DISCLOSURE / FILE
A May-June 1981 article by former NICAP Assistant Director Richard Hall, reproduced in NSA's FOIA release, arguing that CIA and Air Force handling of UFO records amounts to systematic misinformation and citing released DIA, State Department, FBI, and NSA documents as evidence.
A May-June 1981 article by former NICAP Assistant Director Richard Hall, reproduced in NSA's FOIA release, arguing that CIA and Air Force handling of UFO records amounts to systematic misinformation and citing released DIA, State Department, FBI, and NSA documents as evidence.
The article, titled "Is the CIA Stonewalling?" and authored by Richard Hall (then editor of the MUFON Journal and former Assistant Director of NICAP), draws on 892 pages of UFO-related documents released to attorney Peter Gersten to argue that the CIA's professed non-interest in UFOs is contradicted by its own internal record. Hall traces a paper trail from the 1952 radar-visual wave and the 1953 Robertson Panel through OSI's Physics and Electronics Division, the Applied Science Division under W.E. Lexow in February 1956, the 1968 Condon Committee, and a 1979 NSA report titled "UFO Hypothesis and Survival Question." He cites specific incidents: the September 19 1976 Iranian F-4 encounter (DIA evaluation October 12 1976), a March 1967 USAF Security Service intercept of a Cuban MiG reportedly destroyed by a UFO, a March 7 1975 State cable from Algiers, a November 1978 State cable from Kuwait describing pumping-equipment shutdowns, and overflights of Cannon AFB, Eglin AFB, and Fort Ritchie in 1976. The article closes by quoting the NSA's own "rattler on a forest path" framing to argue the government has treated a potential survival-level question with leisurely scientific detachment.
BASED ON the 892 pages of UFO· related documents released to lawyer Peter Gersten, it is clear that the CIA's professed non-interest in UFOs is un- . true.p.2
The trick would be. I think to describe the project so that to the public, it would appear a totally objective study .. one way to do this would be to stress investiga- tion, not of the physical phenomenon, but rather of the people who are doing the observing ..p.2
a material phenomenon seems to be behind the totality of the phenomenon - a flying machine whose modes of sustenance: and pro-p.2
The evidence is clear and convinc- ing that the Federal government has systematically- .1Usi~ormed the American people about the real threat to our national security posed by such UFO encounters.p.3
It would seem a little more ofthis survival attitude is called for in dealing with the UFO problem.p.3
Reports of UFOs which could affect national security are made in accordance with JANAP 146* or Air Force Manual 55-11, and are not part of the Blue Book system.p.2
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Is the CIA Stonewalling? by RICHARD HALL ..... The Government and UFOs ''Furthet scientific investigation of UFOs is unwarranted. " --Ai) Force. 1980 Perhaps most disturbing is the very fact that after thirty-two years, a small but significant percentage of UFOs still remains unidentified. While the government has been concerned with the psychological danger the UFO phenomenon poses, it has been un- willing to consider the prospect that some UFOs pose an actual physical threat. Fearful of generating undue concern, the government has deliberately chosen to debunk UFO reports and has misinformed the public as to the true importance of the phenomenon. Unconventional aerial objects that boast unlimited and unrestricted access to our most sensitive nuclear installations-and which can render inoperable the instrumentation, com- munication/weapon systems of American-made jets, or which can shut down and restart at will sophisticated hydraulic equipment- do warrant further scientific study. Awareness of an advanced technology and potential threat is not an I unreasonable pursuit. As the National l Security Agen£! indicates, it could be a matter ot survIval. T ~ough adruitted~y the govern- ment has "studied UFO reports, apparently no. government body has dwelt on those official government reports that indicate cer- tain UFOs pose a threat to national security. Is there any doubt that it is these reports which deserve further scientific investigation? The now-defunct USAF twenty-year "Project Blue Book" UFO study never had a chance to receive the "outstand- ing report" from Iran. An Air Force document states: "Reports of UFOs which could affect national security are made in accordance with JANAP 146* or Air Force Manual 55-11, and are not part of the Blue Book system." The Air Force's UFO investigation was "[oint Army·Navy·Air Force Publication 146 is published O}' the Military Communications Board of the DODJoint Chiefs ofStaff. It provided U.S.