogerRamey'sstatementthatpilotshadalreadybeenscrambledtochaseUFOs300timesthatsummer?Itwasinotherpapers.

AV'How could any legitimate journalist not ask for the title, the authors, and the

nameoftheorganizationthatputtogetherProjectBlueBookSpecialReportNo.14 in1955,andnotevenask for thebasis for theabsurd3percentUNKNOWNfiguregivenoutbythesecretaryoftheAirForce?

Howcould theysoblindlyaccept theunsubstantiatedandtotallymisleadingclaimsofDr.EdwardCondoninthesummaryofhisstudywhentheFinalReportoftheUniversity of Coloradowas published in 1969?Others provided room for factcorrections.ThePittsburghPostGazettegavefinecoverage to thecommentsbyand colleagues and myself issued on behalf of the UFO Research Institute ofPittsburgh at the time. I had actually been given my first copy of the Condonreport,justbeforetheofficialrelease,byKDKAPittsburgh,ontheconditionthatIappearon theKDKAContactradioshowtodiscuss it.Noonewarnedme that itwas965pageslong!Ourgroup,whichcontainedanumberofprofessionalpeoplefromWestinghouseandotherprofessionalgroups,hadearnedthepress'strust.

AVWedidn'tbelieveinbeingapologistufologistsorclosetufologistsassomanypeoplestillthinkisnecessary.Allthatapproachdoesisreinforcethefalsenotionthatthereisnothingtothereportsofflyingsaucers-theideabeingthatiftherewassome solid evidence, people who are heavily involved would come on strong.Most are reluctant to do so, just as so many witnesses are reluctant to comeforward.Fearofridiculeisthereason.Myownexperiencewouldsaythefearisunjustified,ifonecomesequippedwithfactsanddata.

AVHowisitthattheydidn'tquestiontheUSAFaboutitscarefullycraftedandtotallymisleadingstatementswhenProjectBlueBookwasclosedinlate1969?Therewasthisstatement,stillbeingpromotedbytheUSAF,almost40yearslater,inresponsetoanyqueries:"1.NoUFOreported,investigated,andevaluatedbytheAirForcehasevergivenanyindicationofathreattoournationalsecurity.2.Therehasbeenno evidence submitted to, or discovered by, the Air Force that sightingscategorized as `unidentified' represent technological developments or principlesbeyondtherangeofpresent-dayscientificknowledge,"and3.Therehasbeennoevidenceindicatingthatsightingscategorizedas`unidentified'areextraterrestrialvehicles." Ifoneof the three functionsof reporting, investigating, or evaluatingwasperformedbysomeotheragencythantheAirForce,thestatementwouldbetrue,butmeaningless.Whocouldtheotheragencybe?TryOperationMajestic12,bywhateveritsnewnameisnowthattheprogramhasbeenopenlydiscussed,ortheCIA,orDIA,orNSA,orNRO,orOfficeofNavalIntelligence,andsoon.

There'snoevidenceoftechnologybeyondourknowledge?AsisnotedinChapter2,fissionandfusionpropulsionarenotbeyondourknowledge;wejusthaven'tbeenbuildingandusingsuchsystems.

'Nota threat tosecurity?Is that therightquestion?Penguins inAntarcticaaren'tathreattooursecurityeither,buttheysurelyarereal.IfUFOsweren'tathreat,whywerepilotsorderedtoshootthemdownin1952?Realjournalists,iftheydidtheirhomework,wouldunderstandthis.

Here isanothersituation that illustrates thefailureof theTimes todo its job.TheNewYorkTimesofSeptember18,1994,gavefront-pagecoverage(abovethefold),andmoreonthesecondpage,whentheUSAFreleaseditstotallymisleadingvolumeTheRoswellReport:Factvs.FictionintheNewMexicoDesert.TheAirForceprovidedthefiction.ThearticlewaswrittenbyPulitzerPrize-winnerWilliamBroad,whoboughtthegrosslymisleadingandfalseMogulballoonstoryhook,line,andsinker.TherewerestillanumberofRoswellwitnessesalive; he didn't talk to any of them, but talked to some Mogul balloon people who quiteobviouslyknewnothing aboutRoswell.Naturally he used such pejorative labels as "flyingsaucer fans," "devotees," and "cultists." He mentioned some Roswell books, but not mine(CrashatCorona)bymyselfandaviationsciencewriterDonBerliner.Itistheonlyonebyascientist.Hetalkedtoanumberofballoonexperts,andmentionsWalterHautasthepresidentoftheRoswellUFOmuseum,butsaysnothingabouthishavingbeenthepublicinformationofficerwhoissuedthepressreleaseofJuly8,1947.Hesaysnothingaboutthe509thbeingthemostelitemilitarygroupintheworldin1947,oraboutMajorJesseMarcelhavingbeentheintelligence officer for the group. There were still plenty of firsthand witnesses alive; hetalked tonone.Thestorywasunfortunatelypickedupbymanyothernewspapers.ThePosthastalkedabouttheMajestic12documents,butwouldn'tcorrectthemanyfalseclaimsthat Ipointedouttotheirombudsman.

TherearemanyotherexamplesofirresponsiblejournalismaboutUFOs.Themostrecentone is a "Science" article inNewsweek, on January 18, 2008, called "Demons in theDark:How Scientists Talk About UFO Sightings" (a Newsweek Web Exclusive to be found atwww.newsweek.com/ id/96014).Theauthor,Dr.CharlesEuchner, isa lecturer inEnglishatYaleUniversitywhoiscompletingabookaboutsuicideattheGoldenGateBridge.Ican'tsee

anyrelevancetohisbackgroundortheviewshediscussesfromprofessionaldebunkers(allhave PhDs)Michael Shermer (editor of Skeptic), Robert Park (professor of physics at theUniversity ofMaryland), andMichael Persinger (a behavioral neuroscientist at LaurentianUniversity).Theirpastwritings,suchasPark'sVoodooScience:TheRoadFromFoolishnesstoFraud (discussed inChapter9) andShermer'sWhySmartPeopleBelieveWeirdThings,clearlydemonstratethattheyarealmostcompletelyignorantofscientificpublicationsaboutflyingsaucers.ThestartingpointofthearticleistheStephenville,Texas,sightingsofJanuary2008.Itisfollowedbynonsensicalamateurpsychologyexplanations,andnomentionoftheMUFONinvestigatorsortheactualstatementsmadebythewitnesses.Theideaofintergalactictravelisthrowninfornogoodreason,asisShermer'sthinkinghesawaUFOwhenhewasovertiredmanyyearsago.Maybe the fact thatNewsweek is connectedwith theWashingtonPost is relevant. Iamaccustomed topoorcoverageofUFOs,but it alwaysworriesme thatmany other topicsmust be covered just as badly. Shermer tried his "residue" theory aboutUFOsightingsingeneral,andatStephenville,onLarryKinginmid-January2008.Hetriedtomakethepointthatwhenoneistryingtoexplainthingsthereisalwaysaresidueofperhaps5percent thatcan'tbeexplained.He tried thatonmeduringourdebateonCoast toCoastonAugust1,2007.Ipointedoutthatitwastotallyfalseandnotedthe21.5percentofProjectBlueBook Special Report No. 14, the 30 percent of the University of Colorado Study, the 16percentof theUFOEvidence,andsoon.Frankly,Dr.CharlesEuchnerowes the readers ofNewsweekanapologyforsuchunscientificclaptrap.

Several TV documentary series about UFOs are supposedly in the works. I have myfingerscrossedthatgoodsensewillprevail,butcannotbeoptimisticabouttheoutcome.

An excellent way to start an argument among ufologists is to bring up the topic ofMajestic 12 (MJ-12 orMAJIC 12). I have been researching the subject since first hearingabouttheMJ-12documentsinDecember1984,fromWilliamMooreandJaimeShandera.Wehadworked closely together prior to that on Roswell and related topics. It should be nosurprise that the various highly classified Operation Majestic 12 documents have beenattackedsincetheirexistencewasfirstmadepublic in1987.Equallyunsurprisingis thefactthat a number of fraudulent MJ-12 documents have been released as well. Clearly, if theoriginal documents-the Eisenhower Briefing Document (EBD) of November 18,1952, theTruman-Forrestalmemo(TFM)ofSeptember24,1947(page8oftheEBD),andtheCutler-Twiningmemo (CTM) of July 14, 1954 (found in July 1985, in Box 189 of Entry 267 ofRecord Group 341 at the National Archives by Jaime Shandera and William Moore)-aregenuine,thentheconsequencesareenormous.AliensarevisitingEarth,thegovernmenthasrecovered at least one crashed saucer and several alien bodies, and a significant group ofoutstandingAmericanscientistsandmilitary leadershascollected, reviewed,evaluated,andkeptsecretallkindsofinformationaboutthevisitors.Manisnotalone,andthegovernmenthascoveredupthebiggeststoryofthemillennium(atleastsince1947).Inshort,thesearethemostimportantclassifiedgovernmentdocumentseverleakedtothepublic

Just10yearsafterthe1984receiptofarollofexposed35mmfilmbyJaimeShanderaathisBurbank,California, home, andhis effortswithWilliamMoore andmyself to evaluatethem,anewrolloffilmshowedupinthemailboxofaviationandsciencewriter(andlong-time ufologist) Don Berliner. (Berliner and I had earlier worked together on Crash atCorona.)TherolloffilmcontainedmanypagesofSOM1-01:Majestic12GroupSPECIALOPERATIONSMANUAL:"ExtraterrestrialEntitiesandTechnology,RecoveryandDisposal."MeanwhileTimCooper,aresearcherinBigBearLake,California,beganreceivingloadsofsupposedlyrelatedMJ-12documents.Therewould appear to beno connectionbetween theoriginalthreedocumentsandtheSOM1.01(mailedfromWisconsinratherthanAlbuquerque,N.M.),orthemassofTimCooperdocumentsthatwereusuallyintheformofXeroxcopies,oftenonlylegiblewithdifficulty,andreceivedbyhimthroughthemail.

