1953: When The CIA Started Lying About UFOs

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1953: When The CIA Started Lying About UFOs
Posted On: August 10, 2022

The year was 1953. The place, the United States of America. The Government and CIA setup the Robertson Panel to discuss the subject of UFOs and decide what to do about them.


The situation had evidently become so worrying for the CIA by the end of 1952 that a panel of scientists was convened by the Office of Scientific Intelligence, and the secret meetings were held at the Pentagon from 14th to 17th January 1953. Although sanitized copies had been available to certain officials outside the CIA for a number of years, the Robertson Panel Report (sometimes referred to as the Durant Report) was not completely declassified until 1975, and even to this day there are those who believe that the report has not been released in its entirety.


Timothy Good wrote to the CIA in 1975 requesting a copy (under the FOIA), and it arrived a few months later. Members of the Scientific Advisory Panel were Dr. H. P. Robertson (Chairman), whose specialty was physics and weapons systems; Dr. Luis Alvarez (physics and radar); Dr. Lloyd V. Berkner (geophysics); Dr. Samuel Goudsmit (atomic structure and statistical problems); Dr. Thornton Page (astronomy and astrophysics).


The associate members were Dr. J. Allen Hynek (astronomy) and Frederick C. Durant (missiles and rockets). The interviewees were Brigadier William H. Garland, Commanding General of Air Technical Intelligence Center; Dr. H. Marshall Chadwell, Assistant Director of the OSI/CIA; Ralph L. Clark, Deputy Assistant Director OSI/CIA; Lieutenant Colonel F. C. Oder and D. B. Stevenson, OSI staff members; Philip G. Strong, Chief, Operations Staff, OSI; Stephen T. Possony, Acting Chief, Special Study Group, Directorate of Air Force Intelligence; Colonels William A. Adams and Wesley S. Smith, also of Air Force Intelligence; Major Dewey Fournet, Headquarters, Air Force Intelligence Monitor of the UFO Project; Captain Edward J. Ruppelt, Chief, Aerial Phenomena Branch, ATIC; Lieutenant R. S. Neasham and Henry Woo of the US Navy Photo Interpretation Laboratory; and Albert M. Chop, the Air Force press officer handling UFO inquiries.


After twelve hours of meetings, during which the panel was shown movie films of UFOs, case histories of sightings prepared by the ATIC, intelligence reports relating to the Soviet Union's interest in US sightings, as well as numerous charts depicting, for example, frequency and geographic location of sightings, the panel came up with a largely skeptical view of the UFO situation, and in Part IV of the report, headed "Comments and Suggestions of Panel," concluded that "reasonable explanations could be suggested for most sightings, by deduction and scientific method it could be induced (given additional data) that other cases might be explained in a similar manner." The panel also concluded unanimously that "there was no evidence of a direct threat to national security in the objects sighted" and that "the absence of any hardware resulting from unexplained UFO sightings lends a ‘will-of-the-wisp' nature to the ATIC problem. The results of their investigation, to date, strongly indicate that no evidence of hostile act or danger exists."


The panel did not find any evidence either that any of the unexplained objects sighted could be extraterrestrial in origin, but nevertheless noted that:


"Mr. Foumet, in his presentation, showed how he had eliminated each of the known and probable causes of sightings leaving him "extraterrestrial" as the only one remaining in many cases. Fournet's background as an aeronautical engineer and technical intelligence officer (Project Officer, Blue Book, for 15 months) could not be slighted. However, the Panel could not accept any of the cases sighted [sic] by him because they were raw, unevaluated reports. Dr. Page noted that present astronomical knowledge of the solar system makes the existence of intelligent beings, elsewhere than on the earth extremely unlikely, and the concentration of their attention by any controllable means confined to any one continent of the earth quite preposterous."


The panel members were in agreement with the opinion of OSI that, although there was no evidence of direct threat from the sightings, related dangers might result from the following:


"(a) Misidentification of actual enemy artifacts by defense personnel, (b) Overloading of emergency reporting channels with ‘false' information. (c) Subjectivity of public to mass hysteria and greater vulnerability to possible enemy psychological warfare."


