Showing posts with label Air Technical Intelligence Center. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Air Technical Intelligence Center. Show all posts

Saturday, August 30, 2014

"Sir Winston Churchill May Have Been Misinformed About The UFO Issue"

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Winston Churchill

Even Winston Churchill Was Misinformed Of The Facts

Paul Dean By Paul Dean
ufos-documenting-the-evidence.blogspot.com
8-10-14

     I am often asked questions along the lines of “How do you know your being misinformed?” or “Are you sure you’re being lied to?” The answers are simple. I can prove it through the study of declassified documents and other official material sourced directly from those attempting the ruse. All serious UFO researchers are faced with the same questions, and often the responses are gleefully accompanied by the whipping out of formally classified government documents which have been begrudgingly released from as far back as the 1950’s right through to this very day. And we are spoilt for choice. It could be a copy of the infamous United States Air Force (USAF) “Bolender Memo”; or any of the newer Joint US-Canadian Communications Instructions Reporting Vital Intelligence Sightings (CIRVIS) for “Unidentified Flying Objects” Regulations; or a copy of any the British Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS) DI55 documents that mention UFO’s. Whatever the example(s), any number of hundreds upon hundreds of once-classified documents, even entire files numbering in the dozens of pages, and usually only released decades after creation, plus other material, prove that the nonsense contained within certain agencies’ official media releases and public statements is absolute misinformation, disinformation, and lies. In my last post I eluded to the fact that Sir Winston Churchill may have been misinformed about the UFO issue; and that if the Prime Minister of Britain is misinformed, or outright lied to, what hope do civilian researchers have?

On the 28th of July, 1952, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill became concerned enough about the growing number of credible UFO reports that he wrote a Prime Ministers Personal Minute (found in the file “PREM 11/855 Defence Research” at the old Public Records Office, London) to both the Secretary of State for Air, and to Lord Cherwell (Frederick Lindemann, Churchill’s Scientific Advisor). It famously reads:
“What does all this stuff about flying saucers amount to? What can it mean? What is the truth? Let me have a report at your convenience.”
Churchill Memo Re Flying Saucers 7-28-1952

On the 9th of August, 1952, the Air Ministry wrote back:

1. “The various reports about unidentified flying objects, described by the Press as ‘flying saucers’, were the subject of a full Intelligence study in 1951. The conclusions reached (based upon William of Occam's Razor) were that all the incidents reported could be explained by one or other of the following causes:
(a) Known astronomical or meteorological phenomena

(b) Mistaken identification of conventional aircraft, balloons, birds, etc.

(c) Optical illusions and psychological delusions

(d) Deliberate hoaxes.
2. The Americans, who carried out a similar investigation in 1948/9, reached a similar conclusion.

3. Nothing has happened since 1951 to make the Air Staff change their opinion, and, to judge from recent Press statements, the same is true in America.”
Air Ministry Whitehall Response To Churchill Memo Re Flying Saucers 8-9-1952

A copy of this report was sent to Lord Cherwell, who wrote to the Prime Minister on the 14th of August, 1952 stating:
“I have seen the Secretary of State’s Minutes to you on flying saucers and I agree entirely with his conclusions”
The Prime Minister was misinformed. Firstly, the Air Staff were, in fact, unable to explain all the incidences. Secondly, the American’s had not whatsoever “reached a similar conclusion.”

In a letter (a copy of which UFO researcher Timothy Good has in his possession) from Group Captain Harold Collins, who was the Deputy Director of Intelligence at the Air Ministry, to Ralph Noyes, who was the Head of Defence Secretariat 8 (DS8) an air intelligence Directorate in the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the results of early Air Ministry findings at that time was:

“….we prepared a paper which divided the more recent reports into four classifications:
(1) Some 35% that could be immediately discounted.

(2) Some 25% for which we were able to find a definite or probably explanation.

(3) Some 30% where there was no corroboration of there was doubts about the report and for which we could find no explanation.

(4) Some 10% where the reporter was well qualified, ie Farnborough test pilot, etc, where there was corroboration and where the report itself carried conviction; but where we could find no explanation.
These figures are rather at odds with what Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill was handed, of that there is no doubt.