- Canadian ·Communications Instructions for Reporting Vital Intelligence Sightings (CIRVIS) {rom Airborne and Waterborne Sources." Section III (Security), paragraph 208. calls for stiffpenalties for divulging information about such sightings once reported. - Ed. criticized as long ago as 1952 by the CIA. The CIA complained that the Air Force's case-by-case investigations and explanations were insufficient to determine the exact nature of the phenomenon.s Similarly, the Air Force-sponsored "Condon Committee" study by the University of Colorado in 1968 never earnestly intended to investigate the physical reality of the phenomenon. Indeed, an early memorandum by one of Dr. Edward U. Condon's staff in- dicates otherwise: "The trick would be. I think to describe the project so that to the public, it would appear a totally objective study ... one way to do this would be to stress investiga- tion, not of the physical phenomenon, but rather of the people who are doing the observing ... "7 Conclusion In June 1978, a French government UFO study group (GEPANl concluded that "everything taken into considera- tion, a material phenomenon seems to be behind the totality of the phenomenon - a flying machine whose modes of sustenance: and pro- BASED ON the 892 pages of UFO· related documents released to lawyer Peter Gersten, it is clear that the CIA's professed non-interest in UFOs is un- . true. There is internal evidence of non- continuity within the CIA, and even of one group or analyst being unaware of other files or previous work. This is not surprising considering the highly compartmentalized nature of the agency. But periodic studies or reviews were ordered and UFO reports, foreign and domestic, were routinely monitored over long periods of time. The statement is sometimes made that the CIA has had no "formal" study of UFOs other than the 1953 Robert- son Panel, but these documents show that the agency kept (and no doubt keeps) plenty of "channels" open to gather information, including an acknowledged channel into the RICHARD HALL was former Assistant. Director of NlCAP. the leading UFO organization during the 1950s and 1960s. He is the Editor of MUFON Journal and a Frontiers of Science advisor. 0 May-June 1981 27 pulsion are beyond our knowledge: If the UFO phenomenon is indeed beyond the grasp of Our understand- ing - technologically speaking - all the more reason to strive towards learning more about it. For although the United States may i nore the s!l'tmhcance of t e Phenomenon, It IS ardlv reasonable to supoose that the rest of the world will do so. . And there are other considerations besides national security in following up the UFO enigma. As a report from the National Securitv A2encv in 1968 put It, "Perhaps the UFO question ~ might even make man undertake " studies which could enable him to construct a society which is 2 most conducive to developing a .. completely human being, healthy in all aspects of mind and ? body-and. most importantly, • able to recognize and adapt to real environmental situations." In isolating ourselves from the UFO phenomenon we may risk missing' what could be the most important adventure man has yet embarked upon. 0 - 1966·68 University of Colorado UFO project. The documents also clearly in- dicate that in 1952 the CIA was prepared to mount a major scientific study of UFOs based on the extraor- dinary radar-visual sightings that year, but that the debunking conclu- sion of the Robertson Panel cut short that effort. In May 1953, following the Robert- . son Panel report, "P&E Division assumed responsibility for the OSI project on unidentified flying objects." (December 17, 1953 memo to Assis- tant Director. Scientific Intelligence) A year later. the Chief of P&E (Physics and Electronics) said he would "main- tain the OSI central file on such ob- jects," which he did until August 1955, according to an August 8, 1955 memo to the Assistant Director of Scientific Intelligence. AFTER THAT, responsibility was assigned to the Applied Science Divi- sion, ~here W.E. Lexow, Division Chief, stated in a February -1956 memo: "A chronological file of all OSI correspondence and action taken inPage 3 · born-digital extraction
The Federal Government has system- atically misinformed the American . people about the real threat. .. operable when the pilot attempted to provoke, either' intentionally or fire at the object. unintentionally, an international in- The DIA evaluation' (October 12, cident-with serious repercussions. 1976) refers to this incident as "an In March 1967, an intercept techni- outstanding report" because the ob- cian with the USAF Securitv Service jects were seen by many witnesses of intercepted a communication be- high credibility; the visual sightings tween the 110t ot a Russian-made' had radar confirmation; similar elec- uban - 1 an his command con- tromagnetic effects were reported by cermnga OFOencounter.5Thetechni- three separate aircraft; and Cl81l has since stated that when the physiological effects were reported by pnot attempted to fire at the object, the some of the crew members. Further. ,.; MIG and its pilot were destroyed by more, the UFOs displayed an "inor- the UFO. Furthermore, the technician dinate amount of maneuverability." alleges that all