What We Know About UFOs, and Whether It Matters by Richard Dolan
"It takes two to speak the truth?one to speak, and another to hear." ?
Henry David Thoreau
Truth in society is really a three-stage process. You learn it, you
tell it, you act on it. None of those steps are easy, and there are no
guarantees that one stage will lead to the next. One may know that
something is true-for instance, the reality of UFOs-but so what? At
the societal level, knowledge often fails to translate into action.
Frequently, it can't even get an official acknowledgment.
Pick a topic. Narcotics trafficking? Many detailed studies have linked
narco traffickers to the global intelligence community. The JFK
assassination? Eighty percent of Americans, supported by a mountain of
well-researched evidence, believe there was a conspiracy to kill the
President. The environment? Most scientists now agree that our
civilization, within a mere century, has caused a rate of species
extinction that rivals some of the most vicious in our Earth’s
history. And, oh yes, we appear to be heating ourselves into the
stratosphere, too.
The result from such societal knowledge? Nothing much. Banks and
spooks continue to launder drug money, official quarters explain away
the public's so-called "need" to believe in an assassination
conspiracy, and people continue to turn the natural world into a toxic
suburban development. Knowledge doesn't always equal power.
Such is the case regarding UFOs. There is an overabundance of data
indicating that real objects with extraordinary capabilities have been
the cause of serious concern by the "national security state" for over
50 years. Many people, perhaps a majority, believe the phenomenon is
real and unexplained by conventional means. Yet officially, UFOs don't
exist. They continue to be ignored publicly by the world of science.
The discrepancy between reality and official acknowledgment is great,
even when compared with other areas of subterranean history. The
phenomenon is real: why is no one in official (or public) quarters
inquiring about it?
Asking The Wrong Questions
After all, even if one argues that the good UFO cases are the result
of classified technology--which is the basic media response--we still
have some important questions. Consider the triangles that are so
often reported in North America and Europe. These objects are commonly
described as immense and low flying, capable of motionlessness,
instant acceleration in any direction, and no-radius turns. And they
do all this silently. No one is arguing seriously that these things
are hoaxes or misidentification of natural phenomenon?both absurd in
the face of an enormous body of witness testimony. So, just what does
that?
The object seen in Illinois on January 5, 2000 is a good example. At
least four police officers and three civilians in several nearby towns
described with near uniformity a classic triangular UFO?enormous,
silent, two stories high, and at low altitude, perhaps as low as 500
feet. The witnesses were credible; there was even a Poloroid
snapshot.
Unable to dismiss the event, the media, predictably, blew it. Here was
a golden opportunity to ask important questions, such as what kind of
science can make those triangles do what they do. Instead, the media
expended its energy disproving that aliens were behind it. "Probably
military," is all the public learned, and that was that. Is it at
least possible that there are staggering energy implications? Yes, I
think so. No one bothered to ask.
But, of course, we know how the media works. Just as in the world of
science, gone are the days of independent investigation. Journalists
are no better qualified than scientists to speak intelligently about
the UFO topic, largely because there is no institutional authority
granting them the permission (i.e., paying them) to investigate. It's
tough to be a lone gunman.
There have been a few sophisticated analyses of the event, such as the
one done by the National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS). Its
carefully worded conclusion referred to NASA scientist Paul Hill's
monumental work on UFOs and stated that the craft's movements "can
best be explained by the application of localized, directed
acceleration fields, which serve to both propel the craft and modify
the airstream surrounding it in order to eliminate aerodynamic
friction. Such acceleration fields are just a manifestation of space-
time metric engineering." In case you're wondering, NIDS did not imply
that this was a current, classified (i.e., terrestrial) project.
Within mainstream culture, however, the most accredited theory for the
triangles seems to be the so called stealth blimp. Along these lines,
one writer stated blithely that "even big-time UFO buffs have to admit
that it’s possible the [Illinois] mystery craft was a top-secret, man-
made experiment." Others have suggested the object might be powered by
microwave energy from a satellite. This would, in theory, allow for
such apparent impossibilities as instant acceleration. Such technology
would demand absolutely leading-edge technology. Although no one knows
for sure that there even is such a thing as a stealth blimp, let us
acknowledge that it's possible.
What no one seems to be asking, however, is whether it was also
possible 20 years ago, when similar objects were described many times
over New York's Hudson Valley. The stealth blimp explanation becomes
more problematic the further back in time we go. We can push this line
of questioning back 30, 40, and 50 years. The triangles were less
common back then, but people reported disk-shaped objects doing the
same things. Did our military secretly possess this type of technology
back in, say, 1950?
An objective review of the available evidence leads us to a resounding
“no.” There is no evidence, not in the historical record, nor in any
analysis of past or present technologies, to suggest a breakthrough in
"flying saucer" technology back in the 1950s or earlier.
