Posted to UFO World
courtesy of the author: Vince Johnson

During the last decade, rumors of an imminent announcement have circulated throughout the ufological community. For persons steeped in UFO lore, the question of "announcement of what?" need not be asked. The immediate connotation of "The Announcement" concerns official government confirmation of that which those of us in this field have always suspected; that UFOs are structured, technological craft designed, built, and operated by non-human intelligence.

Non-human intelligence is the generic term for the unknown whomever or whatever is flying these things. The term "aliens" usually presupposes an extraterrestrial origin, and gives short-schriff to the equally viable theories that these Visitors are time-travelers from our own distant future, currently unknown life forms (UFO as organism), or metaphysical/spiritual entities.

While each of these theories has valid elements, none can explain all of the observed data regarding UFOs. In fact, the phenomenon may be a synthesis of two or more of these theories, or equally likely, none of the above. Those of us on the "outside" just don't have enough data to reach any firm conclusions.

The "insiders," however, undoubtedly have access to much more data in the form of gun-camera films, radar logs, satellite data, signal intelligence, purported necropsy reports, and who-knows-what kind of technical data derived from over 40 years of tracking the UFO phenomenon. Naturally, any findings by the "outsiders" in the ufological community will ultimately make its way into the "insiders'" UFO database.

The "outsiders" have come to call the "insiders" the Control Group -- the guardians of the UFO secret and managers of UFO information. Presumably, the Control Group is comprised of a tight-lipped assortment of intelligence operatives and analysts, military personnel, scientists, and a select group of hi-tech industrialists.

Perhaps the greatest question this "outsider" has is whether the Control Group is under the command and control of the executive branch of the U.S. government. Could UFO secrecy be maintained if incoming presidents and their national security advisors were briefed on the phenomenon? There have been nine presidential administrations since the purported Roswell crash, but not a peep of UFO revelations by any of them.

This would indicate that:

a) The government, despite the technical means at its disposal worldwide, really hasn't been able to learn anything at all about this puzzling phenomenon

b) The reasons for the containment of UFO information were so compelling that everybody officially briefed on the UFO situation unanimously supported the policy, resulting in no unauthorized "leaks" during the nine successive administrations.

c) UFO policy has been managed covertly by the Control Group, free from executive branch supervision.

Assuming that each successive administration was briefed, how and why could the UFO cover-up be successfully maintained so long? The most likely reason would be geopolitical. If a UFO did crash near Roswell in 1947, and artifacts were recovered, would we want to alert the Soviet intelligence apparatus to what could be a technological windfall? Considering the potential strategic advantages that could be gleaned from a sample of advanced technology (metallurgy, electronics, propulsion, etc.) it would be logical to retract the "crashed UFO" story and begin the now-familiar program of denial and ridicule.

Another geopolitical factor could conceivably be how the concept of nationalism would fare in light of revelations concerning the presence of non-human Visitors possessing technological prowess far ahead of our own. The Capitalist/Communist competition would be reduced to insignificance -- much to the horror of the military/industrial complex (on both sides of the Atlantic) which owed its very existence to the fears generated by the East-West rivalry.

Other factors could have influenced the decision to institute and maintain a UFO cover-up as well. It should be remembered that Orson Welles' Halloween broadcast of "War of the Worlds" occurred only nine years before the alleged Roswell incident. Memories of the panic that ensued would still be fresh in the minds of policy makers. The notion of Visitors From Space was only seriously considered after the wave of "flying saucer" sightings that began in 1947. It could have been rightfully argued then that a period of psychological preparation was required to acclimate the populace to this possibility.

These are examples of what could be considered a "benign" cover-up, i.e., official U.S. policy based on legitimate national security concerns and executed through the constitutional chain-of-command on orders from the president. But, in light of recent geopolitical changes and over 40 years of pop-culture conditioning regarding the possibility of non-human Visitors, the reasons for maintaining the UFO cover-up would seem less and less compelling. It has been argued that the UFO cover-up is maintained due to policy momentum, that to reveal the cover-up after 40 years of denial and ridicule would have unacceptable political fallout. One would think the avoidance of public disclosure based on "political embarrassment" for participation in the cover-up would not be a valid concern for a newly elected president, especially if the new president was of a political party different from his predecessors.

One scenario that might explain the maintenance of UFO secrecy concerns the widespread construction of underground installations, flight tests of non-conventional aircraft at Area 51, and continued funding of SDI ballistic missile defense and beam-weapons research. Is the defense establishment attempting to bridge a "technology gap" with our Visitors? This would imply that the Control Group has ascertained that the Visitors' agenda may not be benevolent. However, if the Visitors do have hostile intent, why would they allow us the opportunity to develop defenses presumably based in-part (if reports about Roswell are correct) on technology derived from their own downed craft?

Or perhaps the UFO cover-up is based on sinister human motives.

If all incoming presidents were not briefed and the UFO project remained hidden from executive branch review, the Control Group would be engaged in a "rogue" operation with drastic constitutional ramifications. If this is the case, the motivations of the Control Group would have to be suspect. If not part of the constitutional chain-of-command, the Control Group would have to resort to budgetary skimming, off-budget maneuvers and other criminal activity to fund any long-term UFO project.

During the Iran-Contra hearings, we discovered how covert off-the-shelf operations were funded through illegal arms sales. There is evidence that these covert operations may have even imported illegal drugs to fund their operations. It is possible that the Control Group engages in illegal activities to fund a secret, "unofficial" UFO project that does not have access to legitimate funding through legal constitutional channels.