reports, tapes, log en- A State Department message (March tries, and notes on the incident were 7, 1975) from the American Embassy forwarded to the National Security in Algiers tells of "strange machines" Agency at their request. seen near Algerian military installa- Not surprlsmgly, several months tions by "respectable people." Some of ~ter, the agency drafted a report en· the sightings were confirmed by titled UFo H othesis and Survival radar. uestion. Released in ctober 1 79 And another State Department Wider the U.S. Freedom of Informa- message from our embassy in Kuwait tion Act, the report states that "the reports that during November 1978, a leisurely scientific approach has too series of UFO sightings caused the often taken precedence in dealing Kuwaiti government to appoint an in- with the UFO question." The Agen~ vestigatory committee from the concluded that no matter-what UFO Kuwait Institute for Scientific Re- hypothesis is considered, "all of them search. One UFO appearing over the have serious survival implications." northern oil fields "seemingly did Comparing the UFO problem to a strange things" to the automatic pump- rattler on a forest path, the NSA report ing equipment. The equipment is says, "you would have to treat the designed to shut itself down when any alarm as if it were a real and failure occurs that could seriously immediate threat to your survival. In- damage the petroleum-gathering and vestigation would become an inten- transmission system; when such an sive emergency action to isolate the event occurs, the pumping equipment threat and to determine its' precise must be restarted manually. When the nature. It would be geared to develop- UFO 'appeared, the pumping system ing adequate defense measures in a automatically shut down. But when minimum amount of time. It would the UFO "vanished," the. system seep a little more of this survival at- , started up again, automatically. titude is called for in dealing with the ' The presence of a highly UFO problem." lGr Force bases from Guam to w- Ioundland.s Another AF docu•••ent reveals that the Air Force conducted an iiIvestigation into the incidents but found no explanation for their occur- rence. It appears Air Force "security measures" provided no protection against the "invasion." One month later, on January 21, 1976, UFOs "25 yards in diameter, gold or silver in col- or with blue light on top, hole in mid- dle. and red light on bottom" were observed "near the flight line of Can- non AFB. N.M." Ten days later, on January 31, a UFO was observed near a radar site at Elgin A~B, Flqrida. On July 30, 1976, a UFO was observed "over the ammo storage area" at Fort Richie, Maryland.! The above accounts have numerous historical precedents. From 1948 through 1950, an FBI document reveals, UFOs were sighted by "per- sons whose reliability is not ques- tioned," near highly sensitive military and government installations, in- cluding nuclear weapons design, con- struction, testing and stockpiling sites. Security officials were greatly alarmed by these incidents.s A CIA document reveals that in 1952 "sightings of unexplained objects at great altitudes and travelling at high speeds" were reported in the vicinity of major U.S. defense installations and posed a threat to national security. The evidence is clear and convinc- ing that the Federal government has systematically- !1Usi~ormed the American people about the real threat to our national security posed by such UFO encounters. UFO As Advanced Technology The Government's position: "There has been no evidence sub- mitted to or discovered by the Air Force that sightings categorizedas 'unidentifiedrepresent technolog- ical developments or principles beyond the range of present-day scientific knowledge. " -Air Force, 1980 The official documents reveal hun- dreds of sighting reports - many con- firmed by radar and other tracking devices - that describe ..- unconven- tional objects exhibiting advanced performance characteristics involving maneuverability, speed, size a shape. A Defense Intelligence Agency document reveals that on September 19. 1976, American-made Iranian jets encountered several UFOs that exhibited a technology beyond present-day development. During the night-time encounter, one F-4 jet, upon approaching one of the UFOs, lost all instrumentation and com- munications functions. Another F-4's weapons-control panel became in- sophisticated technology - a technolo- gy beyond our present development- seems obvious. Why is it being ig- nored by our government? A Question of Survival ''It would seem a little more ofthis survival attitude is called for in dealing with the UFO problem." -National Security Agency. 1968 The evidence indicates that some unconventional aerial objects could
Concatenated page-by-page transcript. Born-digital pages came through pdf.js; scanned pages were transcribed by Claude vision OCR. Pages marked unreadable failed multiple OCR retries (heavy redaction, microfilm artifacts, or blank separators) and are kept in place for audit.
