Study by French officials, routine unexplained sightings, US
military safety aspects combine to boost believers
By Leslie Kean, 5/21/2000
Last month's release of the first detailed satellite images of
Area 51, the top-secret US Air Force test site in Nevada,
prompted a Web site meltdown as people from across the
nation logged on in search of clues about unidentified flying
objects.
''The interest has been really phenomenal,'' said David
Mountain, marketing director for Aerial Images Inc., which
posted the high-resolution photographs of Area 51 on the
Internet.
But those hoping to see signs that captured UFOs are stored
at the site (as some aficionados have suggested) were
destined to be disappointed. Most of Area 51's operations
occur underground, making photos meaningless.
Anyone looking for fresh information on UFOs would have
better luck trying a new, but less publicized, source: a study
by the French military, just translated into an approved
English edition.
High-level officials - including retired generals from the
French Institute of Higher Studies for National Defense, a
government-financed strategic planning agency - recently
took a giant step in openly challenging skepticism about UFOs.
In a report based on a three-year study, they concluded
that ''numerous manifestations observed by reliable witnesses
could be the work of craft of extraterrestrial origin'' and that,
in fact, the best explanation is ''the extraterrestrial
hypothesis.'' Although not categorically proven, ''strong
presumptions exist in its favor and if it is correct, it is loaded
with significant consequences.''
The French group reached that conclusion after examining
nearly 500 international aeronautical sightings and radar/
visual cases, and previously undisclosed pilots' reports. They
drew on data from official sources, government authorities,
and the air forces of other countries. The findings are
contained in a 90-page report titled ''UFOs and Defense:
What Should We Prepare For?''
''The number of sightings, which are completely unexplained
despite the abundance and quality of data from them, is
growing throughout the world,'' the team declared.
The authors note that about 5 percent of sightings on which
there is solid documentation cannot be easily attributed to
earthly sources, such as secret military exercises. This 5
percent seem ''to be completely unknown flying machines
with exceptional performances that are guided by a natural
or artificial intelligence,'' they say. Science has developed
plausible models for travel from another solar system and for
technology that could be used to propel the vehicles, the
report points out.
It assures readers that UFOs have demonstrated no hostile
acts, ''although intimidation maneuvers have been confirmed.''
Given the widespread skepticism about UFOs, many will
quickly dismiss the generals' ''extraterrestrial hypothesis.'' But
it is less easy to do so once the authors' credentials are
considered. The study's originators are four-star General
Bernard Norlain, former commander of the French Tactical Air
Force and military counselor to the prime minister; General
Denis Letty, an air force fighter pilot; and Andre Lebeau,
former head of the National Center for Space Studies, the
French equivalent of NASA.
They formed a 12-member ''Committee for In-depth Studies,''
abbreviated as COMETA, which authored the report. Other
contributors included a three-star admiral, the national chief
of police, and the head of a government agency studying the
subject, as well as scientists and weapons engineers.
Not only does the group stand by its findings, it is urging
international action. The writers recommend that France
establish ''sectorial cooperation agreements with interested
European and foreign countries'' on the matter of UFOs. They
suggest that the European Union undertake diplomatic action
with the United States ''exerting useful pressure to clarify
this crucial issue which must fall within the scope of political
and strategic alliances.''
Why might the United States be interested - albeit,
privately - in a subject often met with ridicule, or considered
the domain of the irrational?
For one thing, declassified US government documents show
that unexplained objects with extraordinary technical
capabilities pose challenges to military activity around the
globe. For example, US fighter jets have attempted to pursue
UFOs, according to North American Aerospace Defense
Command logs and Air Force documents. Iranian and Peruvian
air force planes attempted to shoot down unidentified craft in
1976 and 1980. Belgium F-16s armed with missiles pursued a
UFO in 1990.
Further, the French report says that there have been ''visits
above secret installations and missile bases'' and ''military
aircraft shadowed'' in the United States.
Edgar Mitchell, the Apollo 14 astronaut who was the sixth
man to walk on the moon, is one of many supporters of
international cooperation on UFOs. Of the French report, he
says, ''It's significant that individuals of some standing in the
government, military, and intelligence community in France
came forth with this.''
Mitchell, who holds a doctorate from MIT in aeronautics and
astronautics, is convinced ''at a confidence level above 90
percent, that there is reality to all of this.'' He says, ''People
have been digging through the files and investigating for
years now. The files are quite convincing. The only thing
that's lacking is the official stamp.''
Mitchell joins five-star Admiral Lord Hill-Norton, the former
head of the British Ministry of Defense, in calling for
congressional fact-finding hearings into the UFO question.