Another possible source of funding could come from defense contractors who hope to reap enormous profits by leap-frogging "linear" R&D through access to UFO technology. Corporate participants in such a scheme could even be ignorant of the fact that the UFO project they subsidize might be an illegal "rogue" operation. Whether funded by criminal activities or through naive corporate sponsorship, any hypothetical UFO operation could not function without the coordination and control of active-duty military and intelligence personnel in violation of their oaths "to faithfully preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States of America."

If the Control Group is a "rogue" operation, one has to wonder what could be their motivation. Since power and wealth would presumably already be within their grasp, could the motivation be something more sinister? Could the Control Group be a cabal engaged in the disastrous, but time-honored (for militarists/fascists), goal of global domination? It is conceivable that a relatively small force armed with super-technology derived from crashed UFOs could neutralize conventional and nuclear forces worldwide.

Another possibility is that the Visitors themselves control the Control Group. Could the Visitors have dictated that secrecy be maintained, or could the Control Group actually be "cosmic Quislings" conspiring with alien invaders against the best interests of humanity?

In any case, if the Control Group is independent from the constitutionally mandated chain-of-command structure of the U.S. government, it could only be described as a de facto criminal enterprise, regardless of their motivations. If the Control Group is a rogue operation, no "Announcement" should be expected soon. But if the Control Group is functioning legally within a constitutional framework, an "Announcement" could be forthcoming -- mainly because a policy that was deemed necessary in 1947 may not be necessary today.

At this stage in world affairs, maintenance of UFO secrecy in the interests of national security would no longer seem to be justifiable. A newly installed administration, such as the Clinton administration, would have no political liability in the cover-up, and thus would not suffer politically from any "Announcement." In fact, the president would probably make political points for instituting UFO glasnost -- many would look to him for leadership in coping with the startling revelations, enhancing his presidency.

Fear of widespread panic would also be questionable, considering that almost every citizen is sure to have at least contemplated the possibility of "aliens landing on the White House lawn." After all, one would think there is much more danger associated with terrestrial developments like nuclear weapons in the hands of human monsters like Saddam Hussein or Kim Il Sung, than the most likely scenario of overt alien contact.

The stage for "The Announcement" could be set through informal release of information to ufologists, which would garner publicity in the ufological press. Names of "point men," the major officials in the UFO program would be included in these releases. Mainstream journalists could check some of the statements attributed to the "point men," and shockingly, receive confirmation from these selected public officials. The public perception would begin to be ratcheted-up as headlines announce that government officials are going "on the record" concerning the reality of the UFO situation.

An Oval Office address revealing the Big Secret would be perhaps the most dramatic event in recorded history.

The "Announcement" could be staged to be comforting, reassuring, and no cause for alarm. One can assume that there have been contingency plans in place for such a development for decades. Picture Walter Cronkeit, Carl Sagan, or Ted Koppel calmly interviewing the Control Group's experts, political leaders, theologians, etc., interspersed between video clips of UFOs and the Visitors themselves. It would be a mind-boggling, paradigm-shifting event to be sure, but not something that would shatter the collective national psyche. After a year or so, the sensation would die down and the story would inevitably fade from the front page, replaced by the usual shootings and scandals.

The are four important reasons why, if there is a UFO cover-up, the government should come clean:

1) A democratic government hinges on the presumption of an informed electorate. Maintaining secrecy on an issue of such potentially historic importance betrays the cornerstone of our democratic principles.

2) Many people claim to have had contact with our purported Visitors; if the government was to release its UFO data it could confirm whether or not these purported experiences were the result of actual contact with non-human intelligence or some neurological/psychological disorder. These people deserve no less.

3) Due to the long-standing and pervasive secrecy surrounding UFO projects, many technological and scientific discoveries based on UFO technology may not have been fully exploited.

4) The historic nature of contact with non-human intelligence is too important to be suppressed. The "Announcement" would make for a much more interesting and marvelous reality than we currently know. How would we judge the Spanish if the news of Columbus' discovery of the New World had been supressed?

As an outsider, I can only hope the Control Group are "good guys." If they are, they should be aware of the paranoia their cover-up engenders -- which is still another reason for lifting the veil of secrecy. It should be noted that ufologists who "know too much" don't just mysteriously disappear, but instead, seem to be co-opted by or into the Control Group. Also, as is the case in any hypothetical Grand Conspiracy Theory (especially in the case of a long-term Conspiracy where -- due to the attrition of the aging process -- new personnel must be constantly recruited to replace the old) the Conspiracy must somehow prevent any potential new recruit from becoming shocked and outraged enough to spill the beans.

Since there have been no (known) constitutional crises sparked by renegade recruits or defectors from the putative Grand UFO Conspiracy "blowing the whistle" to an unsuspecting president, and since the UFO cover-up has apparently been successfully maintained through nine administrations, I think it's safe to assume that the Control Group are "good guys" operating under the command of successive presidential administrations.

But if they are "bad guys," a rogue operation operating outside the law for whatever purpose, I'm afraid our main priority should be stockpiling food and ammunition.

It has been said that "sunlight is the best disinfectant." With this in mind, it's time for our government to shed some light on this complex and baffling subject.

Copyright 1993 Vince Johnson
All Rights Reserved