You bring up some good points. Here's just a little more explanation
of what I'm trying to say :

First off, the issue of "Compartmentalization" is true. Sensitive data
is broken up into parts that require a "Need to know" basis to get to.
Then you go on to talk about the "People at the top of the pyramid".
The fact is, by the very definition of the data, they themselves would
only "Need to know" a very little bit. Maybe there are a lot of people
who know many little bits, but nobody would know everything. And those
people would not discuss their little bits, because the others would
not need to know their factoids. Terefore, if the govt has info on
UFO's, they may not be covering it up. Maybe nobody actually has
enough pieces of the puzzle to realize that the info is there...

Second, I automatically distrust any person or group that talks about
a faceless "Them" or a "Government". Problem is that if you can't
specifically name who you are talking about, then you have no idea
what you are looking for. And saying words like "Government" or
"Military" or "Majestic" or any other things still doesn't clarify who
you are talking about. Who do you want to ask info from and what info
are you expecting to see, exactly? Remember, if the right question
isn't asked, the answer is "42".

Third, I'm not being "told" to say anything. And for that matter,
there are very few "Robots" in the military. We are just like you, we
just have these stylin' haircuts and get to have the great fun of
dressing in strange "dress" clothes when we work... (In the Navy we
get to wear really cool dress whites with capes on the back that have
little stars on them. Then we walk around wondering why the "Gay
Sailor" stereotype is so prevalent! :-) ).

Fourth, I'm not saying that the people in the military are Dumb,
Stupid, or Incompetent. That was a joke. The fact is though that in an
organization as large as the govt or military there would be no way to
stop the leaks of this conspiracy if it existed. Too many people would
know about it. Yes the govt tried to lie to the people about the
existence of Stealth tech and Area 51 and so on. But the fact that
they existed still found it's way out to the public, so that when the
government announced them, we all knew about it already.

And I really don't think the govt is corrupt. Do you honestly believe
that the president wakes up and decides to lie, cheat, and steal every
day, right after he kills some kittens in the morning? The more
realistic idea is to say that he's probably a guy just like you or me,
trying to do what he sees a the "right" thing. His decisions effect
more people than do others, and you may disagree with them, but he's
trying his best. I think pretty much everyone else is the same (I may
be naive here, but I honestly tink that).

You also don't give the normal "person on the street" enough credit.
The whole disinformation campaign you described would only work if the
normal american couldn't think for themselves and believed everything
the media told them. As far as I can see, most people in the US are
fully capable of identifying BS when they see it, and don't stand for
it.

I'll stop now, I just want to say this : The govt, military, whatever
is just to big and broad to keep a secret like UFO's for very long.
Maybe, if they really tried, it would work for a few years, but not
this long.