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.
UNDERGROUND PROTECTION. BUT I THINK THIS DEVELOPMENT WHICH HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR A LONG WHILE AND IS NOT NEW, DEFLECTS ATTENTION FROM TWO MORE IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS. THE FIRST IS THE PROGRESS THAT WE'RE PAGE 03 RUEKJCS8441 UNCLAS MAKING ON ARMS REDUCTION TODAY. THE START I TREATY, AS I SAID, BRINGS IT DOWN TO ABOUT 6,000 COUNTABLE WEAPONS. START II WHICH OUR SENATE HAS RATIFIED AND WE HOPE THE DUMA WILL RATIFY SOON, BRINGS THE NUMBERS DOWN BETWEEN 3,000 AND 3,500 ON EACH SIDE -- A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION. AND START III, AS OUTLINED BY PRESIDENT CLINTON AND PRESIDENT YELTSIN, WOULD BRING THE ARSENALS DOWN TO BETWEEN 2,000 AND 2,500. SO THIS IS A REDUCTION OF ABOUT 80 PERCENT OR WILL BE A REDUCTION OF OVER 80 PERCENT IN ARSENALS IN A 10 TO 15 YEAR PERIOD. THIS IS AN EXTRAORDINARY DEVELOPMENT. THAT'S JUST ONE OF THEM, THOUGH. THE SECOND IS THAT BOTH THE UNITED STATES AND RUSSIA HAVE AGREED TO STOP TARGETING THEIR STRATEGIC NUCLEAR WEAPONS AT EACH OTHER. SO WE NO LONGER HAVE THE HAIR TRIGGER THAT WE LIVED WITH FOR DECADES UNDER THE COLD WAR. THIS, AGAIN, IS ANOTHER IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT. IT'S AN EFFORT BY BOTH SIDES TO BUILD STABILITY AND CONFIDENCE IN A CONTINUING PEACEFUL ENVIRONMENT. WE STILL MAINTAIN VERY EXTENSIVE NUCLEAR FORCES, AS DO THE RUSSIANS. WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS TO LIMIT AND CONTAIN THOSE FORCES AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. Q: DO YOU THINK THIS POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT COULD COME TO A PAGE 04 RUEKJCS8441 UNCLAS HALT CONSIDERING THAT RUSSIA MIGHT BE THREATENED BY POSSIBLE NATO EXPANSION? A: NO, I DON'T. AND I DON'T THINK PRESIDENT YELTSIN DOES EITHER. IN HELSINKI HE TALKED ABOUT MOVING TO START III. I THINK THE RUSSIANS UNDERSTAND THAT NATO IS GOING TO EXPAND AND IT WILL EXPAND IN A WAY THAT'S NOT THREATENING TO RUSSIA. NATO EXPANSION IS NOT AGAINST RUSSIA, IT'S FOR STABILITY IN EUROPE, INCREASED STABILITY IN EUROPE. WE'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME TALKING TO RUSSIA ABOUT THAT. WE'RE WORKING HARD TO FIND WAYS TO INCORPORATE RUSSIA INTO A CONSULTING ARRANGEMENT THAT WILL MAKE THEM FEEL PART OF RATHER THAN OUTSIDE OF SECURITY DECISIONS MADE IN EUROPE. THEY'LL HAVE A VOICE, NOT A VETO IN THESE DECISIONS. SO I GATHER FROM WHAT PRESIDENT YELTSIN SAID THAT THEY FULLY INTEND AND WANT TO GO AHEAD WITH FURTHER ARMS REDUCTIONS, EVEN AS NATO EXPANDS. Q: A STATUS REPORT ON THE SECURITY REVIEW OF THE COSCO/LONG BEACH LEASE. THERE WAS A STORY IN THE PAPER THE OTHER DAY THAT WE'VE NOW GRANTED COSCO 24-HOUR NOTICE TO PULL INTO ANY PORT THAT HAS MILITARY SIGNIFICANCE, WHICH IS SOMETHING WE STILL DON'T DO FOR RUSSIA AND SOME OF THE OTHER FORMER RUSSIAN STATES. PAGE 05 RUEKJCS8441 UNCLAS THAT DECISION WAS MADE, AND THE INITIAL DECISION TO ALLOW LONG BEACH TO GO AHEAD LAST YEAR. WERE BOTH OF THOSE DECISIONS MADE
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.