Commentary: This posting is in a series of posts summarizing the book, "Lights In The Sky and Little Green Men" by Hugh Ross, Kenneth Samples, and Mark Clark. Hugh Ross is a scientist in physics and Clark has a PHd in political science. The other authors specialize in social sciences, philosophies, and international relations. The full series can be reviewed at UFOs an Alternative Look.
Government Cover-Ups
Mark Clark writes that UFO believers are strongly supportive of the UFO phenomenon and frustrated that alternative explanations of residual UFOs are real. In support their claims they point to government cover ups and conspiracies. Three of the most prominent arguments are the 1947 Roswell, New Mexico crash site, the Air Force's project blue book, and Nevada's Area 51.
Roswell
There is a flurry of stories and myths about the Roswell, New Mexico incident that occurred in mid-June 1947. Researchers have complicated the situation by changing the story between 1980 and 1996 as new information became known, to dispel the wilder claims, and attempts to promote forgeries. Researchers from Brandeis University detected six variations of the incidents.
Clark gives the account that in mid-June 1947, something landed on the Foster's sheep ranch operated by W.W. "Mac" Brazel. This was located 75 miles north of Roswell. Brazel first discovered the materials on June 14th but did not collect the materials until July 4th. Brazel reported the findings on July 7th. In a concurrent event on June 24th, Kenneth Arnold observed and reported nine dislike objects while flying near Mt Rainier, Washington. While Brazel was unaware of UFOs on June 14th he became aware of them by time he turned in the materials.
The physical evidence recovered from the Foster Ranch included an aluminum like material, scotch tape, some other tape with markings as flowers, wood, and other materials weighing no more than five pounds. Photos of the recovered material are widely available.
Conspiracy theorists disagree on a wide number of points regarding nature of the event and the events that followed. One account has the Army performing autopsies on aliens. The current theory is that the experiment was disabled or aborted producing the debris found and the 'real stuff' is hidden by the Government.
The appearance of a cover up was inadvertently caused by a hasty press release. First Lt Walter Haut released under orders from Major Marcel, the base's intelligence officer, that the Roswell Army Air Field captured a flying saucer. In the meantime, the materials were taken to Fort Worth, Texas to the Eight Air Force Headquarters. The next day, a Warrant Officer Irving Newton and Brigadier General Roger Ramey issued a contradictory press release stating that the debris was remnants of a weather balloon. Thus, the contradictory statements by Government officials set the conditions for a cover up conspiracy.
The weather balloon account is based on research being conducted at the nearby Alamogondo Army Air Force Base. The research was unclassified but some balloons were carrying a classified payload to sonically detect a soviet nuclear detonation. Most on the project were unaware of the purpose. A senior scientist, Charles Moore, working on the project known as Mogul learned of the purpose in 1992. Moore identified the Roswell debris as being NYU Balloon flight 4. His notes indicated the identical materials found including a tape from New York Toy Store having the purple and green flowers described by conspiracy theorist as "hieroglyphics".
Clark concludes no one had questioned the official story for thirty years until UFO conspiracy theorist resurrected the Roswell account on shaky memories, second and third hand testimony, and hypnosis of key "witnesses". He also postulates that the need for the Government to maintain secrecy and how it classifies information can create the circumstances for conspiracies.
Classified Information
Clark felt it important to discuss how the Government classifies information and the implications of secrecy. He pointed out that the government classifies information by levels from confidential to above top secret. Then the government compartmentalizes information. The idea is to increase protection based on a need to know. The sets of information are then further protected using code words.
Security classifications create problems when the free flow of information is essential.for scholars and often creates issues when the right and left hands should be talking. This sets the initial conditions for people to make contradictory comments based on the limited information available. This confusion is an additional level of security but also creates conspiracy theories as well.
Project Blue Book
This project was an outcome of two earlier projects, Sign and Grudge, and was commissioned to explain the rash of UFO sightings demanding attention. Project researchers concluded that UFOs were explainable quickly. The mission changed from assessing UFOs to tracking accounts and alleviate public anxiety. Later, the CIA became involved and explored the use of the phenomenon for use in psychological warfare. However, a CIA panel to assess the use of the phenomenon feared unjustifiable public hysteria if the UFO phenomenon were to be exploited for national defense purposes. Instead, the panel suggested that the U.S. downplay the UFO mystery and develop a program to help people assess between real and imaginary threats.
