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This 1997 study by Gerald K. Haines, National Reconnaissance Office historian, traces CIA interest in UFOs from the late 1940s to 1990 using Agency records compiled after DCI R. James Woolsey ordered a 1993 file review. It covers Air Force projects SIGN, GRUDGE and BLUE BOOK, the 1953 Robertson panel, U-2 and OXCART flights mistaken for UFOs, and disputes with Keyhoe and Davidson. It concludes that Agency concern was substantial until the early 1950s and limited and peripheral since.
UFOs The1960s:Declining CIAInvolve ment andMountingControversy In the early1960s,Keyhoe,David son, and otherUFOlogists maintained theirassault on the Agency forrelease ofUFOinforma tion. Davidson nowclaimed that CIA wassolelyresponsible forcreat ing theFlyingSaucerfuror as a tool for cold warpsychologicalwarfare since 1951. Despite calls forCon gressionalhearings and therelease of allmaterialsrelating toUFOs, little changed. 67 In 1964,however,followinghigh- levelWhiteHousediscussions on - what to do if an alienintelligence was - discovered in space and a new out break ofUFOreports andsightings, DCIJohnMcCotieasked for an updated CIAevaluation ofUFOs. Responding toMcCone srequest, OSI asked the CD toobtainvarious recentsamples andreports ofUFO sightings fromNICAP. With Key- hoe, one of thefounders, riolonger active in theorganization, CIAoffic ers met withRichard H. Hall, the actingdirector. Hall gave theofficers samples from theNICAPdatabase on the mostrecentsightings.68 After OSIofficers hadreviewed the material,Donald F.Chamberlain, OSIAssistantDirector,assured McCone that little hadchanged since the early1950s. There was still no evi dence thatUFOswere athreat to the security of theUnitedStates or that theywere of foreignorigin. Cham berlain toldMcCone that OSI still monitoredUFOreports,including theofficial AirForceinvestigation, - ProjectBLUEBOOK. 69 At the same time that CIA was con ducting thislatestinternalreview of UFOs, publicpressure forced the Air Force toestablish aspecial ad hoc committee toreviewBLUEBOOK. Chaired by Dr. BrianO Brien, a member of the AirForceScientific AdvisoryBoard, thepanelincluded CarlSagan, thefamousastronomer fromCornellUniversity. Itsreport offerednothing new. Itdeclared that UFOs did notthreaten thenational security and that itcould find no UFO casewhichrepresentedtechno logical orscientificadvancesoutside of aterrestrialframework. The com mittee didrecommend thatUFOs be studiedintensively, with aleading uni versityacting as acoordinator for the project, to settle the issue conclusively.70 TheHouseArmedServicesCommit tee also held briefhearings onUFOs in 1966 thatproducedsimilarresults. Secretary of the AirForceHarold Brownassured thecommittee that mostsightingswereeasilyexplained and that there was noevidence that strangers from outerspace had been visitingEarth. He told thecommittee members,however, that the AirForce would keep an open mind and con tinue toinvestigate all UFOreports.7 Following thereport of itsO Brien Committee, theHousehearings on UFOs, and Dr.Robertson sdisclosure on a CBSReportsprogram that CIA indeed had beeninvolved inUFO analysis, the AirForce in July 1966 againapproached theAgency for declassification of theentireRobert son panelreport of1953 and the full Durantreport on theRobertsonpanel deliberations andfindings. The Agencyagainrefused tobudge. Karl H.Weber,DeputyDirector ofOSI, wrote the AirForce that We are mostanxious thatfurtherpublicity not begiven to theinformation that thepanel wassponsored by theCIA. Webernoted thatthere wasalready a sanitizedversionavailable to the public.72 Weber sresponse wasrather shortsighted and illconsidered. It onlydrewmoreattention to the 13- year-oldRobertson panelreport and CIA s role in theinvestigation of UFOs. Thescienceeditor of The Sat urdayReview drewnationwide attention to theCIA s role ininvesti gatingUFOswhen hepublished an articlecriticizing the sanitized ver sion of the 1953Robertsonpanel report andcalled forrelease of the entiredocument. ~ Unknown to CIAofficials, Dr.James E.McDonald, anotedatmospheric physicist from theUniversity ofAri zona, hadalready seen theDurant report on theRobertsonpanel pro ceedings atWright-Patterson on 6 June 1966. WhenMcDonald returned toWright-Patterson on 30 June to copy thereport,however, the AirForcerefused to let him see it again,stating that it was a CIAclassi fieddocument.Emerging as aUFO authority,McDonaldpublicly claimed that the CIA wasbehind the Air Forcesecrecypolicies and coverup. Hedemanded therelease of the fullRobertsonpanelreport and theDurantreport. ~ Bowing topublicpressure and the rec ommendation of its ownO Brien Committee, the AirForceannounced inAugust 1966 that it wasseeking a contractwith aleadinguniversity to undertake aprogram ofintensive investigations ofUFOsightings. The newprogram wasdesigned to blunt continuingcharges that the US Gov ernment hadconcealedwhat itknew aboutUFOs. On 7October, the Uni versity ofColoradoaccepted a $325,000contract with the AirForce for an18-monthstudy offlying sau cers. Dr.Edward U.Condon, a physicist atColorado and aformer 76
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