THIS FILE IS MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE DECLASSIFICATION EFFORTS AND RESEARCH OF: THE BLACK VAULT THE BLACK VAULT IS THE LARGEST ONLINE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT / GOVERNMENT RECORD CLEARING HOUSE IN THE WORLD. THE RESEARCH EFFORTS HERE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DECLASSIFICATION OF THOUSANDS OF DOCUMENTS THROUGHOUT THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, AND ALL CAN BE DOWNLOADED BY VISITING: HTTP://WWW.BLACKVAULT.COM YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO FORWARD THIS DOCUMENT TO YOUR FRIENDS, BUT PLEASE KEEP THIS IDENTIFYING IMAGE AT THE TOP OF THE .PDF SO OTHERS CAN DOWNLOAD MORE!
Is the CIA Stonewalling? by RICHARD HALL ..... The Government and UFOs ''Furthet scientific investigation of UFOs is unwarranted. " --Ai) Force. 1980 Perhaps most disturbing is the very fact that after thirty-two years, a small but significant percentage of UFOs still remains unidentified. While the government has been concerned with the psychological danger the UFO phenomenon poses, it has been un- willing to consider the prospect that some UFOs pose an actual physical threat. Fearful of generating undue concern, the government has deliberately chosen to debunk UFO reports and has misinformed the public as to the true importance of the phenomenon. Unconventional aerial objects that boast unlimited and unrestricted access to our most sensitive nuclear installations-and which can render inoperable the instrumentation, com- munication/weapon systems of American-made jets, or which can shut down and restart at will sophisticated hydraulic equipment- do warrant further scientific study. Awareness of an advanced technology and potential threat is not an I unreasonable pursuit. As the National l Security Agen£! indicates, it could be a matter ot survIval. T ~ough adruitted~y the govern- ment has "studied UFO reports, apparently no. government body has dwelt on those official government reports that indicate cer- tain UFOs pose a threat to national security. Is there any doubt that it is these reports which deserve further scientific investigation? The now-defunct USAF twenty-year "Project Blue Book" UFO study never had a chance to receive the "outstand- ing report" from Iran. An Air Force document states: "Reports of UFOs which could affect national security are made in accordance with JANAP 146* or Air Force Manual 55-11, and are not part of the Blue Book system." The Air Force's UFO investigation was "[oint Army·Navy·Air Force Publication 146 is published O}' the Military Communications Board of the DODJoint Chiefs ofStaff. It provided U.S.- Canadian ·Communications Instructions for Reporting Vital Intelligence Sightings (CIRVIS) {rom Airborne and Waterborne Sources." Section III (Security), paragraph 208. calls for stiffpenalties for divulging information about such sightings once reported. - Ed. criticized as long ago as 1952 by the CIA. The CIA complained that the Air Force's case-by-case investigations and explanations were insufficient to determine the exact nature of the phenomenon.s Similarly, the Air Force-sponsored "Condon Committee" study by the University of Colorado in 1968 never earnestly intended to investigate the physical reality of the phenomenon. Indeed, an early memorandum by one of Dr. Edward U. Condon's staff in- dicates otherwise: "The trick would be. I think to describe the project so that to the public, it would appear a totally objective study ... one way to do this would be to stress investiga- tion, not of the physical phenomenon, but rather of the people who are doing the observing ... "7 Conclusion In June 1978, a French government UFO study group (GEPANl concluded that "everything taken into considera- tion, a material phenomenon seems to be behind the totality of the phenomenon - a flying machine whose modes of sustenance: and pro- BASED ON the 892 pages of UFO· related documents released to lawyer Peter Gersten, it is clear that the CIA's professed non-interest in UFOs is un- . true. There is internal evidence of non- continuity within the CIA, and even of one group or analyst being unaware of other files or previous work. This is not