In the same year, U-2 flights began and were reflecting sunlight from 60,000 feet after it was dark on the ground. A new wave of UFO reports dramatically increased and the Government was pressed for answers. Aware of the reconnaissance aircraft, U-2s and SR-71s, they explained the sightings referring to natural phenomenon such as ice crystals and temperature inversions in order to protect the secrecy of the reconnaissance aircraft programs.
By the mid 1960's, the Air Force was looking for a way out of the project and contracted the University of Colorado to study the program. Physicists Edward Condon lead the project and was heavily criticized by even his own research team members.. J Allen Hynek of Northwestern University and Project Blue Book adviser criticized the methodology. Hynek argued there was no government cover up despite his criticism and later founded the center for UFO studies. In April 1969, a special panel reviewed Condon's report that concluded extensive study of UFOs was unwarranted then concurred. The Air Force shutdown Project Blue Book.
Bureaucratic Politics
Bureaucracies compete for limited resources; are slow to make decisions taking them in new directions; operate using standard operating procedures; and promote themselves and their staff. These characteristics make bureaucracies resistant to change and a tendency to increase in size, operation, and reach.
The Air Force was new in 1948 and looking to justify its existence. The UFO phenomenon was a preeminent reason based on the Cold War Threat of Soviet air power and ability to deliver atomic munitions. The Air Force quick deemed the UFO threat low. Once into the UFO business the Air Force was stuck with it. Since the project was not high visibility with no real threat and obscure due to its secrecy, it was not attractive to promotion hungry leadership. They viewed it more as a nuisance and assigned low ranking officers to the project. As the program grew it sucked resources that the Air Force wanted to redirect to other things. So they sought to contract the University of Colorado to give them an out.
Area 51
This is an "Officially Unacknowledged" military base meaning the existence is not confirmed or denied. Area 51 sits on a dry lake bed the geographic size of Connecticut. The base was built as a landing strip for highly classified aircraft. All of the projects at Area are "Black Budget" which are hidden in publicly released documents. The reason for this is simple. The military wants to keep its research and development dollars hidden from the enemies of the United States so it creates "Black Projects".
Espionage is still a problem and black projects are ongoing contributing to speculation. This sets an ideal stage for UFO theorist who insist on Government cover ups that evolve into conspiracies.
Commentary: People's imaginations often get the better of them. They piece together disparate information, innuendos, and government attempts to manage espionage filling in the gaps with fantasy notions. Often these notions are based upon the maturity of their worldview whether a secular, Christian, or some other type of worldview. They then seek justification of the notions by searching for information that seems to fit. The problem may lay in the fact that they are driven by the view more than by the knowledge. Thus, they attempt to make the knowledge fit the view rather than permit the knowledge to form the view.
It seems, to me, that many people also have a desperate need for off Earth sentient life to exist. The fantasy cast by Star Trek zooming around the Universe meeting new sentient life forms is overtly appealing to many. In most Sci-Fi when a physical problem is encountered in the storyline a technology is often invented to get around the problem such as gravity boots or universal language translators. The imagery of this technology is usually dated. The original Star Trek tricorders looked like cassette players of the times. Later the tricorder became minaturized as electronics minaturized. It seems that the world is forming the view rather than the honest knowledge. The same seems to be of UFOs.
Current Roswell Crash Site Photos. You should check out the inscribe saying at Roswell. I wonder if some future civilization will find the inscription, as we have found cave drawings, and surmise an actual visitation event.
- WE DON'T KNOW WHO THEY WERE,
- WE DON'T KNOW WHY THEY CAME,
- WE ONLY KNOW,
- THEY CHANGED OUR VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE...
Ross, H., Samples, K., & Clark, M. (2002). Lights in the sky and little green men: a rational christian look at UFOs and extraterrestrials. Navpress: Colorado
No comments:
Post a Comment