Skeptics continue to argue there is no proof that UFOs are of alien
origin. This is a correct answer to the wrong question. What we do
have is excellent evidence that the UFO phenomenon did not originate
with our military. Let’s deal with that.
What We Know
For more than 50 years, unknown objects have violated the airspace of
sensitive American installations. The capabilities of these objects
have astonished our best pilots and intelligence officers. Regarding
one UFO incident, a classified CIA memo from 1949 stated: "Information
is desired if this was some new or experimental aircraft or for any
explanation whatsoever." In 1951, the Air Force reported an object
that was "flat on top and bottom and appearing from front view to have
round edges and slightly beveled . . . described as traveling at
tremendous speed." A scientist who saw one in 1952 said it had "some
propulsion system not in the physics books." An F-94 pilot, who
encountered one in 1952, said, "the power and acceleration were
beyond the capability of any known aircraft."
To a reasonable extent, we know how the American military responded to
all this. There is no shortage of documents that describe the
seriousness of UFOs. A 1949 FBI memo, for instance, stated: "Army
intelligence has recently said that the matter of 'Unidentified
Aircraft' or 'Unidentified Aerial Phenomena,' otherwise known as
'Flying Discs,' 'Flying Saucers,' and 'Balls of Fire,' is considered
top secret by intelligence officers of both the Army and the Air
Forces."'
Gee, no kidding.
UFOs mattered to our military brass and intelligence officials.
Americans who studied them typically believed them to be
technological. As early as the 1940s, the situation became further
complicated by American investigations that indicated this technology
was probably neither domestic nor Soviet. Read that last sentence
again, slowly. Even after the classified Robertson Panel debunked
UFOs in 1953 (largely, as I have argued elsewhere, to defuse this
topic for the incoming Eisenhower administration), UFOs remained
important and shrouded in secrecy.
Nasty events continued to happen, such as the violation of air space
at Maxwell AFB in 1954, when, according to an "Emergency Report" from
that base, a "saucer-like" object hovered stationary at 2,000 feet.
Comparable events happened during the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
None of this tells us what UFOs are, although I suspect most people
can do the math. The matter was, after all, top secret, and sweeping
conclusions on such a topic don't easily make it to public view,
despite the Freedom of Information Act.
But we know that the extraterrestrial hypothesis was discussed (and
believed) by many within the classified world. Beyond that, we can
make a pretty good guess that the extraterrestrial hypothesis was
believed and acted upon from the 1940s onward. At the very least, I
would argue that the actions taken by the U.S. national security
apparatus fit better with this thesis than any other.
One might also recall the 1960 public statement of former CIA Director
Roscoe Hillenkoetter: "Behind the scenes, high-ranking Air Force
officers are soberly concerned about UFOs. But through official
secrecy and ridicule, many citizens are led to believe the unknown
flying objects are nonsense."
Strong words from a former DCI. Yet, after 40 years, the academic
community has yet to comment on it. Not a single scholarly book or
monograph on Hillenkoetter has ever mentioned it.
What We've Done
Okay, so you and I can know all of these things about the phenomenon
of UFOs. Assuming that we should even act on this knowledge, the
question becomes, how can we act effectively? How can we, in other
words, educate the public, foster open discussion, obtain official
acknowledgment, receive verified factual information about the
situation, and get a sense of what would then be the best thing to do?
There is scarcely any credible institutional structure within which to
study this problem and, what's more, bring the results to the wider
public. The universities would be the obvious choice, but have been a
circle of ignorance for over 50 years. Professors, who know nothing of
the topic, will not sanction dissertation study by graduate students,
who then become the next generation of ignorant professionals. Part of
this stems from the paranoia of academic life; part of it is simply an
issue of funding. Until money flows for the public study of this
topic, you can rule out universities as a viable engine for change.
As an aside, you might want to reflect on an apparent disparity. First
consider that the wellspring for so much university research in this
country is our military (either directly with federal money or through
corporations and foundations associated with the defense industry).
Then think about the importance of the UFO phenomenon to national
security. If this issue were so important, one might conceivably ask,
then why isn't it being funded?
The answer is that it is not being publicly funded. We know UFOs are a
classified subject. It is reasonable to assume that funding for
research into UFOs would also be a classified matter.
Essentially, mainstream culture offers little in the way of enabling
people to organize and study this problem. Beyond the mainstream lies
the fringe, although not all fringes are created equal. Let's look at
the larger UFO organizations, such as MUFON, CUFOS, and the rest. This
is something I will describe at greater length in the second volume of
“UFOs and the National Security State.” For now, I will express my
feeling that these organizations-successors, in a way to NICAP and
APRO--have not matched either of the older organizations in moving
this topic forward and presenting it clearly to the public. In
practice, they act more as vacuum cleaners: a great deal of data goes
in, but very little trickles out, except in journals that no one
reads. The journals of CUFOS and MUFON are not even in most libraries;
none in my state of New York. Nor have these larger organizations
engaged in any extended efforts to end UFO secrecy.