surprising considering the highly compartmentalized nature of the agency. But periodic studies or reviews were ordered and UFO reports, foreign and domestic, were routinely monitored over long periods of time. The statement is sometimes made that the CIA has had no "formal" study of UFOs other than the 1953 Robert- son Panel, but these documents show that the agency kept (and no doubt keeps) plenty of "channels" open to gather information, including an acknowledged channel into the RICHARD HALL was former Assistant. Director of NlCAP. the leading UFO organization during the 1950s and 1960s. He is the Editor of MUFON Journal and a Frontiers of Science advisor. 0 May-June 1981 27 pulsion are beyond our knowledge: If the UFO phenomenon is indeed beyond the grasp of Our understand- ing - technologically speaking - all the more reason to strive towards learning more about it. For although the United States may i nore the s!l'tmhcance of t e Phenomenon, It IS ardlv reasonable to supoose that the rest of the world will do so. . And there are other considerations besides national security in following up the UFO enigma. As a report from the National Securitv A2encv in 1968 put It, "Perhaps the UFO question ~ might even make man undertake " studies which could enable him to construct a society which is 2 most conducive to developing a .. completely human being, healthy in all aspects of mind and ? body-and. most importantly, • able to recognize and adapt to real environmental situations." In isolating ourselves from the UFO phenomenon we may risk missing' what could be the most important adventure man has yet embarked upon. 0 - 1966·68 University of Colorado UFO project. The documents also clearly in- dicate that in 1952 the CIA was prepared to mount a major scientific study of UFOs based on the extraor- dinary radar-visual sightings that year, but that the debunking conclu- sion of the Robertson Panel cut short that effort. In May 1953, following the Robert- . son Panel report, "P&E Division assumed responsibility for the OSI project on unidentified flying objects." (December 17, 1953 memo to Assis- tant Director. Scientific Intelligence) A year later. the Chief of P&E (Physics and Electronics) said he would "main- tain the OSI central file on such ob- jects," which he did until August 1955, according to an August 8, 1955 memo to the Assistant Director of Scientific Intelligence. AFTER THAT, responsibility was assigned to the Applied Science Divi- sion, ~here W.E. Lexow, Division Chief, stated in a February -1956 memo: "A chronological file of all OSI correspondence and action taken inThe Federal Government has system- atically misinformed the American . people about the real threat. .. operable when the pilot attempted to provoke, either' intentionally or fire at the object. unintentionally, an international in- The DIA evaluation' (October 12, cident-with serious repercussions. 1976) refers to this incident as "an In March 1967, an intercept techni- outstanding report" because the ob- cian with the USAF Securitv Service jects were seen by many witnesses of intercepted a communication be- high credibility; the visual sightings tween the 110t ot a Russian-made' had radar confirmation; similar elec- uban - 1 an his command con- tromagnetic effects were reported by cermnga OFOencounter.5Thetechni- three separate aircraft; and Cl81l has since stated that when the physiological effects were reported by pnot attempted to fire at the object, the some of the crew members. Further. ,.; MIG and its pilot were destroyed by more, the UFOs displayed an "inor- the UFO. Furthermore, the technician dinate amount of maneuverability." alleges that all reports, tapes, log en- A State Department message (March tries, and notes on the incident were 7, 1975) from the American Embassy forwarded to the National Security in Algiers tells of "strange machines" Agency at their request. seen near Algerian military installa- Not surprlsmgly, several months tions by "respectable people." Some of ~ter, the agency drafted a report en· the sightings were confirmed by titled UFo H othesis and Survival radar. uestion. Released in ctober 1 79 And another State Department Wider the U.S. Freedom of Informa- message