More importantly, as for the American’s “reaching a similar conclusion”, nothing could be further from the truth. An Air Intelligence Report, classified TOP SECRET until 1985, titled “Analysis of Flying Object Incidents in the United States [Air Intelligence Report 100-203-79]”, which was written by the United States Air Force’s (USAF) Director Intelligence and the United States Navy’s (USN) Office of Naval Intelligence, concluded in 1948:
“The frequency of reported sightings, the similarity in many of the characteristics attributed to the observed objects and the quality of observers considered as a whole, support the contention that some type of flying object has been observed … The origin of the devices is not ascertainable.”
On Sep 23rd, 1947 Lt. Gen. Nathan Twining, Head of the USAF’s huge Air Material Command (AMC), wrote (after receiving alarming UFO reports from down the line) the infamous “Twining Memo” to Gen. George Schulgen, Commanding General of the USAF. The 3 page memorandum, classified SECRET, states:
“The phenomenon reported is something real and not visionary or fictitious.”
Schulgen Memo - Re Flying Discs, Phenomenon is Real 8-23-1947

Furthermore, at the time of Churchill’s enquiry, a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) memorandum, written by H. Marshall Chadwell, the Assistant Director of the CIA’s Office of Scientific Intelligence (OSI) confirms that:
“Since 1947, Air Technical Intelligence Center has received approximately 1500 official reports of sightings … During 1952 alone, official reports totalled 250. Of the 1500 reports, Air Force carries 20 percent as unexplained and of those received from January through July 1952 it carries 28 percent unexplained.”
CIA Memo Flying Saucers Circa 1952-1953

With this official, formally documentation, it becomes impossible to conclude that the Prime Minister was being properly informed of the true situation. For starters, the Air Ministry’s own statistical information is at odds with what Churchill was told in the Aug 9th reply. As for the statement “The Americans, who carried out a similar investigation in 1948/9, reached a similar conclusion” - even the most boneheaded sceptic has to concede that the hitherto classified documents I have included here tell a vastly different story. The question remains, did the Air Ministry deliberately misinform the Prime Minister? Or was the information he was given merely administrative bungling? Probably the latter. However, as I will elaborate on in future posts, this is only one documented occasion where political figures, military top brass, Congressmen, Lords, etc have been given suspect material. So one does wonder. As for the American’s in this case.. Did Britain’s Air Ministry receive dishonest information from whoever they enquired with in Washington DC on Churchill’s behalf? Or did the Air Ministry receive correct, alarming conclusions, and subsequently misinform the Prime Minister for reasons only they know? Whatever the answers, sceptics and debunkers take note: Do not try and tell patient researchers that the official response to the UFO matter is black-and-white. And, as I have said before, if leaders like Sir Prime Minister Winston Churchill was given the run-around as far back as 1952, civilian researchers nowadays have a rather large task on their hands indeed.

Monday, October 06, 2008

CIA Says, "No UFO Investigation Since The '50's!"

CIA FOIA
By Larry Bryant
UFOVIEW
10-3-08

TO: Director, U. S. Central Intelligence Agency
ATTN: Chairman, Agency Records-Release Panel
Washington, DC 20505

     This letter appeals the Sept. 30, 2008, decision of CIA information and privacy coordinator Delores M. Nelson to deny my FOIA-requester status as a representative of the news media as regards my FOIA request of August 23, 2008 (CIA reference F-2008-01781 -- sent originally on August 13th to the Director of National Intelligence).

Ms. Nelson's below-quoted denial invokes warmed-over official UFOlogical history to deflect the crux of my request -- i.e., that any action taken by any CIA personnel to unlawfully suppress/dissuade public exposure of UFO reality (as was done in the case the Alaskan UFO encounter of 1986) has contemporary news value, thus warranting your waiver of all records-search fees.

Ample evidence defining my requester status remains posted upon my blog site of http://ufoview.posterous.com . Applicable federal case law (most notably the years-old lawsuit waged against your agency by the Washington, D.C.-based National Security Archive) confirms that no "representative of the news media" need justify his/her FOIA request as seeking records "likely [to] contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations and activities of the United States government." What's more, the package of previously released CIA-maintained UFO-related records would be a most unlikely repository for such agency-incriminating documentation as that pertaining to the 1986 Alaskan case.

By this appeal, I hereby characterize my records-search-fee-waiver "request" as a DEMAND, in light of the current edition of the U. S. Freedom of Information Act's dictum as expressed in subparagraph (a)(4)(A)(ii)(II), namely: "fees shall be limited to reasonable standard charges for document duplication when . . . the request is made by . . . a representative of the news media." Accordingly, I intend to file suit in U. S. District Court to challenge any denial of this appeal.

As you process and grant this appeal, I also ask that you forward a copy of all its related correspondence to the CIA inspector general for him to investigate the circumstances, principals, and activities related to former FAA official John J. Callahan's revelation that one or more CIA personnel have unlawfully applied official pressure upon Callahan's right not to engage in any CIA-directed/supported cover-up of the 1986 Alaskan case. Your complying with this IG-referral request not only would contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations and activities of the U. S. Central Intelligence Agency; it also would help secure accountability for any CIA policy/practice that interferes with the public's stakeholdership in pursuit of UFOtruth.

