I posted the following item recently:

The biggest secret about "Area 51" is the fact that it had never been
a secret base.

The construction of this  sprawling aerospace complex in Nevada,
erroneously known as "Area 51",  began in the month of May of 1955.

Since about 16 years ago  "Area 51" has become associated ridiculously
(wittingly, unwittingly, or "conveniently") with false rumors of
"alien technology" or "global" conspiracies.

I, Norio Hayakawa ,Civilian Intelligence Network 
http://www.hometown.aol.com/groom51s4/index.html
was at one time a proponent of such conspiracy theories , but several
years ago I totally abandoned such conspiratorial views regarding this
base.   Furthermore I am no longer associated with any conspiracy
theories, period.    Today I am an ardent supporter of the importance
and necessity of this vital base for our national defense.   I have
come to the realization that this base, officially named  "an
operating base near Groom Lake" is here to stay, no matter what.   It
is a real aerospace complex which had never been a top secret base, to
begin with.    (See the bottom excellent article by aersopace
historian, Peter Merlin)
It only became a "secret" base to those who were taken in by paranoia
mongers and through misinformation, resulting from false rumors which
began in the late 80s and persisted throughout the mid 90s.

Area 51 today is a vibrant aerospace R & D conglomerate test base,
employing anywhere from 1800 to 2400 defense contractor employees,
working in shifts on diversified projects.  Some of the contractors
include Raytheon, Lockheed, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, TRW, E..G. & G
and General Atomics,
One of the best recent color satellite photos of the base was taken on
Thursday, July 24,  2003:

Color Satellite Photo of Area 51 taken on July 24, 2003 
http://www.lasvegasnow.com/area51/Area51-072503-LG.jpg


Finally, perhaps the best history of Area 51 was recently compiled by
Peter Merlin, an aerospace historian who resides near Edwards Air
Force Base in California:

Area 51 Was Never A Secret, Classified Base 
http://www.dreamlandresort.com/pete/no_secret.html

    ---------------------

AREA 51 NEWS UPDATES 
http://www.hometown.aol.com/area51watch/index.html

THE CIVILIAN  INTELLIGENCE NETWORK
P.O. BOX 861051
LOS ANGELES, CA 90086-1051 


After I posted the above item, I did receive several responses.
Here is my response to the responses that I have received:  

I am not stating that these responses are typical examples from those
who are still being brainwashed by promoters of beliefs in aliens and
in UFOs and continue to dwell in the wacky world of "ufoology".

However, certain items need to be clarified.

First of all, I question the rationality (or, better yet, the lack of
rationality) of anyone who would call Nellis AFB to inquire about the
Groom base, a base that has had no direct connection to the Nellis
AFB.

Let me once again reiterate my basic premise that the "operating base
near Groom Lake" had never been a secret base.  Just because the
government had never advertized that there was an operating base by
Groom Lake does not mean that the government was hiding a secret.  
The government does not have to announce anything on its own.   The
base has been there since 1955.   It had no name, simply an "operating
base".  The Air Force  was right in saying that there is no "Area 51".
 "Area 51" is not an Air Force term.   It was simply a designation
used by the Department of Energy to describe a geographical area when
the Nevada Test Site began.
Once again, I recommend you to read aerospace historian, Peter
Merlin's excellent history of the base.

Continuing with my clarification of other points:

By the late 70s, I had already abandoned my former beliefs that UFOs
were physical craft from advanced civilizations from outer space.   In
this regards, I concurred with researchers such as Dr. Jacques Vallee
and John Keel, both of whom long abandoned their beliefs in the
extraterrestrial origins of UFOs.

From the late 80s and through the 90s, my belief was that the
government took advantage of a segment of the population's naive
beliefs in UFOs and aliens as a convenient "laughter curtain" created 
to conceal certain military projects.  My conspiracy theory,
therefore, was that the government manipulated such beliefs of a part
of the public to bring about certain agendas.

Even today, the gullibility of some researchers (including such as
Linda Howe and Bill Hamilton)and consequently the gullibility of those
who believe in these researchers even regarding "Area 51" can be seen
in a recent exposure of con artists  such as "Dr" Dan Burisch.
http://www.ufowatchdog.com/burischdirtbag.html

In the past several years I have abandoned all conspiratorial views on
this topic.

A point was brought up that I was once also a part of paranoia
mongers, such as Bill Cooper.   Yes, I can state that I was one of
those who were taken in by false rumors and misinformation.   But I
have recanted such conspiratorial outlook on life.

As far as Bill Cooper was concerned, I never considered myself a close
colleague of his.   Sure, I did help him launch his first public
lecture at Hollywood High School in 1989.   However, my beliefs at
that time did not coincide with his beliefs, especially because he was
at that time still a believer in "UFOs" and "aliens".    It was only
after he began to abandon his beliefs in "aliens" and "UFOs" several
years later that I began to feel a certain closeness since I had the
same theory, i.e., the government was manipulating people's naive
beliefs in "aliens" and "UFOs" to promote future agendas, such as
potential staging of a fake "extraterrestrial threat" to create a
global government.

In the past several years, I also abandoned this theory.   I no longer
subscribe to any conspiracy theories.

As for Bill Cooper,  I departed with Cooper's views when he started to
involve himself with the militia movement.  Yes, I did go to his
funeral in Arizona and gave a eulogy not because I espoused his views
or agreed to what he was doing then.
  I simply attended because I believed he also deserved to have a
decent burial as a human being.

As for Rumsfeld, I agree with the principles of PNAC.   I do believe
in a strong U.S. global leadership and in a strong but humane U.S.
global military presence.
I believe in America and I am not ashamed of it.
I am an evangelical Christian and I support the existence of Israel,
and I am not ashamed of it.  As an evangelical Christian, I have my
private views on "aliens" and "UFOs".

I concur with Phil Klass in that after nearly 60 years or so of the
so-called modern-day era of the sightings of "UFOs", there has not
been any solid, tangible, physical, irrefutable evidence whatsoever
that we are being visited by aliens.  I can say this after more than
45 years of researching "UFOs".

I commend Bill Cooper for coining the term "ufoology".

Norio Hayakawa
http://www.hometown.aol.com/groom51s4/index.html