TheDebunkers

Thereseemtobeseveraldistinctgroupsattackingthedocuments:

A. Those who believe (despite all the evidence to the contrary) that no alienspacecraft have ever visited Earth. Therefore, any documents saying that theyhave, must be false. No need to do a detailed investigation, to spend time inarchives,researchthepeopleinvolved,orthelike.Theymustbefraudulent!

B.ThosewhoareconvincedthatsomeUFOsareindeedalienspacecraft,butthatnosaucer crashed near Roswell because they haven't found any other classifieddocuments indicating any have. Karl Pflock, in his book Roswell: InconvenientFacts and theWill toBelieve, epitomizes this approach. If no saucer crashed atRoswell,thenthedocumentssayingitdidmustbefake.

C. Former military people who are convinced that the documents must be falsebecause thestyle, format,details,andsoon,donotmatchwhat theywouldhaveexpected,basedontheirmilitaryservicefromthe1960sonward.Thisignoresthemany changes in office procedures (copymachines, word processors), and thefactthattheWhiteHouseisacivilianorganization-notamilitaryone.

D. Armchair theorists who think they can make judgments without doing anyhomeworkatall.

Inmuchofthediscussion,onefindstheuseofthefourbasicrulesfordebunkingofanycontroversial idea, which I detailed previously. Another important rule for some of theattackers is that absence of evidence is evidence for absence. Karl Pflock and others citenumerous documents, mostly only classified SECRET, that say nothing about Roswell orMajestic12.This,ofcourse,neglectsthefactthattherearestillnumerousdocumentsfromtheTruman and Eisenhower eras (1945-1961) that are still classified, that we rarely seedocuments that have classification stamps of TOP SECRET CODEWORD. I was told inNovember2003byanarchivistattheIkeLibrarythattheystillhaveabout300,000pagesofclassified documents. We know that the NSA classified 156 UFO documents (found in

responsetoajudge'sdirective)asTOPSECRETUMBRAwhentheyfinallyreleasedahighlyexpurgatedversion-abouttwolinesperpagearenotcoveredwithwhite-out.Supposedlytheredactedinformationisaboutsourcesandmethods.WhywoulditbefiledunderUFOsifonly5percentisaboutUFOs?

In addition, as a result ofmy spending a lot of time at 20 different document archivesfromcoasttocoast,IcansaythatalmostneverdoesonefindTOPSECRETCODEWORDdocumentsaboutanything.Thebestdocuments for comparisonwith theEBDwouldbe thefour National Security Briefings for president-elect Eisenhower presented by Director ofCentral IntelligenceWalterB.Smith in the timeperiodbetweenIke'selectiononNovember4,1952,andJanuary9,1953,whenSmithinformedPresidentTrumanofhissecuritybriefingsforIkebeforeandaftertheelection.Unfortunately,despitemyFOIArequesttotheCIAandasubsequent appeal to their response ("We have nothing in response to your request," eventhough Igave thedatesand timesof twoof thebriefings),wehavenosuchdocuments forcomparison.

Academics have found it necessary to jump into the fray, often without benefit of anyresearch.Forexample,CarlSagansaidinTheDemonHauntedWorld,"TheAirForcesaysthe documents are bogus.... And UFO expert Philip J. Klass and others find lexicographicinconsistenciesthatsuggestthewholethingisahoax."HeseemedtobetotallyunawareofthefactthatKlasshadpaidme$1,000forprovidingmorethan14documentsdoneinexactlythesamePica typeface as theCutler-Twiningmemo.Klass, on the basis of nineElite typefacedocuments (obtainedbyhimviamail;hehadneverbeen to the IkeLibrary)of the250,000pagesofNSCmaterialattheIkeLibrary,hadinsistedtheCTMshouldhavebeendoneinElitetype!Somelexicographicresearch!(OurcorrespondenceandacopyofhischecktomeareinmyFinalReportonOperationMajestic12.)ItisinterestingthathehadtoldmanypeopleofhischallengetometofindanyotherlegitimateexamplesoftheuseofthesamestyleandsizePicatypeasusedinthememo,buttoldnobodyaboutpayingme.Hehadofferedme$100foreach,unfortunatelysettingamaximumof10.Hegotupsetwithmeforhavingpublishedourcorrespondence and a copyof the check, and threatened to sueme. I pointedout that I hadXeroxedthecheck,andthebankhadcashedit,andIcoulddowhatIwantedwiththeXerox.

TheCutler-Twiningmemo.CourtesyoftheU.S.government.

Dr. Robert AlanGoldberg, in the Roswell chapter of his book EnemiesWithin, stated,"Evidenceofmalfeasancewasplentiful.Criticsnotedthatthedateformatdidnotconformtogovernmentalstyle,thepaperscarriednotop-secretregistrationnumber,militarytitleswereimproperlynoted, and signaturesappeared tobegraftedon to thedocument.Anachronisticusages likemedia and impacted further betrayed the find."This is an excellent example ofresearch by proclamation. Goldberg is a professor of history at the University of Utah.

Anyone spending much time at the Truman and Eisenhower archives would find manydifferentdateformatsinold,classified,limited-distributiondocuments.InmyFinalReport,Ipublished three brief covermemos fromCIADirector Allen Dulles toWhite House StaffSecretaryColonelAndrewGoodpaster, donewithin a10-dayperiod, using these threedateformats:"12November1956,""November20,1956,"and"NOV221956"(arubberstamp).Ievennotedonefilefolderthatusedsevendifferentdateformats,andfoundexamplesofbothRoscoeHillenkoetterandW.B.Smith(DCIsandNU-12members)usingtheday,month,yearformat of the EBD.Goldberg didn't bother to check theOxfordDictionarybothmedia andimpactedwereinuseatthetime.Iwilldiscussmilitarytitlesinamoment.

PaymenttotheauthorfromKlass,provingKlassmistaken.Courtesyoftheauthor.

TopSecretControlNumbers

TheoldmilitaryguyshavepersistentlyattackedthefactthattheEBD,theTF,andtheCTitems all lacked a TOP SECRET control number. They vociferously insisted that all TOPSECRETdocumentsmusthaveaTOPSECRETcontrolnumber.WiththehelpofarchivistsattheMarshallArchivesandtheEisenhowerLibrary,Iwasabletoprovethiswasatotallyfalseclaim.Ishouldnotethatthereisabigdifferencebetweena20-pageTOPSECRETdocumentofwhich 20 copies have beenmade, and one copy of an eyes-only document. The formerrequiresacontrolnumber.Manyofthelatterdonot.

TopSecretRestricted

Many people, including those in theU.S. government, havemade a big thing about thetyped securitymarkingon the briefCTmemo:TOPSECRETRESTRICTED, above a linesaying "Security Information." Their point is that, supposedly, this designation was neverused, and doesn't make sense, because TOP SECRET is the highest category andRESTRICTEDisthelowest.

ThisuncertaintywasremovedwhentheGeneralAccountingOffice,initspursuitofmanyarchivesforRoswell-relatedmaterial,madethefollowingstatementonpage80oftheir400-plus-pagereportontheirRoswellinvestigation:"Dec.7,1994,Ms.LJandIreviewedrecordspertaining to theAirForce'satomicenergyandcertainmissionandweapons requirements.These files were classified up to and including top secret. The period covered by theserecordswasfrom1948-1956.TherewasnomentionoftheRoswellIncident.Noinformationpertaining to theassignmentwasobtained. In several instanceswenoticed theclassificationTop Secret Restricted used on several documents. This is mentioned because in pastreferences to this classification (Majestic 12) we were told that it was not used duringthisperiod"(italicsadded).Itriedtoobtaincopiesofthematerialstheyhadseen,butwastoldthat the materials were still classified. Clearly, absence of evidence was not evidence forabsence.Anobviousquestionis,whywouldacleverforgeruseasecuritymarkingthatwasso uncommon, rather than just a plain vanilla TOPSECRET?Howdid he or she know toplaceaslantedred-pencillinethroughthemarking'?IwasinformedwellafterdiscoveryofthedocumentattheNationalArchivesthatthiswasstandardpracticepriortodeclassification.Anobscuredetailindeed.

MilitaryRankConfusion

Kevin Randle's major complaint about the MJ-12 papers is that the military ranks areblatantlywrong.OnpagetwooftheEBD,RoscoeH.Hillenkoetter(DCI1947-1950)isnotedthusly:"BRIEFINGOFFICER:ADM.ROSCOEH.HILLENKOETTER(MJ-1),"and is listed

lower on the page with a beginning line of "Members of the Majestic 12 Group weredesignatedasfollows:Adm.RoscoeH.Hillenkoetter....Gen.NathanF.Twining.Gen.HoytS.Vandenberg....Gen.RobertMontague."