One of the panel's recommendations was that a policy of debunking UFO reports should be instigated: The "debunking" aim would result in reduction in public interest in "flying saucers" which today evokes a strong psychological reaction. This education could be accomplished by mass media such [as] television, motion pictures, and popular articles. Basis of such education would be actual case histories which had been puzzling at first but later explained. As is the case of conjuring tricks, there is much less stimulation if the "secret" is known. Such a program should tend to reduce the current gullibility of the public and consequently their susceptibility to clever hostile propaganda. The panel noted that the general absence of Russian propaganda based on a subject with so many obvious possibilities for exploitation might indicate a possible Russian official policy. The panel discussed the various insidious methods that could be implemented to execute such a program:


"It was felt strongly that psychologists familiar with mass psychology should advise on the nature and extent of the program," the report states, and three specific psychologists were suggested as consultants. Documentary films and cartoons (Walt Disney Inc. being recommended for the latter) were proposed, and "It was believed that business clubs, high schools, colleges, and television stations would all be pleased to cooperate in the showing of documentary type motion pictures if prepared in an interesting manner. The use of true cases showing first the ‘mystery' and then the ‘explanation' would be forceful."


Dr. Allen Hynek suggested that amateur astronomers in the US might be a potential source of enthusiastic talent to "spread the gospel." Another sinister recommendation of the panel was that civilian UFO groups should be watched "because of their potentially great influence on mass thinking if widespread sightings should occur. The apparent irresponsibility and the possible use of such groups for subversive purposes should be kept in mind."


The panel concluded that "the continued emphasis on the reporting of these phenomena does, in these parlous times, result in a threat to the orderly functioning of the protective organs of the body politic," and recommended:


a. That the national security agencies take immediate steps to strip the Unidentified Flying Objects of the special status they have been given and the aura of mystery they have unfortunately acquired;


b. That the national security agencies institute policies on intelligence, training, and public education designed to prepare the material defenses and the morale of the country to recognize most promptly and to react most effectively to true indications of hostile intent or action.


We suggest that these aims may be achieved by an integrated program designed to reassure the public of the total lack of evidence of inimical forces behind the phenomena, to train personnel to recognize and reject false indications quickly and effectively, and to strengthen regular channels for the evaluation of and prompt reaction to true indications of hostile measures.


An Air Force Intelligence colonel present at the meetings complained afterward that the CIA merely wanted to bury the subject. "We had over a hundred of the strongest verified reports," he told Major Donald Keyhoe. "The agents bypassed the best ones. The scientists saw just fifteen cases, and the CIA men tried to pick holes in them. Fournet had sightings by top military and airline pilots, even scientists. The agents made it seem as if the witnesses were dopes, so the scientists brushed off the whole Fournet report. I know those CIA agents were only following orders, but once or twice I nearly blew up."


Dr. Allen Hynek, who had been the Air Force's astronomical consultant on UFOs for Project Blue Book both before and after the Robertson Panel, and until his death in 1986 was considered to be one of the world's leading UFO researchers, has also expressed criticism.


"I was an associate member of that panel," he stated, "but was not invited to participate in all the sessions. I was dissatisfied even then with what seemed to me a most cursory examination of the data and the set minds implied by the Panel's lack of curiosity and desire to delve deeper into the subject." Dissatisfied he may have been, but Hynek apparently offered his cooperation with the CIA in the debunking program, as the report shows.


Captain Edward J. Ruppelt, Chief of the Aerial Phenomena Branch, Air Technical Intelligence Center, said that the CIA ordered the Air Force to debunk sightings and discredit witnesses.


"We're ordered to hide sightings when possible," he told Major Keyhoe, "but if a strong report does get out we have to publish a fast explanation, make up something to kill the report in a hurry, and also ridicule the witness, especially if we can't figure a plausible answer. We even have to discredit our own pilots."


Dr. David R. Saunders, who was on the University of Colorado UFO Committee before resigning in disgust at its bias against the subject, believes that the Robertson Panel Report, as released, is no more than a cover story, "conceived and executed for the dual purposes of confusing foreign intelligence and reassuring the cadre of our own establishment. There is ample precedent for the use of such double and triple layers of security in connection with really important projects.


For example, the mere existence of the Manhattan Project was a secret, but the nature and importance of that project was an even bigger secret."


Resources: Above Top Secret, Timothy Good, 1988.


My Take: It seems that these panel members were either in on the cover-up or setup to have the desired conclusion. Either way, the UFO debunking program began, and is successful until this day.



