Documents / Official release
This Clinton Presidential Library folder of NSC cables, filed under "Flying Saucer or UFO" and covering January to September 1997, holds several cables plus a withdrawal sheet listing three redacted items. A Tel Aviv embassy media report notes an Israeli cartoon about a January 5 UFO alert. An FBIS translation reports that a Colombian helicopter landed in Rubio, Venezuela, prompting UFO speculation. A DoD briefing transcript quotes Kenneth Bacon saying a CIA study found no evidence of UFOs, and an FBIS summary covers Cuban radio claims about the 1947 New Mexico crash.
“The Pentagon”18 pages
Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.
PAGE 06 RUEKJCS8440 UNCLAS Q: YOU DON'T THINK THAT THE RESOURCES THEY'RE USING COULD BE USED IN A BETTER WAY? A: EVERY COUNTRY MAKES DECISIONS ABOUT HOW TO DEFEND ITSELF AND HOW TO DEFEND ITS PEOPLE AND ITS LEADERS. WE MAKE THOSE DECISIONS EVERY DAY AND RUSSIA MAKES THOSE DECISIONS, AND THIS IS HOW THEY DECIDED TO DO IT. AS I POINTED OUT, WE DO HAVE FACILITIES FOR PROTECTING MILITARY/CIVILIAN LEADERS, FOR PROTECTING OUR NATIONAL COMMAND AUTHORITY. Q: DOES THE UNITED STATES DISCUSS THIS ISSUE WITH RUSSIA? ABOUT MAYBE THESE FUNDS WOULD BE BETTER SPENT ELSEWHERE? A: FIRST OF ALL, MONEY THAT'S BEING SPENT ON DIGGING TUNNELS IS NOT BEING SPENT ON DEVELOPING NEW MISSILES; IT'S NOT BEING SPENT ON DEVELOPING NEW OFFENSIVE CAPABILITIES. I THINK THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT DISTINCTION. THESE ARE ON DEFENSIVE MEASURES. WE ARE WORRIED PRIMARILY ABOUT OFFENSIVE MEASURES. AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A PROGRAM--THE COOPERATIVE THREAT REDUCTION PROGRAM--THAT IS HELPING RUSSIA DESTROY ITS NUCLEAR ARSENALS. IT HELPS THEM CUT THE WINGS OFF BOMBERS; IT HELPS THEM DISMANTLE MISSILES. WE PROVIDE ALL OF THAT ASSISTANCE IN KIND TO UNCLAS SECTION 04 OF 05 RUSSIA. NOT IN TERMS OF MONEY. WE PROVIDE THEM EQUIPMENT, WE PROVIDE THEM TECHNOLOGICAL ADVICE, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, ETC. SO THESE ARE ENTIRELY DIFFERENT PROGRAMS AND IT'S NOT, THEY CAN'T TAKE MONEY FROM THE COOPERATIVE THREAT REDUCTION PROGRAM, ALSO KNOWN AS NUNN/LUGAR, AND DIVERT IT TO OTHER PURPOSES. AS I SAID, WE'RE WORRIED PRIMARILY ABOUT OFFENSIVE CAPABILITY, AND WE'VE STARTED A VERY AGGRESSIVE ARMS REDUCTION REGIME WITH RUSSIA TO LIMIT THEIR OFFENSIVE CAPABILITY AND OUR OFFENSIVE CAPABILITY. IN HELSINKI, THE LEADERS OF BOTH RUSSIA AND THE UNITED STATES MADE IT VERY CLEAR THAT THEY WANT TO GO BEYOND START II TO A START III AGREEMENT THAT WILL REDUCE EVEN FURTHER THE NUCLEAR ARSENALS OF BOTH COUNTRIES. Q: TO KIND OF PUT THIS STORY IN PERSPECTIVE, HAS THE UNITED STATES OR THE PENTAGON NOTICED AN ACCELERATED MOVEMENT IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THESE BUNKERS, OR IS THIS SOMETHING THAT'S PAGE 02 RUEKJCS8441 UNCLAS BEEN GOING ON FOR SOME TIME? A: THEY'VE BEEN BURROWING AWAY FOR SOME TIME IN VARIOUS UNDERGROUND FACILITIES. THEY HAVE ALWAYS PLACED A HEAVY EMPHASIS, GOING BACK TO SOVIET TIMES, ON CIVIL DEFENSE AND PROTECTION, UNDERGROUND PROTECTION AND OTHER TYPES OF PROTECTION. I CAN RECALL DECADES AGO HAROLD BROWN, THEN THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, USED TO TALK, THERE WAS A BIG DEBATE DURING THE CARTER ADMINISTRATION ABOUT CIVIL DEFENSE. THE DEBATE WENT THAT THE RUSSIANS WERE OUTSPENDING US BY SOME HUGE MARGIN ON CIVIL DEFENSE, AND, THEREFORE, WE WERE LEAVING OURSELVES EXPOSED BY NOT SPENDING AS MUCH MONEY ON CIVIL DEFENSE. HAROLD BROWN SAID, "WE PRACTICE CIVIL DEFENSE EVERY FRIDAY AFTERNOON WHEN PEOPLE LEAVE CITIES AND DRIVE OUT INTO THE COUNTRY. WE HAVE WAYS OF DISBURSING OUR POPULATIONS VERY, VERY QUICKLY." THE RUSSIANS HAVE NOT PAID AS MUCH ATTENTION TO DISPERSION AS WE HAVE, AND THEY'VE PAID MORE ATTENTION TO
Official release, from the nara 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. 48 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.