Although Congress seems disinclined to pursue the matter,
the public's interest in UFOs is undiminished. A ballot initiative
underway in Missouri, certified by the secretary of state in
March, urges Congress to convene hearings. The initiative
states that ''the Federal Government's handling of the UFO
issue has contributed to the public cynicism toward, and
general mistrust of, government.''
US Naval Reserve Commander Willard H. Miller has long been
communicating this same concern to high level federal
officials. With over 30 years in Navy and joint interagency
operations with the Defense Department, Miller has
participated in a series of previously undisclosed briefings for
Pentagon brass about military policy regarding UFOs.
Like many, Miller says he worries that the military's lack of
preparation for encounters with unexplained craft could
provoke dangerous confrontation when, and if, such an
encounter occurs; ''precipitous military decisions,'' he
warns, ''may lead to unnecessary confusion, misapplication of
forces, or possible catastrophic consequences.''
And he says he is not alone in his concerns. ''There are those
in high places in the government who share a growing
interest in this subject,'' Miller reports.
If the US military is concerned about UFOs, it is not saying so
publicly. Indeed, the French report chastises the United
States for what it calls an ''impressive repressive arsenal'' on
the subject, including a policy of disinformation and military
regulations prohibiting public disclosure of UFO sightings.
Air Force Regulation 200-2, ''Unidentified Flying Objects
Reporting,'' for example, prohibits the release to the public
and the media of any data about ''those objects which are
not explainable.'' An even more restrictive procedure is
outlined in the Joint Army Navy Air Force Publication 146,
which threatens to prosecute anyone under its jurisdiction -
including pilots, civilian agencies, merchant marine captains,
and even some fishing vessels - for disclosing reports of
sightings relevant to US security.
Although researchers have been able to obtain some
information through the Freedom of Information Act, many
UFO documents remain classified.
In earlier decades, issues that remain pertinent today were
openly discussed. In 1960, for example, US Representative
Leonard G. Wolf of Iowa entered an ''urgent warning'' from
R.E. Hillenkoetter, a former CIA director and Navy vice
admiral, into the Congressional Record that ''certain dangers
are linked with unidentified flying objects.'' Wolf cited General
L.M. Chassin, NATO coordinator of Allied Air Service, warning
that ''If we persist in refusing to recognize the existence of
the UFOs, we will end up, one fine day, by mistaking them for
the guided missiles of an enemy - and the worst will be upon
us.''
These concerns were taken seriously enough to be
incorporated into the 1971 US-Soviet ''Agreement on
Measures to Reduce the Outbreak of Nuclear War.''
The French report may open the door for nations to be more
forthcoming once again. Chile, for example, is openly
addressing its own concerns about air safety and UFOs. The
now retired chief of the Chilean Air Force has formed a
committee with civil aviation specialists to study recent near-
collisions of UFOs and civilian airliners.
As the international conversation about UFOs unfolds,
sightings continue, as they have for decades. Perhaps the
most notable recent USsighting took place in March 1997.
Hundreds of people across Arizona reported seeing huge
triangular objects, hovering silently in the night sky - a
sighting that, as the state's US Senator John McCain noted
recently, has ''never been fully explained.''
As recently as Jan. 5, four policemen at different locations in
St. Claire County, Illinois, witnessed a huge, brightly lighted,
triangular craft flying and hovering at 1,000 feet. One officer
reported witnessing extreme rapid motion by the craft that
cannot be explained in conventional terms. Nearby Scott Air
Force base and the Federal Aviation Administration purport to
know nothing.
The Defense Department maintains it can find no information
acknowledging the existence of the triangular objects. In
response to a suit by curious Arizonans, it provided details of
its search to US District Court Judge Stephen M. McNamee of
Phoenix. On March 30, McNamee concluded that ''a
reasonable search was conducted'' even though no
information was obtained, and he dismissed the case.
There is one government agency in the country that has
taken steps to prepare for a UFO encounter. The Fire
Officer's Guide to Disaster Control, second edition - used by
the Federal Emergency Management Agency and taught at
the seven universities offering degrees in fire science - warns
of ''UFO hazards,'' such as electrical fields that cause
blackouts, force fields, and physiological effects.
''Do not stand under a UFO that is hovering at low altitudes,''
the book warns. ''Do not touch or attempt to touch a UFO
that has landed.''
The text leaves little room for skepticism. John E. Mack,
professor of psychiatry at Harvard University and a Pulitzer
Prize-winning author, stopped being skeptical a long time ago.
''No culture from the beginning of time, no culture from
anywhere on the planet, has ever voided the idea of all other
intelligent life other than ourselves,'' he told a UFO
conference at the New York Hall of Science two weeks
ago. ''That's arrogance.''
Leslie Kean is a freelance journalist in the San Francisco Bay
area. This story ran on page E3 of the Boston Globe on
5/21/2000. ? Copyright 2000 Globe Newspaper Company.