[BACK]
1953: When The CIA Started Lying About UFOs
Posted On: August 10, 2022

The year was 1953. The place, the United States of America. The Government and CIA setup the Robertson Panel to discuss the subject of UFOs and decide what to do about them.


The situation had evidently become so worrying for the CIA by the end of 1952 that a panel of scientists was convened by the Office of Scientific Intelligence, and the secret meetings were held at the Pentagon from 14th to 17th January 1953. Although sanitized copies had been available to certain officials outside the CIA for a number of years, the Robertson Panel Report (sometimes referred to as the Durant Report) was not completely declassified until 1975, and even to this day there are those who believe that the report has not been released in its entirety.


Timothy Good wrote to the CIA in 1975 requesting a copy (under the FOIA), and it arrived a few months later. Members of the Scientific Advisory Panel were Dr. H. P. Robertson (Chairman), whose specialty was physics and weapons systems; Dr. Luis Alvarez (physics and radar); Dr. Lloyd V. Berkner (geophysics); Dr. Samuel Goudsmit (atomic structure and statistical problems); Dr. Thornton Page (astronomy and astrophysics).


The associate members were Dr. J. Allen Hynek (astronomy) and Frederick C. Durant (missiles and rockets). The interviewees were Brigadier William H. Garland, Commanding General of Air Technical Intelligence Center; Dr. H. Marshall Chadwell, Assistant Director of the OSI/CIA; Ralph L. Clark, Deputy Assistant Director OSI/CIA; Lieutenant Colonel F. C. Oder and D. B. Stevenson, OSI staff members; Philip G. Strong, Chief, Operations Staff, OSI; Stephen T. Possony, Acting Chief, Special Study Group, Directorate of Air Force Intelligence; Colonels William A. Adams and Wesley S. Smith, also of Air Force Intelligence; Major Dewey Fournet, Headquarters, Air Force Intelligence Monitor of the UFO Project; Captain Edward J. Ruppelt, Chief, Aerial Phenomena Branch, ATIC; Lieutenant R. S. Neasham and Henry Woo of the US Navy Photo Interpretation Laboratory; and Albert M. Chop, the Air Force press officer handling UFO inquiries.


After twelve hours of meetings, during which the panel was shown movie films of UFOs, case histories of sightings prepared by the ATIC, intelligence reports relating to the Soviet Union's interest in US sightings, as well as numerous charts depicting, for example, frequency and geographic location of sightings, the panel came up with a largely skeptical view of the UFO situation, and in Part IV of the report, headed "Comments and Suggestions of Panel," concluded that "reasonable explanations could be suggested for most sightings, by deduction and scientific method it could be induced (given additional data) that other cases might be explained in a similar manner." The panel also concluded unanimously that "there was no evidence of a direct threat to national security in the objects sighted" and that "the absence of any hardware resulting from unexplained UFO sightings lends a ‘will-of-the-wisp' nature to the ATIC problem. The results of their investigation, to date, strongly indicate that no evidence of hostile act or danger exists."


The panel did not find any evidence either that any of the unexplained objects sighted could be extraterrestrial in origin, but nevertheless noted that:


"Mr. Foumet, in his presentation, showed how he had eliminated each of the known and probable causes of sightings leaving him "extraterrestrial" as the only one remaining in many cases. Fournet's background as an aeronautical engineer and technical intelligence officer (Project Officer, Blue Book, for 15 months) could not be slighted. However, the Panel could not accept any of the cases sighted [sic] by him because they were raw, unevaluated reports. Dr. Page noted that present astronomical knowledge of the solar system makes the existence of intelligent beings, elsewhere than on the earth extremely unlikely, and the concentration of their attention by any controllable means confined to any one continent of the earth quite preposterous."


The panel members were in agreement with the opinion of OSI that, although there was no evidence of direct threat from the sightings, related dangers might result from the following:


"(a) Misidentification of actual enemy artifacts by defense personnel, (b) Overloading of emergency reporting channels with ‘false' information. (c) Subjectivity of public to mass hysteria and greater vulnerability to possible enemy psychological warfare."