The kicker here is that Hillenkoetter was not a full admiral, but only a rear admiral.However, in September 1947, Montague was only a brigadier general, and Twining andVandenbergwereonlylieutenantgenerals.(VandenberggothisfourthstarinOctober1947.)Inshort,thewriterofthebriefingwasconsistentinusinggenericranks.

Thismakesperfectsenseinviewofthreefactors:

1. In amixedgroupsof civilians andmilitarypeople,what rank can one give thecivilians?

2.TheNavyhasonlythreeflagranks-vice,rear,andfulladmirals-buttheArmyhasfour:brigadier,major,lieutenant,andfull(four-star)generals.

3.Thenameswere listedas theyhadbeendesignated in1947,but some rankshadchangedpriortoNovember1952.Genericranksavoidtheproblem.

Early on, Randle had askedme for other examples ofHillenkoetter signingmemos as"admiral." I had to point out that there is no Hillenkoetter signature on the EBD, so thequestion is irrelevant. This argumentmay soundweak, but General Arthur Exon, ColonelJesseMarcel,Jr.,andNavyCommanderThomasDeuleyhadno troublewithgeneric ranks.Ikeusedthemhimselfinhisbooks.Fortunately,becauseoftheworkofCaliforniaresearcherBrian Parks, I was able to locate a relevant example of just this same approach. AndrewGoodpaster (by this timeabrigadiergeneral)hadwrittenaclassifiedmemodatedJune30,1958, inwhichhe listed theattendeesatameetingonJune27,1958.Severalwere civiliansandfiveweremilitary.Allofthelatter,includinghimself,werelistedasgeneraloradmiral,even though only one was a four-star. However, his signature is brigadier general.GoodpasterhadbeenwithIkefromthestartofhispresidencyin1953,sohesurelyknewthe

right protocol for theWhite House. During a visit to the Eisenhower Library in Abilene,Kansas,inNovember2003,Ifoundanumberofthese"memcons"fromGeneralGoodpasterusing generic ranks formeeting attendees, including himself, but still signing as brigadiergeneral.

Itisdifficulttofindrelevantevidenceifonedoesn'tgotothearchives.Incasethereaderiswondering,no,thematerialattheTrumanandEisenhowerLibrarieshasnotbeenscannedandisnotaccessibleviacomputerfromone'sarmchairoratthelibraries.Thearchivistshadnoproblemwithgenericranks.

FirstpageoftheTOPSECRETEisenhowerBriefingDocument(EBD),foundgenuine.CourtesyoftheU.S.government.

Page2oftheEBD,listingthemembersofMJ-12.CourtesyoftheU.S.government.

Page3oftheEBD.CourtesyoftheU.S.government.

Page4oftheEBD.CourtesyoftheU.S.government.

Page5oftheEBD.CourtesyoftheU.S.government.

MembersofMJ-12

The12originalmembersofMJ-12arelistedonthesecondpageoftheEBD.ManypeopleinufologyhadseriousdifficultywithDr.DonaldH.MenzelbeinglistedasamemberofMJ-12.Afterall,hewas,atthetimein1952,andformanyyearsafterthat,thebest-knownUFO

debunker.Bythetimeofhisdeathin1976,hehadwrittenthreenegativeUFObooks,givenanumberofpapers(includingatthe1968Congressionalhearings,wherehispaperisnexttomine),allattackingUFOreality.TherewasalsotheissuethatalltheotherMJ-12members,based on readily available information, had high-level security clearances. But surely onedidn'tneedaclearancetoteachastronomyatHarvard?

Ihadn'tlikedMenzel,asIwasnotimpressedwithhisunscientificbooks,andhadarun-inwithhimatHarvardviaphoneafter invitinghim tomyHarvard lecture.He claimed, "Youcan'tbeascientistandbelieveinflyingsaucers."Ilaughed,whichdidn'tpleasehim.Ofcoursehedidn'tgotothelecture.IdecidedthatatleastIwoulddosomechecking.IhadviewedhisUFOcorrespondenceat theAmericanPhilosophicalLibrary inPhiladelphia, and foundoutthat his paperswere at theHarvardArchives, with some also at the University of Denver.AftergettingtherequiredapprovalfromthreedifferentpeopletoviewtheHarvardholdings,I paid a visit to Harvard at the expense of the Fund for UFOResearch. There I made theshockingdiscoverythatMenzelwasuptohisearsinhighlyclassifiedworkfortheCIA,NSA,andmorethan30companies.Hehad taughtcryptographybeforeWWII, learnedadifferentsymbolic language (Japanese), and worked on all kinds of classified problems for manyyears afterWWII.He told JackKennedyhe could tell himmore about theNSAwhen theywereproperlyclearedtoeachother.MenzelhadbeenassociatedwiththeNSAanditsNavypredecessorfor30yearsasof1960!Noneofthiswasnotedinaneight-pageappreciationinSky andTelescope after his death. I published an article in the InternationalUFOReporterentitled"TheSecretLifeofDonaldMenzel,"andgavemoredetailsinmyFinalReport.EarlyonIhadnotedcorrespondencebetweenMenzel'sattorneyandMJ-12memberDr.VannevarBushthankingBushforhissupportofMenzelataterribleUSAFLoyaltyHearing.ThefileisattheHarvardArchives,andisfascinatingreading.

Many inufologyclaimthatMenzelcouldn'thave ledadouble lifeasa public debunkerandaprivateadvocateofthenotionthatthealiensrecoveredatRoswellwere"beingsfromanothersolarsystementirely."Alladmittedthattheyknewnothingofhisclandestinepost-waractivities.AnoldassociateofhiswithwhomIhadcontacthadnoproblematallwiththeidea.Some,manyyears later,were able toobtain somegovernment filesonMenzel.Nonehaveshownthat thesewereknownprior tomydiscoveries in1986. Ishouldpointout thatmany

verybrightspiesleddoublelivesforyears,suchasPhilby,Burgess,andMaclean,whowereSovietspiesworkingformanyyearsinBritishintelligence.

Randle says little about the other MJ-12 members, but made the following comment:"Nowheredidhe[Friedman]findanymentionofMJ-12[inhispapersandrecords].Therearenomarginal notes, no oblique references, no highly placed correspondence that suggests,mentions,identifies,orconfirmstheexistenceofMJ-12orMenzel'sconnectiontoit."Thisisanother one of those "absence of evidence" claims. Certainly I had never claimed to havefoundanydirectevidence.ButnoneofMenzel'sfilesattheHarvardArchiveswereclassified,despiteallhisclassifiedactivities.Hehadalreadyspent30years(asof1960)workingfortheNSAanditsNavypredecessors.Norationalpersonwouldexpecthimtohaveleftclassifiedmaterials aboutaTOPSECRETCODEWORDblackbudget activity,whosevery existencewas classified, in the open. The funny thing is that Randle had a long connectionwith themilitary,evenhavingbeencalledbackintoserveasanofficerinIraq.Hecertainlyknowstherulesforstorageofclassifiedmaterials.

TheTrumanForrestalMemo

Right from the start theTFMhadbeen the target of thedebunkers.PhilKlass, in a fastpress release afterBillMoore publicized theEBD,TFM, andCTM, had claimed itwas anobviousfraudbecauseitmadeallkindsofmistakes,comparedtorealTrumanletters.HeusedthewordletterninetimeseventhoughitisclearlyheadedMemorandum.Manyhaveclaimedthatthetypewriterwithwhichitwastypedwasobviouslyfrom1960,provingitwasafraud(noforensicdocumentanalysiswasprovided).MostclaimedthatthesignaturewasidenticaltothatonanothermemofromTrumantoMJ-12memberVannevarBush.Firstmeasurementsclearlyindicateditwasnotanexactcopy,becausethelengthsofvarioussegmentsseemednottomatch.Randle,inCaseMJ-12,providedtheoff-the-cuffopinionofPeterTytell,aworld-class questioned documents examiner. Moore, Shandera, and I had sent a copy of thedocuments toTytell,whodidn'twanthisnameused anywhere, andpreparedno report, butapparently claimed to Randle that the typewriter typeface was not in use until the 1960s.Randle quotes him thusly: "It was just perfect because the whole thing of the 12 pages orhowevermanypages itwas....Mostof thepageswere justblankpageswith just fivewords

writtenonthemlikeTopSecretorAppendixAorsomethinglikethat."Inreality,therewereeightpagesandonlyone,page7(not includedbyRandle),said"AppendixA."Fortunately,Dr.RobertM.Woodhiredanexpert,JamesA.Black,toperformaprofessionalexamination.On November 13, 1998, Black stated, "My knowledge of typewriter fonts permits me toconcludethattheletterwaslikelytohavebeentypedbyanUnderwoodStandard typewriter.The portions of the type font of the letter that can be clearly visualized match those of atypewriterexemplarofanUnderwoodStandardtypedinMay1940."

Blackalsoaddedthatthatthedisputedsignatureismostlikelyareproduction:"Ireachedthisopinionbecause the ink line ishomogenous and feathering is absent at the endsof thelines."Doesthisprovethedocumentisafraud?Therealquestionis,wherewouldtherehavebeenanoriginalofthememowithasignature?Forrestal'soriginalwouldhavebeensigned,but who else would have received a signed copy? One expects that Dr. Bush and the DCI(Hillenkoetter) noted in thememowould have had copies,most likely unsigned. ForrestaldiedinMay1949, threeyearsearlier.BecauseweknowthatW.B.Smith,directorofcentralintelligencesucceedingHillenkoetter,was(becauseofthe1952presidentialelection)briefingIke at this time (1952) on national security matters, presumably Hillenkoetter, then at theBrooklyn Navy Yard, may well have had the EBD typed at the CIA. Smith (who workedclosely with Ike during WWII) might well have said that Ike prefers documents withsignatures. Surely the CIA had the capability of lifting a signature from the memo fromTrumantoBush(ironically,IhadfoundthatintheBushpapersattheLCMD).KarlPflock,aformerCIAemployee,assuredmethatthiswasthecase.