It is fair to look upon the two above-named groups (and a few related
organizations) as encompassing most of what we might call professional
ufology, academic ufology, or simply the Old Guard. Perceptive readers
will know who the main players are. Over the years, they have stopped
at the first rung of Truth's Ladder; that is, knowing the facts, but
not seeking to persuade or effect change. They are academic in their
approach to the problem, with prose to match, unable or unwilling to
draw inferences from their data, conducting specialized research, and
publishing monographs for the small community of UFO researchers.
Conclusions about the nature of UFOs?
You'll be hard-pressed to find them. Ideas on the cover-up of
information? Ditto. Even when the research is excellent, such as in
the aforementioned work by NIDS, the conclusions are hardly evident,
except to the most dedicated and patient of readers. It's taken
professional ufology a long time to get nowhere. Still looking to
effect change, we now move to the fringe of the fringe. Dr. Steven
Greer, for instance. I am fascinated by how the Old Guard of ufology
uniformly has savaged him. It would be blindness itself not to see
faults with Greer and his approach. Anyone who wants to save the world
is going to irritate people, and by all accounts Greer has an ego to
match, as well as a history of alienating the people close to him. But
consider the press conference Greer organized in the spring of 2001:
this was a major event given before a packed house at the National
Press Club. The speakers Greer brought in to discuss UFO secrecy were
impressive and credible, and the event was more proactive than
anything undertaken by Greer's detractors.
Media coverage, however, was abysmal. Nearly a year later, nothing
really has come from the event. I am even told there is no trace of it
in the Press Club archives, though I have not confirmed this for
myself. Thus, despite his real and alleged faults, Greer's biggest
problem is the national security state itself. It will always be true
that, when it comes to winning and losing, money and resources matter
more than personalities.
There are other venues for getting the truth out. UFO Magazine does as
good a job as anyone at trying to raise awareness of this issue and to
educate the public, but the sum total of such efforts cannot match the
magnitude of what we are dealing with. What we have is an utterly
fragmented movement, where "the center cannot hold."
Does Knowledge Matter?
More than 50 years have passed, and we are no closer to ending UFO
secrecy. In fact, we are probably farther away than we were during the
summer crisis of 1952, or the peak of UFO activity in the mid-1960s.
This, despite the fact that we know much more than researchers of
prior generations. After all, we have a wealth of material released by
the Freedom of Information Act, something unavailable before the
mid-1970s.
What has changed, however, is public awareness of UFOs. Although it is
still impossible for most public figures to express their belief in
UFOs, it is clear that many people do. Although I'm not really old
enough to discern this from personal experience (still on the shy side
of 40), it seems clear to me that among younger people in particular
there is a receptiveness to the reality of UFO/ET phenomena in our
world. Attribute it to "The X-Files," if you like, but there has been
a slow and steady shift at the foundations of our culture.
A century and a half ago, Karl Marx made the then-radical argument
that a society's political system reflects and rests upon economic
power and relationships. As the economic foundation evolves, at some
point the cumulative changes will be so great as to cause
irreconcilable problems with the political "super structure," forcing
changes in the political system. If we despair of the quick fix of
ending UFO secrecy today, we might want to remember that insight. The
foundations of our culture have gone through tremendous change since
the days of the early Cold War, and this includes perceptions about
UFOs. At some point in the future, the dissonance between culture and
power will be too great, and the political structure will have to
give. For this reason, knowledge about the reality of UFOs does
matter.
Given enough time, the change in official policy will eventually
occur. The problem is that we do not live in normal times. Given the
rapid growth in human population, the proliferation of dangerous
weaponry, coupled with the alarming stress and depletion of natural
resources like water, arable land, and (soon) petroleum, nothing is
assured, not even the survival of our global infrastructure.
But all we can do is our best. If we can make it past our current
problem, our knowledge of the ET presence will indeed translate one
day into official acknowledgment. Mass culture will continue to
change, and will eventually force the issue. The how or when, of
course, is anybody's guess.
Looming behind the preceding discussion is the most difficult of all
questions: the nature of the UFO phenomenon and alien presence itself,
what alien intentions might be, and what all this means for our
civilization. In my book, and in the articles I've written for this
magazine, I have studiously avoided dealing with those questions in
any detail. In my opinion, that domain is filled with too many so-
called experts who do little more than blow their own version of hot
air. Instead, I've tried to stay close to the verifiable facts.
But if you know the facts, at some point it becomes a responsibility
to make as much sense out of them as you can. This doesn't mean
engaging in wild speculation, but it does mean being willing to
speculate reasonably on the basis of known facts. That will be the
subject of my next article.
~ Copyright 2002, all rights reserved.
Richard M. Dolan is author of UFOs and the National Security State.
Visit his web page at http://keyholepublishing.com. UFO
