Documents / FOIA release
This Central Intelligence Agency routing slip, dated August 1958, is attached to an August 20, 1958 letter from Donald Keyhoe of NICAP to CIA Executive Officer J. S. Earman. Keyhoe asks what role the CIA plays in UFO investigations. He also requests the full classified 1953 report of the scientists' panel and an interview with a CIA official. The routing note says the Air Force is the only agency qualified to speak on UFOs and suggests referring Keyhoe's letter to it.
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since then, requests for the full report of this group have been refused, in the grounds that the report is classified. The National Investigations Committee is hereby requesting the identification of this full report so that we may examine the argument and the evidence along with the scientists' conclusions. The Air Force has repeatedly stated that there is absolutely no danger connected with unidentified flying objects. It has also said that there is no classification as regards national security. This admitted "official use only" classification, which, the Air Force says, is to protect the names of witnesses who do not want to be publicly listed. Since the CIA document is said not to list witnesses names but to discuss the general problem, there is no reason apparent any it should not be declassified, as requested. Despite the published conclusions of the 1953 scientific group, we have found that there is an increasing public belief that the NFO2 may possibly be unfriendly. We have absolutely no sympathy to prove that they are hostile and I cite this only to prove the danger of the present secrecy policy. Secrecy breeds ignorance of the subject and it could lead to hysteria or even panic under certain conditions. I believe that an open discussion of the problem would serve the best interests of the country. In addition to requesting a copy of the formal report drawn up by the scientists in 1953, NICAP requests an interview with an official of the Central Intelligence Agency who is qualified to speak for the CIA on this subject. It is our belief that a frank discussion of the problems will be of mutual benefit. In my previous letters, I gave you the name of some of our Board members, including Vice Admiral R. H. Hillenkoetter, USY (Ret.) who formerly was director of the Central Intelligence Agency. I am sure that Admiral Hillenkoetter, as well as all the members of our Board and our Special Advisers would tell you, if questioned, that they disagree with the present secrecy about unidentified flying objects. With a membership covering all 40 states and many foreign countries except those in the UCSR, NICAP has, by its serious, factual approach won the attention of many important citizens here and now. Our factual press releases have been given serious attention by in press and by news eastern. We are in a position to help citizens in America, and elsewhere, for the facts which eventually will be made public. We hope the Central Intelligence Agency will agree to a conference or at least an interview on the various aspects of this problem. Sincerely yours,
FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. The text was read from the page images by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word. 5 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.