TrumanForrestalmemo(page8oftheEBD).CourtesyoftheU.S.government.

Ofcourse,noneofthecriticsofthememonotethatthenumericalportionofthedate,"24,1947,"isoffsetfromtheSeptember,anddonewithadifferenttypewriter.Bush'sofficealwaysputaperiodafterthedate;rarelydidTruman's.GeorgeElsey,whoworkedforRooseveltattheWhiteHouseandthenforTrumanduringhisentireterminoffice,toldme thatmostofwhatapresidentsignsispreparedbyotherpeople,andsometimesthedocumentshavetohavethedatetypedlaterwhenitisclearwhichdateisappropriate.Hecouldfindnoreasontosay

the EBD, TFM, or CTM were fraudulent. Truman was very busy at that time, as the newnationalsecurityapparatuswasbeinginstalled,theUSAFwasseparatedfromtheArmy, theCIAwascreatedfromtheCentralIntelligenceGroup,andsoon.Whywouldahoaxerusetwodifferenttypewritersandputaperiodafterthedate?Forgersnormallydoaslittleaspossibletocallattentiontoidiosyncrasiesintheirforgeries,whetherofpaintingsordocuments.

Other critics of the signature claim, based on Albert S. Osborne's book QuestionedDocuments, thatno twosignaturesarealike.Actually,Osbornesaid thatonecouldproduceidentical signatures, justnotconsecutively.After the1948electionTrumancommented toafamilymemberthathewassigning500thank-younotesanhour.Someweresurelyidenticaltoothers.Klasshad evenclaimed theOsbornebookwaspublished in1978,when itwouldhave coveredXeroxing,when it fact itwas published in 1910, and the chapter involved isentitled"TracedForgeries."IwasluckytofindacopyattheFrederictonheadquartersoftheRCMP.IdoubtifKlasseversawacopy.

HowDidaHoaxerKnowSoMuch?

InmyFinalReportIprovidedalistofmorethan37factsnotknowntobetrueuntilafterthe EBD, TFM, andCTM had been received or found. A lot were trivial, such as the dategiven,August1,1950, forSmithhavingpermanently replaced thedeceasedForrestal as anMJ-12member.IobtainedfromtheTrumanLibrarythefactthatthatwastheonlydatewhenTruman and Smith met during a many-month period of time before Smith succeededHillenkoetterasDCI.Theyhadnotprovidedthatinformationtoanyoneelse.

TheCTMhasneitherasignaturenorthesymbol"/s/,"asdotheothertwomemoswehadfromCutlertoTwining.Cutlerwasoutofthecountryonthatdate,socouldnothavesignedanyletters.However,heleftdetailed instructionswithJamesLay,executivesecretaryof theNSC,tokeepthingsmovingoutofhisin-basketwhilehewasgone.IpublishedthatletterandtheonefromLaytoCutlerwhileCutlerwasoverseassayinghewastakingcareofthings,inmyFinalReport. It tookme twoyears to get the latter viamandatory classification review

throughtheIkeLibrary,asitwasstillclassifiedwhenIfoundawithdrawalsheetnoting it. Ihadalsodiscoveredthatearlierthatday(July14,1954)LayhadmetwithIkeandtheyhadaphone conversation at around 4:30 p.m.GeorgeElsey toldme thatLay andCutlerworkedcloselytogether,andLaywouldcertainlyhavesentabriefnoteforCutlertoTwiningmakinga trivial change in schedule. How did the forger know not to sign the memo or use /s/(becauseitwassometimeafterthediscoveryoftheCTMthatRobertToddfoundthememofromCutlertoLaysayinghewouldbegone)?ToddwasstronglyopposedtoRoswell,MJ-12,BillMoore,JaimeShandera,JesseMarcel,andsoon.ItisalsointerestingthattheCutler-Laymemounderlinesafewwords,asdoestheCTM.Thisisuncommonindocumentsofthatera,butapparentlywasusedbyLayandCutleraboutNSCmatters.

TheEBDsays that thedetailed investigationofRoswellbyTwiningandBushbeganonJuly7,1947.Severalyearsafteritsreceipt,inanewlydeclassifiedboxofGeneralTwining'spapers,Ifoundhisflightlog,whichshowsthatheindeedflewtoNewMexicofromOhioonJuly7,1947.Thiswasconfirmedbyhispilot'sflightlogaswell,alsofoundmuchlater.Howdidanybodyknowthatdatefit?

SomepeoplehavecomplainedthatanybodycouldhavefoundoutwhatIdidaboutMenzelprior to receipt of the EBD. Yes, of course, the documents were sitting at the HarvardArchives.Butittookthreesignatures,includinghiswife's,formetogainaccess.Noevidencehasbeenclaimedorput forth thatanyoneelsehad lookedat thepapersbefore Ihad.Somehave even falsely suggested that I noted the letters to Kennedy and such at the readilyaccessibleAmericanPhilosophicalSocietyLibrary'sMenzelUFOCorrespondencefile.Theyweren'tthere.Nopermissionsignatureswererequiredforthataccess.

PhonyDocuments

Tim Cooper, of Big Bear Lake, California, had received a lot of supposed MJ-12documentsthroughoutaperiodoftime.WiththeexceptionofalengthypieceonahistoryofUFOs (the Bowen Document), which is on original paper but only has a magenta Top

SECRETMARCstampedonit,theyareXeroxcopies.Inanumberofinstancestheoriginalswereveryhard toread,whichmeantmuchtimewasspent trying todecipher thewords.Tosome this indicates authenticity. One of the documents had bothered me because it wassupposedly amemo fromAdmiralHillenkoetter to PresidentTruman (February 17, 1948),noting thatPresident Trumanwasn't receivingmuch of theMAJICmaterial. Thismade nosense.Trumanwasn'tanengineerorscientist;whatwouldhavebeenthepurposeofsomuchmaterial going to him'? It sounded to me as though it should have been from GeneralMarshalltoPresidentRoosevelt,abouttheMAGICmaterialbeingprocessedbythetonafterwe broke the Japanese codes during WWII. I was also concerned by its mention of "therecentlydiscoveredmachines,"andsomuch"product"beingreceivedeveryday.ItsoundedmoresimilartowhatwouldhavebeenaletterfromGeneralMarshalltoPresidentRooseveltduring WWII talking about the "intelligence product" of code-breaking using a ciphermachine.

MysuspicionswereconfirmedwhenIdiscoveredtheoriginalfromMarshalltoRooseveltaboutMAGICinthereadilyavailablebookTheAmericanMAGICattheUniversityofNewBrunswickLibrary,notfarfromtheimportantbookWedemeyerReportsbyGeneralAlbertC.Wedemeyer.On the other hand, therewas one item I had thoughtwas genuine, becausesomeregulationsthatwerenotedinanitemtoC.HumelsinematchedinfoturnedupbyLarryBryantatthePentagon.ThesignaturewasHumelsine's,accordingtohiswife.MarshallwasinNew York, according to the archives, hence the need for using the referenced "secrettelephone."(ButthenlookcarefullyatFigure1,clearlyanemulation.)Therewereanumberof other signatures thatwere questionable.A real breakthrough camewhen I asked for anopinionfromarchivistLarryBlandattheMarshallArchivesaboutanotherlettersupposedlyfromMarshalltoHumelsine.Heimmediatelyrecognizeditasanemulationofafamousletter(see Figure 2, also from Lewin's book) from Marshall to Governor Thomas Dewey, theRepublicancandidateforpresidentintheelectionof1944,tryingtogetDeweynottomakeanypubliccharges that theUnitedStateshadbroken the Japanesecodes, as thatwould leadthemtochangethecodes,andthereforecostmanylives.Marshallnotedthathe,asthechiefofstafftoaDemocraticpresident,couldn'tbeseenwithDewey-theemulationsaidhecouldn'tbeseenwithHumelsine!ButHumelsinehadbeenhisexecutivesecretaryduringWWII,andwasagainplaying that role toMarshall as secretaryof state.Theysaweachother almost everyday.Also,itwasaddressed"DearCarl,"butMarshallessentiallyneverusedfirstnamesexceptforcontemporaries,andMarshallwasdecadesolderthanHumelsine.ColonelClarkwasnow

ageneral,andnotworkingwithMarshallin1947.Marshallwassecretaryofstate,notdefense(thoughheheldthatroleafewyearslater).

Figure2:Genuineletter,lateremulated.CourtesyoftheU.S.government.