from our embassy in Kuwait tion Act, the report states that "the reports that during November 1978, a leisurely scientific approach has too series of UFO sightings caused the often taken precedence in dealing Kuwaiti government to appoint an in- with the UFO question." The Agen~ vestigatory committee from the concluded that no matter-what UFO Kuwait Institute for Scientific Re- hypothesis is considered, "all of them search. One UFO appearing over the have serious survival implications." northern oil fields "seemingly did Comparing the UFO problem to a strange things" to the automatic pump- rattler on a forest path, the NSA report ing equipment. The equipment is says, "you would have to treat the designed to shut itself down when any alarm as if it were a real and failure occurs that could seriously immediate threat to your survival. In- damage the petroleum-gathering and vestigation would become an inten- transmission system; when such an sive emergency action to isolate the event occurs, the pumping equipment threat and to determine its' precise must be restarted manually. When the nature. It would be geared to develop- UFO 'appeared, the pumping system ing adequate defense measures in a automatically shut down. But when minimum amount of time. It would the UFO "vanished," the. system seep a little more of this survival at- , started up again, automatically. titude is called for in dealing with the ' The presence of a highly UFO problem." lGr Force bases from Guam to w- Ioundland.s Another AF docu•••ent reveals that the Air Force conducted an iiIvestigation into the incidents but found no explanation for their occur- rence. It appears Air Force "security measures" provided no protection against the "invasion." One month later, on January 21, 1976, UFOs "25 yards in diameter, gold or silver in col- or with blue light on top, hole in mid- dle. and red light on bottom" were observed "near the flight line of Can- non AFB. N.M." Ten days later, on January 31, a UFO was observed near a radar site at Elgin A~B, Flqrida. On July 30, 1976, a UFO was observed "over the ammo storage area" at Fort Richie, Maryland.! The above accounts have numerous historical precedents. From 1948 through 1950, an FBI document reveals, UFOs were sighted by "per- sons whose reliability is not ques- tioned," near highly sensitive military and government installations, in- cluding nuclear weapons design, con- struction, testing and stockpiling sites. Security officials were greatly alarmed by these incidents.s A CIA document reveals that in 1952 "sightings of unexplained objects at great altitudes and travelling at high speeds" were reported in the vicinity of major U.S. defense installations and posed a threat to national security. The evidence is clear and convinc- ing that the Federal government has systematically- !1Usi~ormed the American people about the real threat to our national security posed by such UFO encounters. UFO As Advanced Technology The Government's position: "There has been no evidence sub- mitted to or discovered by the Air Force that sightings categorizedas 'unidentifiedrepresent technolog- ical developments or principles beyond the range of present-day scientific knowledge. " -Air Force, 1980 The official documents reveal hun- dreds of sighting reports - many con- firmed by radar and other tracking devices - that describe ..- unconven- tional objects exhibiting advanced performance characteristics involving maneuverability, speed, size a shape. A Defense Intelligence Agency document reveals that on September 19. 1976, American-made Iranian jets encountered several UFOs that exhibited a technology beyond present-day development. During the night-time encounter, one F-4 jet, upon approaching one of the UFOs, lost all instrumentation and com- munications functions. Another F-4's weapons-control panel became in- sophisticated technology - a technolo- gy beyond our present development- seems obvious. Why is it being ig- nored by our government? A Question of Survival ''It would seem a little more ofthis survival attitude is called for in dealing with the UFO problem." -National Security Agency. 1968 The evidence indicates that some unconventional aerial objects could