By snail-mail, I'm sending to you a signed printout of this e-formatted letter.


LARRY W. BRYANT

Copies furnished to:

Editor, UFO Magazine
Jonathan L. Katz, Esq.
Chairman, Select Committee on Intelligence, U. S. Senate
Director, U. S. Government Accountability Office

TEXT OF MS. NELSON'S LETTER TO LWB (30 Sep 08):

Reference: F-2008-01781

Dear Mr. Bryant:

This is a final response to your 23 August 2008 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, received in the office of the Information and Privacy Coordinator on 28 August 2008, for the following CIA-received and CIA-generated records:

(1) As pertain to the convening, attendance roster, briefings, minutes, and all other related documentation of the 1987 special meeting at FAA headquarters in Washington, D.C.;

(2) As pertain to all other similar cases of airborne UFO encounters reportedly occurring since Nov. 17, 1986, to date.

We have assigned your request the reference number above. Please use this number when corresponding so that we can identify it easily.

On the general subject of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs), there is no organized CIA effort to do research in connection with UFO phenomena, nor has there been an organized effort to collect intelligence on UFOs since the 1950s. At that time, the Air Force, specifically the Air Technical Intelligence Center at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, had the primary responsibility for the investigation of all reports of UFO sightings. The CIA's role was in connection with a Scientific Advisory Panel, established to investigate and evaluate reports of UFOs. The panel was concerned only with any aspect of UFO phenomena which might prove to present a potential threat to the United States national security. The panel later issued a report of its findings, the Report of the Scientific Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects dated 17 January 1953, also known as the Robertson Report. The report was released by the Air Force Office of Public Information on 9 April 1958. The Air Force investigation, called Project Bluebook [sic], was terminated in 1969. We understand that the Air Force turned its records on this subject over to the National Archives and Records Administration where they are currently available for inspection and purchase. There is currently no CIA program to actively collect information on UFOs, although since the time of the Robertson Report there have been sporadic instances of correspondence dealing with the subject, and we occasionally receive various kinds of reports of sightings of objects in the UFO category.

As of this date, however, the Agency has released to numerous previous requesters 1,022 pages of UFO-related documents under the FOIA. Most of this material was located as a result of a previous search for records conducted on behalf of an earlier requester for information regarding UFOs up through 1979, and as a result of a recent updated search for records conducted on behalf of an earlier requester for information regarding UFOs from 1979 through 15 March 1990. Any releasable material as a result of these earlier, thorough searches is included in this package. These documents are not indexed, and most of the material deals with matters related to the report by the Scientific Advisory Panel. We should advise you that most of the reports dealing with the UFO sightings considered by the Panel originated with other government agencies such as the Air Force, and that much of the later CIA-originated reports concern sightings as reported in the foreign news media. In accordance with our enclosed fee schedule, the material referred to above costs ten cents per page less the first 100 pages as a requester in the "all other" category.

Also, as a result of former Director Woolsey's 14 December 1993 radio interview, a recent further release of 1,757 pages has been made bringing the total amount of pages to 2,779. Therefore, should you wish to purchase this package, please send us your check or money order for US$267.90 to me, made payable to the Treasurer of the United States and cite the reference number above to ensure proper credit to your account.

You also have the option of reviewing the initial release of 991 pages on the CIA's electronic FOIA internet site. The access for this site via homepage URL is: http://www.foia.ucia.gov .

I must consider your request for a fee waiver under the standards the Agency FOIA regulations outline, which you will find at Part 1900 of Title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). I have reviewed your request under those standards and determined that your petition does not meet them because disclosing the information you seek is already in the public domain and its re-release would not likely contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations and activities of the United States Government. I therefore deny your request for a fee waiver.

You may appeal this decision, in my care, within 45 days from the date of this letter. Should you choose to appeal the denial of your request for a fee waiver, you are encouraged to provide an explanation supporting your appeal. Agency regulations also specify that if the Agency has started to process a request, the Agency may only accept an appeal of a fee waiver denial if the requester agrees to be responsible for the costs in the event of an adverse administrative or judicial decision.

In an effort to assist you further, enclosed is a copy of an article from the CIA's internal magazine Studies in Intelligence, Summer 1997, entitled "CIA's Role in the Study of UFOs, 1947-90." This item is being provided at no cost since it is under 100 pages. We trust that the information enclosed and that provided above will be helpful.

Sincerely,

Delores M. Nelson
Information and Privacy Coordinator

Enclosure