Thiswasarealbreak.IalsoaskedBlandifhecouldseeanyreasonwhyGeneralAlbertC.Wedemeyer(hissignatureisononeoftheCooperdocuments)shouldbeconnectedwithMJ-12,whenhisfieldwasChina.HehadservedthereduringWWIIandwassentin1947tomakeastudyaboutwhattheeffectswouldbeiftheUnitedStatesdidordidnotgetheavilyinvolvedin fighting the Communists under Mao Tse Tung. Bland agreed that he couldn't see theconnection either.Hementioned that therewas an entire book calledWedemeyerReports. I

located it at thenearbyUniversityofNewBrunswickLibrary.Almost immediately I foundthree documents that were the models for three phony emulations! The technique wasstraightforward:Retypeanexistingdocumentwithanoldtypewriter,makinga fewchanges(dates and such) to conceal the chicanery, scan or Xerox the handwritten portions ofdocuments,combine,andvoila-agenuine-lookingphony.Icheckedotherbooksatthelibrary,and, sure enough, the bookTheAmericanMagic had both the original of theDewey letter(Figure2)andtheoriginalMarshallMagicletter.BobWoodhadlocatedtheoriginaloftheletter(Figure1)supposedlyfromMarshall toTrumanvia theHumelsine letter. ItwasfromMarshalltoTrumanaboutWedemeyer,notTwining.Ihadn'tpaidenoughattentiontothefactthatIknewfromTwining'spilotlogthatheflewtoD.C.onSeptember26,notSeptember25.

Almostallofthephonydocumentsnotonlyhadword-for-wordportionsoftheoriginals,but also the handwritten items fit right on top of them. Even though there was a Trumansignature, a handwritten date (July 9, 1947), and the words "I approve," spacing matchedperfectly.See the emulation (Figure 3) of a supposed July 9 directive toGeneral Twining.Compare it to the genuine item fromWedemeyer's book (also Figure 3).A number of thenon-emulationdocumentshaddirectquotesfromthephonyones,establishingthattheywerephonyaswell.Also,allhadmistakesinthetextthatmadenosense,suchas,"whenfinishedinNewMexicogo toSandia."Thiswas supposedly toTwining,but is an emulation of a realdirectivetoWedemeyerinwhichitwassaid,"whenfinishedinChinagotoKorea."KoreaisnotinChina,sothatmakessense,butSandiaisinNewMexico.ThehandwrittendateontheWedemeyerdirectiveisJuly9.ButTwiningwenttoNewMexicoonJuly7.ItmakessenseforWedemeyer to takealongspecialists from theState, theTreasury,and theNavy,becausehehadtolookatthetotalChinesepicture.Notonlywouldthosepeoplemakenosenseasapartof the Twining expedition, but we know who went with Twining from an article in theAlamogordopapersayingTwininghadmadearoutineinspectionofAlamogordoArmyAirField(laterHollomanAFB).

The fraudulence is further noted by the supposed letter from Twining to the presidentdatedSeptember19(seeFigure1)aboutpresentinghisfindings.Comparethealmostidenticalwording to that of the real item from Wedemeyer to the president's office (Figure 1).Twining's flight logproveshewasonlygone fromJuly7 to July11 (hardly twomonths).

Could Twining's small group really have generated the same exact number of documents-1,200-asWedemeyer's?Icertainlydoubtit.

Figure4:MUFONSymposiumProceedings.CourtesyoftheU.S.government.

Notealsothebigparagraphonthefirstpageofthesupposedxxxx-ReportfromTwining(Figure 4). It is clearly lifted from the emulation of theWedemeyer-to-Truman memo ofSeptember 19,1947: "In consonance with your instructions, advisors...." Repeating a phonyportionofadocumentinanotherdocumentdoesn'tmakeitgenuine.

Bob and Ryan Wood have suggested that General Marshall must have prepared bothdirectives.Not only didGeneralWedemeyer (an expert onChina) say he had prepared hisowndirective,butalsohewasbasedinBaltimoreintheArmy,knewmanyofthekeyfiguresinChina, andwas reporting toSecretaryofStateMarshall,whohad spentmostof1946 inChina.Twiningwasbased inDayton,Ohio,washeadof theAirMaterielCommandof theArmyAirForce,hadbeenheadofthe15thand20thAirForces,andservedontheNationalAdvisory Committee on Aeronautics, with a very strong technical background. The twosituations(ChinainapoliticalupheavalandanaliensaucerinNewMexico)weredrasticallydifferent.Wedemeyer needed presidential authority to speak for theUnitedStates inChina.HowcouldMarshallhaveusedalmost identical language, andwhywouldhebe instructingTwining?Thisphony-baloneystuffclearlyestablishedthatalmostallofthedocumentswerefake.

Some people insist that if I can't provide the identity of the forger and the reason forforging,thatthedocumentsmustbereal.Ican'tfollowthatlogic.Myconcerniswhethertheyare genuine. One quite obvious motivation would be to cast doubts on the legitimatedocuments-asortofguiltbyassociation.Anothermightbe towaste the timeandmoneyofresearchers.RyanWoodofMajesticdocuments.comclaimsthatalltheCooperdocumentsaregenuine.However, in his paper, "Resolving the `Emulation' inDirectivesBetweenTwiningandWedemeyer," he talks at length about the various versions of the Truman-Wedemeyerdirective,butnevershowsthefullpagefromWedemeyer'sbooknexttotheTwiningone,sothatonecan'tseetheidentityinplacementandhandwritingofthethreehandwrittencomments.Thissameproblemholdson theHumelsinedocuments:Heshowsseveral slightlydifferentversions of the directive to Wedemeyer, but never shows the other pairs of original andemulationdocumentsasnotedhere.HealsoseemstofeelthatMarshallwasinchargeofbothWedemeyer,basedinBaltimore,andTwining,thoughMarshallwassecretaryofstateandnotin the War (soon to be Defense) Department. Twining was head of the Air MaterielDepartmentinOhio,definitelyinthechainofcommandoftheArmyAirForce.

ItalsomakesperfectsensefortheWedemeyerdirectivetosay,"Inpresentingthefindingsofyourmissionyoushouldendeavor tostateasconciselyaspossibleyour estimateof thecharacter, extent, andprobableconsequencesofassistancewhichyoumay recommend,and

the probable consequences in the event that assistance is not given." China was a majorforeignpolicyheadache,withtheCommuniststakingover,butwhatsensedoesthiscommentmake in theTwiningdirective,whichsays,"Inpresenting thefindingsofyourmissionyoushouldendeavor tostateasconciselyaspossibleyourestimateof thecharacter,extent,andprobable consequences in the event that assistance is not given"? Assistance to whom, forwhat?Itmakesnosenseatall.OnedocumentclaimsthatAirForceGeneralCarlSpaatzmetwithTwininginNewMexicoonJuly7,1947.Iwasabletoshow,viaSpaatz'sflightlog,hisdesk calendar, and a newspaper article, that hewas fishing in PortAransas, Texas, severalhundred miles away. There are a whole host of false claims in other Cooper documents,including a number of technical errors such as referring to "deuterium, light hydrogen"-deuteriumisheavyhydrogen.

TheMajestic12documentsproblemiscomplexandextensive.OnbalanceitappearsthattheEBD,TFM,andCTMare almost certainlygenuine, theSOM1.01memo is very likelygenuine(seeDr.RobertWood'spaper,"AuthenticatingtheSpecialOperationsManual"),andtheTimCooperdocumentsareemulation,andfictional.OnestrangecriticismoftheEBDwasmadebyKarlPflockwhenheclaimed,twice,thatbecauseMenzelwasfamousfordoodlingsmall cartoonMartians, that his comment about aliens being fromMarswas just an insidejoke. Iamafraid the jokewasonPflock.TheEBDsaysexactly theopposite:"considerablespeculationhascenteredaroundwhat theirpointoforiginmightbeandhow theygethere.Mars was and remains a possibility, although some scientists, most notably Dr. Menzel,consideritmorelikelythatwearedealingwithbeingsfromanothersolarsystementirely."

InadocumentarycalledDoYouBelieveinMAJIC?,firstbroadcastontheCanadianSpaceChannel on April 28, 2004, director Paul Kimball concluded that, on the balance ofprobabilities(lawyerstalkthatway),thedocumentswereprobablygenuine.Kimball,whoismynephew,laterchangedhismind,providingthreereasonsforsayingtheMJ-12documentsare not genuine. His first claim is based on the notion that because Vannevar Bush andPresidentTrumanwerenotonverygood terms in the post-war period,Trumanwould nothaveappointedBush,despitehisoutstandingbackgroundasascientist/engineerduringWWIIwiththeOfficeofScientificResearchandDevelopment,tosuchaposition.AccordingtotheTrumanForrestalmemoofSeptember24,1947,TrumanauthorizedForrestal(notBush) to

proceedwithOperationMajestic12,butdidsay,"Itcontinuestobemyfeelingthatanyfutureconsiderations relative to the ultimate disposition of thismatter should rest solelywith theOffice of the President following appropriate discussionswith yourself, Dr. Bush, and theDirectorofCentralIntelligence."

KimballtakescareofCanadiangovernmentUFOinvestigatorWilbertSmith'sNovember21, 1950 comment about flying saucers-"(C) Their Modus Operandi is unknown, butconcentrated effort is being made by a small group headed by Dr. Vannevar Bush"-byclaiming that Dr. Robert Sarbacher, the source of Smith's info in a classified discussionarrangedbyCanada'smilitaryattache,intentionallymisledSmithwiththeexpectationthattheinformation,thoughclassified,wouldeventuallymakeitswayuptheCanadiansecuritychainandbepassedontotheRussianstoconvincethemthat theUnitedStateshadaccess toalientechnology. No evidence has been presented that this happened or was the intention ofSarbacher. Frankly, I was favorably impressed with Sarbacher when I met with him.Furthermore, Kimball attempts to discredit Smithwith character assassination, bringing tolight damning comments from Dr. Omond Solandt made in letters to various UFOresearchersinthe1980s,longafterSmith'sdeath.SolandtwassortoftheCanadianVannevarBush,guidingtheeffortsoftheDefenseResearchBoard.OnSeptember24,1947,Bushhadbeen named head of the U.S. Research and Development Board, a successor to the JointResearch and Development Board that had succeeded the OSRD. This was the date of theinfamousTrumanForrestalmemoestablishingMJ-12, and theonlydate in a several-monthperiodwhenBush, Truman, and Secretary Forrestalwere all together at theWhite House.Obviously,Trumandid not appointBush to headMJ-12. Itwas toForrestal, notBush, thatTrumansaid"Youareherebyauthorized."