One of the panel's recommendations was that a policy of debunking UFO reports should be instigated: The "debunking" aim would result in reduction in public interest in "flying saucers" which today evokes a strong psychological reaction. This education could be accomplished by mass media such [as] television, motion pictures, and popular articles. Basis of such education would be actual case histories which had been puzzling at first but later explained. As is the case of conjuring tricks, there is much less stimulation if the "secret" is known. Such a program should tend to reduce the current gullibility of the public and consequently their susceptibility to clever hostile propaganda. The panel noted that the general absence of Russian propaganda based on a subject with so many obvious possibilities for exploitation might indicate a possible Russian official policy. The panel discussed the various insidious methods that could be implemented to execute such a program:


"It was felt strongly that psychologists familiar with mass psychology should advise on the nature and extent of the program," the report states, and three specific psychologists were suggested as consultants. Documentary films and cartoons (Walt Disney Inc. being recommended for the latter) were proposed, and "It was believed that business clubs, high schools, colleges, and television stations would all be pleased to cooperate in the showing of documentary type motion pictures if prepared in an interesting manner. The use of true cases showing first the ‘mystery' and then the ‘explanation' would be forceful."


Dr. Allen Hynek suggested that amateur astronomers in the US might be a potential source of enthusiastic talent to "spread the gospel." Another sinister recommendation of the panel was that civilian UFO groups should be watched "because of their potentially great influence on mass thinking if widespread sightings should occur. The apparent irresponsibility and the possible use of such groups for subversive purposes should be kept in mind."


The panel concluded that "the continued emphasis on the reporting of these phenomena does, in these parlous times, result in a threat to the orderly functioning of the protective organs of the body politic," and recommended:


a. That the national security agencies take immediate steps to strip the Unidentified Flying Objects of the special status they have been given and the aura of mystery they have unfortunately acquired;


b. That the national security agencies institute policies on intelligence, training, and public education designed to prepare the material defenses and the morale of the country to recognize most promptly and to react most effectively to true indications of hostile intent or action.


We suggest that these aims may be achieved by an integrated program designed to reassure the public of the total lack of evidence of inimical forces behind the phenomena, to train personnel to recognize and reject false indications quickly and effectively, and to strengthen regular channels for the evaluation of and prompt reaction to true indications of hostile measures.


An Air Force Intelligence colonel present at the meetings complained afterward that the CIA merely wanted to bury the subject. "We had over a hundred of the strongest verified reports," he told Major Donald Keyhoe. "The agents bypassed the best ones. The scientists saw just fifteen cases, and the CIA men tried to pick holes in them. Fournet had sightings by top military and airline pilots, even scientists. The agents made it seem as if the witnesses were dopes, so the scientists brushed off the whole Fournet report. I know those CIA agents were only following orders, but once or twice I nearly blew up."


Dr. Allen Hynek, who had been the Air Force's astronomical consultant on UFOs for Project Blue Book both before and after the Robertson Panel, and until his death in 1986 was considered to be one of the world's leading UFO researchers, has also expressed criticism.


"I was an associate member of that panel," he stated, "but was not invited to participate in all the sessions. I was dissatisfied even then with what seemed to me a most cursory examination of the data and the set minds implied by the Panel's lack of curiosity and desire to delve deeper into the subject." Dissatisfied he may have been, but Hynek apparently offered his cooperation with the CIA in the debunking program, as the report shows.


Captain Edward J. Ruppelt, Chief of the Aerial Phenomena Branch, Air Technical Intelligence Center, said that the CIA ordered the Air Force to debunk sightings and discredit witnesses.


"We're ordered to hide sightings when possible," he told Major Keyhoe, "but if a strong report does get out we have to publish a fast explanation, make up something to kill the report in a hurry, and also ridicule the witness, especially if we can't figure a plausible answer. We even have to discredit our own pilots."


Dr. David R. Saunders, who was on the University of Colorado UFO Committee before resigning in disgust at its bias against the subject, believes that the Robertson Panel Report, as released, is no more than a cover story, "conceived and executed for the dual purposes of confusing foreign intelligence and reassuring the cadre of our own establishment. There is ample precedent for the use of such double and triple layers of security in connection with really important projects.


For example, the mere existence of the Manhattan Project was a secret, but the nature and importance of that project was an even bigger secret."


Resources: Above Top Secret, Timothy Good, 1988.


My Take: It seems that these panel members were either in on the cover-up or setup to have the desired conclusion. Either way, the UFO debunking program began, and is successful until this day.



1953: When The CIA Started Lying About UFOs

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