Furthermore,inBush'snotesonthemeetingwefindthisstatement:"...certainlyinthenewpost, I would be rather frequently in contact, and that if there was an impression [in thescientific community] that I did not have his confidence, he felt that that impressionwouldsoonbecorrectedbyfuture relations." IfTrumanhadnofaith inBush,whywouldhehavenamedhimheadofR&D'?HisMJ-12activitieswouldbeintotalsecrecy,andnotamatterforpublicdebate.

InaTOPSECRETmemoofDecember16,1947,Forrestal'sspecialassistantJohnOhlynoted to Bush that he had been appointed by the War Council as chairman of a specialcommittee to deal with "preparations against a sneak attack," and many resources wereavailable tohim. (Therewasno indicationofwhether this attackwould be fromRussia oraliensorwhat.)GeneralHoytVandenberg,alsoanMJ-12memberandUSAFchiefofstaff,wasamemberofthiscommittee.TopSECRETminutesofalaterWarCouncilmeetingnotethat all members had received a copy of a TOP SECRET item fromBush, and should beprepared todiscuss it.There is no clue as towhat itwas about.This committee andMJ-12werenotpublicgroupswhereinpoliticalconsiderationsmighthavebeenimportant,butwerehighlyclassifiedblackbudgetgroups.ItseemstomethatBush'sadviceandknowledgewouldhave been sought because of his long history of contribution to themilitary effort via hisearlierchairmanshipof theNACA,andhisheadingof theOSRDandJRDB.Nobodyknewbetterwhohadwhatcapabilitiesatwhichinstallationfortop-notch,highlyclassifiedresearch,suchastryingtodeterminethemodusoperandiofflyingsaucers.AsanotherindicationofhishighesteembyTruman,Trumanappointedhimchairmanof aTOPSECRETcommittee toevaluateevidenceinAugust1949thattheSovietshadtestedtheirfirstatomicbomb.

Trumancertainlyhad strongviewsabouthow researchgrantsmightbedistributed, andzealously guarded control. Bush had been allowed much leeway from Roosevelt. A bookstrongly contributing to Kimball's feelings about Bush vs. Truman is G. Pascal Zachary's1997 Endless Frontier: 1Vannevar Bush, Engineer of the American Century. I note withdismay that Vandenberg and the War Council are not even listed in the index. I had aconversationwithZachary,aWallStreetJournalreporter,yearsago,andatthattimefelthewasnotfamiliarwithBush'sclassifiedactivities.

Solandt admitted that he and Bush had indeed discussed UFOs, but weasel-worded justwhatwassaidandwhy,andimpliedthatheknewofnobigsecretU.S.effort,thoughifitwasaccountabletothepresident,heprobablywouldn'tknowaboutit.Noneofhislettersweresenttopeoplewithaneed-to-know,incontrasttotheSarbacher-Smithexchange.

Ihad locatedSarbachermanyyearsagoviaamemofromCanadianArthurBray. ImetwithhimonhisyachtinPalmBeach,andalsometlaterwithSolandtinOntario.Myfeelingwas that Sarbacherwas being straightforward about a small event in a busy life. I felt thatSolandt was being careful in the manner I have found common with people who haveclassified information theycannotdivulge-trying toavoiddirectly lying,butnotgivingoutmuch informationeither.SolandtcoulddenigrateSmithwhennoonewasaround todefendhim.ButwhenSmithwasposthumouslyawardedtheCanadianEngineeringAwardthecitationnoted: "The Award was made in recognition of a lifetime of dedicated and distinguishedservicetotheadvancementoftechnicalknowledgeintheCanadianbroadcastingindustry,theimprovementofitstechniques,theprotectionofitsinterests,ofanexampleofdiligenceandintegrityand in considerationof the universal respect and regard thatWilbert's efforts hadearned throughout the broadcasting industry, in the government of Canada, and in otherareas." I think all of us would greatly appreciate such praise from our professionalcolleagues.

Kimballalsoraisedtwootherpoints:WhywasForrestalnotreplacedonMajestic12untilAugust1,1950,eventhoughheleftofficeassecretaryofdefenseinJanuary1949,anddiedonMay22,1949?WasitMJ-11forawhile'?LetusnoticethattheEBDstatesthatForrestal's"death created a vacancy which remained unfilled until 01 August, 1950, upon which dateGeneral Walter B. Smith was designated as permanent replacement." We have no way ofknowingwhetherhemayhavebeenatemporarymemberandthenwasmadepermanentwhenTrumannamedhimthenewdirectorofcentralintelligence.ThefirstthreeDCIswerealreadyMJ-12members.

Finally,KimballaskedwhyIhadnotinvestigatedthecrashnotedonpagefiveoftheEBDonDecember6,1950,intheElIndio-GuerreroareaoftheTexas-Mexicanborder.Thereasonsare simple: I live a long way from there and had nothing to work with-neither names ofpeoplenoraspecificlocation.TheEBDsays,"Whatremainedoftheobjecthadbeenalmosttotallyincinerated.SuchmaterialascouldberecoveredwastransportedtotheA.E.C.facilityatSandia,NewMexico."IhavebeentoSandia.Thechanceofgettinganyinformationfromthishigh-securitynuclearweaponslabwouldbenil.Furthermore,Iwaswellawarethatsomeinvestigationwas being done by twoTexans,Dennis Stacey andTomDeuley, ofMUFON.

Theyhadsomeleadsthatdidn'tpanout.Idoknowthat therehadbeenaNationalRedAlertcalledonthatdatebecauseofsomethingflyingtowardstheSouthwest,asnotedbyDr.BruceMaccabee in his book about The FBI andUFOs. I hadmy hands and budget full withmyRoswellinvestigation,forwhichtherewasalottoworkwith.

SparksAttacks

In 2007 therewas yet another attack on theMJ-12documents.A long-time associate ofminenamedBradSparks,whomIhadfirstknowninthe1970swhenhewasaphysicsmajorat theUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley,presentedahugepaperat theAugustMutualUFONetworkSymposium inDenver.Sparkshasdonea tremendousamountof fine research onUFOs. I had been warned by an associate that I wouldn't like Brad Sparks and BarryGreenwood'sMUFON2007paper,"TheSecretPrattTapesand theOriginsofMJ-12."SoIwaspreparedfortheworst.IhadalsocontactedthecoauthorBarryGreenwood,whowouldnotbeinDenver,butindicatedhewasalsobeingfrozenoutofthefinalediting.

BothSparksandGreenwoodhadbeenactiveinufologyfordecades.Theirpaperisindeedunique, being the longest (66 pages), and having themost footnotes (126) of anyMUFONpaper I can recall. That is, of course, far too long for an hour or so presentation, thoughSparksusednovisuals.Hemadeitclearthathewasopposedtotheextraterrestrialhypothesis,and the realityofbothRoswellandMajestic12.Hegave tantalizinghints thathemayhavefound some undisclosed information allowing for possible Roswell reality. He didn't dealwiththeenormousevidenceavailable.HismainfocuswasonthenewlyreleasedinformationinthepapersfromthelatejournalistRobertPratt.ThesehadbeendonatedtoMUFONandhadbeenscannedaspartofthePandoraProject.OfparticularinterestwerethetranscriptsoftapesofU.S.AirForceOfficeofSpecialInvestigationsofficer,RickDoty.

Sparks'sthesisseemstobethatbecauseMoorepassedoneverythingtoDotythatheandIlearned from our ongoing extensiveRoswell research, thatDoty just fed it back as phonydocuments. For example, he tried to dismiss theEisenhowerBriefingDocument as just an

emulationofanearlierAquariusdocument that isphony.Nodirectcomparisonsare given.HeclaimsthattheCutler-TwiningMemoofJuly14,1954,isjustanemulationofamemoBillMoore and I had found at the Library of Congress Manuscript Division in the papers ofGeneralNathanTwining.

Thisclaimfranklyseemsabsurd.TheMJ-12-relatedCutler-Twiningmemo,ondictationonionskinmadebyFoxpaper,isonlysixlineslong,isnotsigned,anddoesnotshowthe/s/.Itdoeshave theprovocative line"Subject:NSC/MJ-12SpecialStudiesProject."TheearlierJuly13,1953memofromCutlertoTwiningaboutanall-daymeetingattheWhiteHouseonJuly16,1953,is19lineslong,hasnosubjectline,andissigned.Theonlycommonitemis"yourconcurrenceintheabovechangeofarrangementsisassumed,"thelastsentenceontheCTM.Thelastsentenceinthesurelygenuinememois,"Inordertoavoidcommunicationonthis subject, it is understood that in the absence of contraryword your concurrence in theabove arrangements is assumed." (I had already pointed this out in my Final Report onOperationMajestic12.)

Sparks tries tomake a bigdeal aboutmy comments about similarityhardly the same asemulation.Thesecurityclassificationsaredifferent,asismuchelse.Heneglectstomentionthat although, yes, I had noted the similarity when Moore called the day he and JamieShanderadiscoveredtheCTM,hedoesn'tmentionthatinaconversationwithWilliamMcVey,Twining'spilotandaideformanyyears,henoted,whenIaskedaboutit,thatthiswasstandardphraseologyindicatingthatnoresponsewasneeded.Thesimilarityofthisonesentenceisanindicationofgenuineness,notfakery.

IhadnotedanumberofrealemulationsintheTimCooperphonyMJ12documentsinthesecondeditionofTOPSECRET/MAJICandintheMajestic12UpdatepostedonmyWebsitewww.stantonfiedman.com-Sparksdoesn'treferencethesetwosources.TheCTMisdefinitelynotamemulationoftheJuly13,1953memo.Italsohasaninterestingslantedredpencilmarkthrough theunusual securitymarkingofTOPSECRETRESTRICTED (the earlyonehas aconventionalrubber-stampedTOPSECRET).AsIfoundoutyearslater,theredpencilmark

wasstandardpracticewhenadocumentwastobedeclassified.Whyaddit,andhowwouldaforgerhaveknown?Ithasnosignatureor /s/:Cutlerwasoutof thecountry,sohecouldn'thavesignedit.HowdidDotyknowthat,whenitwasn'tdiscovereduntillater'?

It was years later that the GAO discovered a number of examples of the odd securitymarking. Sparks mentions a list of 10 comments expressing concerns about the CTM byJoanneWilliamson at theNationalArchives, but seems unaware of the fact that she had tochangeanumberofthesewhenIpointedouterrors.Forexample,shehadnotedthattherewasnoNSCmeetingscheduledforJuly16,1954,assupposedlyindicatedbytheCTM.Infact,itonlytalksofanalreadyscheduledmeetinganddoesnotsay"NSCmeeting."SheclaimedthattheIkeLibraryhadsaidallofCutler'sonionskincarbonswereonacertainkindofonionskin.I, during a visit to the Ike Library, had noted several kinds of onionskin paper used forcarbons,sothatwasalsochanged.

Sparks'sdismissaloftheEBDisequallyshallow,besideshisunsupportedallegationthatitis just theAquariusdocumentindisguise.Heclaimsthefatalerror is that theEBDsays thedistancetothecrashsitewas"approximately75milesnorthwestofRoswellArmyAirBase,"whenthedrivingdistanceononeroutewas102miles,andtheGPSdistanceisabout62miles.However,whywouldHillenkoetter (the briefing officer) use theword approximately if hewas trying to be precise? Obviously it didn't matter. Furthermore, there was an airplanelandingstrip locatedatagas-linepumpingstationnot toofar fromthesite,and thereweremanysmallPiperCubsatthebasethatwouldundoubtedlyhavebeenusedtogetpeopleoutthereinahurry.Approximately75mileswouldappeartobeagoodroundednumber.

Hissecond,equallyquestionableconcernistheline:"Numerousexamplesofwhatappeartobeaformofwritingwerefoundinthewreckage.Effortstodecipherthesehaveremainedlargelyunsuccessful."He leavesout thenext item: "(SeeattachmentE)."He thenpointsoutthat,becauseIhadlaterdiscoveredfrommyvisits to theMenzelpapersatHarvard in1986thatMenzelhadtaughtcryptographyandlearnedJapanese,thedocument,ifgenuine,shouldhavesaidthedecipheringwasdoneunderDr.Menzel.HeclaimsthatbecauseDotyetalhadn't

beenpassed this infobyMooreuntil later, this iswhyMenzel isn'tmentioned.As inmanyinstances in his paper,we get the strong impression that Sparks believes he is psychic andknowswhypeopledowhattheydo,whoistellingthetruth,andwhatisinunseendocumentssuchasAttachmentE.CarefulreviewoftheEBDfindssixinstancesof"SeeAttachmentB,"orC,andsoon.Inallofthese,nonameismentioned.WhenMJ-12membersDr.DetlevBronkandMenzelarementionedbynameinthetextoftheEBD,thereisno"SeeAttachment."SobrieferHillenkoetterwastidyandconsistent.

ItseemsstrangethatSparksdoesn'ttakenotethattheEBDsays,"On07July,1947,asecretoperationwasbeguntoassurerecoveryofthewreckage."Ididn'tdeterminethatTwininghadindeedgone toNewMexicoon July 7 untilmuch later, frombothhis andhis aide's flightlogs. So how did Doty know'? I listed many facts not known until later. Sparks has alsoignoredthem.

There seems to have been a battle between Sparks and Greenwood about claims thatdocumentswerefakedjusttomakemoneyforMoore,Doty,andPratt.Sparkstookmuchofthis out because of fear of libel charges. He also claimed that Pratt had secretly taped hisconversations with Moore, Doty, and so on. Mrs. Pratt, who was in Denver to accept aposthumousawardforBobforhisoutstandingUFOjournalism,wasupsetat theuseof theterm secretly, andSparks provided no evidence that the other partywas unaware of Pratt'staping. In fact, Pratt kept copious notes and openly taped as much as he could, notsurprisingly,consideringhisskillsasajournalistandhisconsistentefforttobeaccurate.

Part of Sparks's psychic powers seem to be his belief that because there is a dearth ofofficialdocumentssofarrelatingtoRoswelland/orMJ-12,theymustnothavebeenreal.Theold"absenceofevidenceisevidenceforabsence"ploy.IamremindedofanumberofUFOsightingsinwhichthewitnesscan'tseparateobservationfrominterpretation.Inshort,then,Icanfindnoreason,inthefaceofthesechallenges,tochangemymindaboutMJ-12-thekeydocumentsorthegroup.

WhatDoesItMatter?

Everysooftenaquestionerasksmeifitreallymakesanydifferenceifflyingsaucersarereal and there is aCosmicWatergate.Aren't the greatmajority of the people onEarth toobusywiththeproblemsofeverydaylife-food,shelter, family, job,war-toreallycare?Theycan understand why it matters to me, because I have spent so much time and energythroughoutthelast50years,butwhatdifferencedoesitmaketothelargerworld?

This ismoreofaphilosophicalquestionthanaphysicsquestion.But letmesee if Icanoutlinewhyitshouldmattertomostpeople...

Whoarewe?Thisquestionhasbedazzledscholarsformillennia.Arewe themastersofallwe can see? Is there aGod, providing hope and perhaps fear for all of us?Or arewecasting God in our image to justify our ways? These may seem to be strictly religiousquestions,buttheyarenot.ManywarshavebeenfoughtaboutinterpretationsofGodandtheUniverseandgovernmentsfororbythepeople,andtheneedtofightEvilanddoGood.Theotherguyisalwaystheevilone,isn'the?AndGodisalwaysonourside,right?

IfsomeUFOsarealienspacecraft, thatmeans theworldof the living is larger than justwhatishappeningonplanetEarth.Thatdoesn'tmeanwedon'tmatter;onlythatweareclearlynotmastersofallwecansurvey.Thefactsaboutthesizeandageoftheuniversehaveonlybeenapparentwithinanumberofdecades.Itwaseasierinthepasttoconvinceourselvesthattheworldwasonlyafewthousandyearsold,andthattheEarthistheonlyplacewherethereis life and beauty and truth and hate and war. Most of us don't buy that simplistic viewanymore,because,withnewinstruments,wecannotonlylookoutward,butalsobackwardintime.Theuniverseisclearlyverylargeandveryold.Butareallsocietiesout thereasself-destructiveasthoseonEarth?

Asfarasthepublicknowsatthistime,wehavenotbeenabletovisitplacesoutsideoursolarsystem, thoughwehavesomegood ideasabouthowthatmaybeaccomplished, ifwewereabletocommitthehugeresourcestoexploreourlocalneighborhood,andthenoutsideoursolarsystem.Butcraftarecominghereinfairlylargenumbers,apparentlyoperatedbyhumanoidbeingswhomusthavebeenbuildingvehiclesfordeep-spacetravelforsometime.Our nibbling at advanced technology has been recent compared to the age of theneighborhood. (Thinkof such recent topicsasgenetics, nuclear energy,microwaves, spacetravel,nanotechnology,theInternet,cellphones,andadvancedcomputers.)

Inaddition to thevisitors' advanced technology, it appears theymusthaveat least someadvanced sociology aswell:Theyhaven't causedwholesale destructiononour planet.. .yet.Theydon'tknockdowneveryaircraftthatgetsaradarlockonthemandcomeschasingthem.As far as we know, they haven't given ultimatums to earthling governments to do certainthings-orelse.Wehaven'tbeentoldtothrowoutourreligions,ortodestroycertaingroupsbecausethealiensdon'tapproveofthem.Asfarascanbetold,theyhaven'tofferednewandbetter weapons to this or that group to help them with this or that project. They haven'tenslavedus.Theydon'tseemtohaveintervenedinanylargeway.Thatwouldseemtoshowforbearance.Imustsay,thefactthattheyarebeingobservedallovertheplanetdoesspreadthemessage thatwe are neither alone nor the bigshots in the neighborhood-a bigmessageindeed.

Whenonelooksatgovernmentbudgets,wesurelyspendalotonthetoolsofwarfare.ThedefensebudgetoftheUnitedStatesismorethanhalfatrilliondollarsfor2008.Therestoftheworldwillspendatleastthatmuchonthemilitary.Ishouldthinkitwouldseemstrangetothevisitorsthat30,000childrenwilldieeverydayofpreventablediseaseandstarvation,andthatweapparentlycan'taffordtospendenoughmoneytomakeadentinthattragicstatistic.Weknowwearefoulingourwaterwaysandtheskiesabove,butwecertainlydon'tseemtobeabletogettogetherwithothersontheplanettosolvewhatareplanetary(ratherthannational)problems.Certainly,despiteallthejokesaboutalienslandingandsaying,"Takemetoyourleader,"weknowthereisnoleaderoftheplanettowhomtobetaken.

Considering that any alien star-faring civilizationmust be considerably older than oursolar system-bound one, one must ask, what do they know about the real history of ourplanet?Wereweoriginallycolonizedbyspacetravelers?Aretheythereal"gods"fromaboveofwhomour ancestors seemed to be aware?Have there been large-scale disasters such asglobalwarming, nuclearwars, and asteroid impacts elsewhere?Do they knowmore aboutwhat is instoreforus, ifwefollowthisor thatsociologicalor technologicalpath, thanwedo?Aretheyawareofmuchbettermeansforproducingelectricityandtransportationsystemsthanourcurrenttechnologies?Dotheyknowbetterwaysofdiagnosingandtreatingdiseases?Whatdotheythink,(and,moreimportantly,whatwilltheydo)aboutthepopulation increasetakingplace incountries thatcan'tprovidefoodandhealth for thepopulations theyalreadyhave?

Whatdoes it say aboutour supposedlydemocraticgovernmentson this planet that theyhavebeenunwilling to tell the public the truth about alien visitors?Shouldn'twe know thephilosophy of our potential elected officials when it comes to dealing with alien visitors?Havetheysoldusout?Madedealsaboutwhichweknownothingforpersonalgainorpower?Thepress treatment in2007of theUFOsightingbypresidentialcandidateDennisKucinichwashardly theessenceof respectable journalism.Howmuchhaveour leadersbeen told, ifanything,aboutwhathappenstosocietiessuchasoursthathavedevelopedweaponsofmassdestruction, but without providing for practical answers to our real problems of climatechange,starvation,disease,plagues,andterrorism?

Irealizethissoundslikeashoppinglistoftopicsforasociologycourse.ButoneofthemajortermsintheDrakeequationis thelifespanofasociety.Aretheresocieties thathavelastedformillionsofyearsasopposedtohundredsorthousands?Howhavetheysolvedtheseproblems?

I am sometimes asked if I really think our society can handle the truth about alienvisitations.Ifthetruthweretold,wouldthereberiotinginthestreets?Basedontheresponsestomylectures,Iwouldsaymostpeoplecanhandleit.Itmaywelldependonhowthemessage

waspresented;Ihavesomesuggestionsregardingthat.

First, I think that announcements should bemade bymany governments at once, alongwithannouncementsthattherewillbeinternationalconferencesonthereligious,political,andeconomicimplicationsofournotbeingalone,andnotbeingthemostadvancedsocietyintheneighborhood. Ifwefoundoutanasteroidwasheading towardus,wouldwenotallneedaway toavoidsuchacatastrophe?Surelywewouldn't say, that'snotmyproblem, let us justcontinueonourway.Justas inmostsportingmatches thereare time-outsduringwhich theactionstops,isn'tthereaneedfora time-outforourprimitive,warlikesocietytostepbackandnotsay,"Tellusallthatscientistshavelearnedaboutalientechnology,"butrather,"Whatcanwedotohelpourownsocietymakeabetterworld?"Weallknow,thoughwetrytoavoidthinkingaboutit,thatthereisnowaythatthepeopleinpoornationscanpossiblyuseasmuchenergyandresourcesperpersonasdothoseinrichnations.Howlongwillthepoorcontinuetoputupwiththedespoilingoftheplanetforthebenefitoftherich?

Whatcanwedointheabsenceofgovernmentleadership?Wecanlearnfromthefactthataspectsofoursocietyhavebeenchangedinresponsetopublicpressures.Forexample,racialsegregationwasawayoflifeforalongtime,andwasofficiallysanctifiedbylaws.Mostofthoselawshavebeenthrownoutprimarilybecauseofpeacefulpressures,notbyguns,atleastsince theCivilWar.Therewasa timewhenwomenwereconsideredproperty.Therewasatimewhenmany places had state religions, and woe be unto he who didn't follow it. Thenumber is smaller now.Martin Luther King,MahatmaGandhi, and NelsonMandela didn'thavearmiesbehindthem,butmadeenormousstrideswithpeacefulprotests.

We could ask for amnesty for thosemilitary people involved in close encounters withaliencraft andbeings to tell their stories.Wecould start slowly,perhapswith eventsof50years ago, then 25, then 10... Desegregation of schools worked best when it was donegradually.Thisyear:firstgrade.Nextyear:firstandsecondgrade,andsoon.Wecouldwriteletters to editors of major newspapers, seeking communication frommilitary and civilianwitnesses and offering anonymity. Some of them are bound to be thinking, as General

DuBosetoldmeinhismid-80s,"Whatcantheydotomenow?"Wecantrytogetschoolsofjournalism to teach students about the mass of factual information available about flyingsaucers.Wecanloudlyinsistthatbudgetsforblackprojectsbereducedanddiscussedmoreinpublic.Whoaretheyserving?Whoprofits?Wewhohaveaseriousinterestinandknowledgeofflyingsaucerscouldget together torespondtofoolishTVprogramsandstupidarticles.The debunking community has been successful in putting anti-flying-saucer-reality junk inWikipediaandinmajormagazines. Idon'tdoubt thatgovernmentdisinformationspecialistshavegreatlyhelpedinerectingthelaughtercurtain.Whatifmajorpublicationsweredelugedwith sensible letters correcting false information published about flying saucers?Being anoptimist, I see some helpful glimmers from themedia about the sightings in Stephenville,Texas,inJanuary2008,andthesuddenAirForceliesabout10F-16sbeingresponsible,afterdenying there were any flying at the time. The Washington Post was successful withconsiderableeffortinblowingthelidoffthepoliticalWatergatemorethan30yearsago.IsittimefortheCosmicWatergate?

If our governments (definitely not just the U.S.) are withholding the facts about flyingsaucers-which they are-what else are theywithholding? Is there truly a secret government?Haveotheritemsofgreatimportancebeenwithheld?HowmuchhasNASAlearnedaboutourvisitorsthatwehaven'tbeentold?Afterall,theyhaveobserverscirclingtheplanet.

I,forone,wouldliketoseemygreat-grandsongrowupinaworldthathasamuchtruerpictureofourplanet'splaceintheschemeofthings.Iwouldliketoseeeveryoneontheplanetrecognizethat,regardlessofallotherallegiances,weareallearthlings.Canwenotstepbackand see ourselves as our visitors must see us? I don't think we have to continue to be aprimitivesocietywhosemajoractivityistribalwarfare.Asascientist,itseemstomethatweshouldbelookingattheevidence,notreactinginaknee-jerkfashionwithridiculeandfear.Thetimeforactionisnow.

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Index

AbouttheAuthor

Nuclearphysicist/lecturerStantonT.FriedmangrewupinLinden,NewJersey,spenttwoyearsatRutgersUniversity,andthenreceivedhisBScandMScdegreesinphysicsfromtheUniversityofChicagoin1955and1956.Hewasemployedfor14yearsasanuclearphysicistby suchcompanies asGE,GM,Westinghouse,TRWSystems,AerojetGeneralNucleonics,andMcDonnell-Douglas,working in such highly advanced, classified, eventually cancelledprogramsasnuclearaircraft,fissionandfusionrockets,andvariouscompactnuclearpowerplantsforspaceandterrestrialapplications.

Hebecame interested inUFOs in1958,andsince1967has lecturedabout thematmorethan600collegesand100professionalgroupsin50U.S.states,nineCanadianprovinces,and16othercountries,inadditiontovariousconsultingefforts.Hehaspublishedmore than80UFOpapersandhasappearedonhundredsofradioandTVprograms,includingLarryKingin 2007 and 2008. He is the original civilian investigator of the Roswell Incident, andcoauthored Crash at Corona: The Definitive Study of the Roswell Incident with DonaldBerliner. TOP SECRET/MATIC, his controversial book about the Majestic 12 group(establishedin1947todealwithalientechnology),waspublishedin1996andwentthroughsixprintings.Aneweditionwaspublishedin2005.StanwaspresentedwithaLifetimeUFOAchievementAwardinLeeds,England,in2002,byUFOMagazineoftheUK.Heiscoauthor,withKathleenMarden(BettyHill'sniece),ofabook in thesummerof2007,Captured!TheBettyandBarneyHillUFOExperience.TheCityofFrederictondeclaredAugust 27, 2007,StantonFriedmanDay.

HehasprovidedwrittentestimonytoCongressionalhearings,appearedtwiceat theUN,andhasbeenapioneerinmanyaspectsofufology,includingRoswell;Majestic12;theBettyHill-Marjorie Fish star map work; analysis of the Delphos, Kansas, physical trace case;crashed saucers; flying saucer technology; and challenges to the SETI (Silly Effort ToInvestigate)cultists.HehasspokenatmoreMUFONsymposiathananyoneelse.

StantonT.FriedmanisadualcitizenoftheUnitedStatesandCanada,andlivesat:

Hecanbecontactedat:

fsphys@rogers.com

and