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.
WITHOUT ANY PENTAGON REVIEW OF THE SECURITY THREAT? A: THE SECURITY REVIEW OF THE COSCO ARRANGEMENT--AND THE POTENTIAL COSCO ARRANGEMENT IS THAT THE CHINA OCEAN SHIPPING COMPANY WHICH HAS BEEN OPERATING OUT OF LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA SINCE 1981--WOULD EXPAND ITS OPERATIONS THERE IF IT REACHES AN AGREEMENT WITH THE PORT OF LONG BEACH, AND ALL OF THESE NEGOTIATIONS ARE TAKING PLACE BETWEEN COSCO AND THE CITY, OR THE PORT OF LONG BEACH, NOT BETWEEN THE U.S. GOVERNMENT AND COSCO OR BETWEEN THE U.S. NAVY AND COSCO. COSCO ALSO OPERATES IN A NUMBER OF OTHER PORTS, INCLUDING BALTIMORE, WHICH OF COURSE IS RELATIVELY NEARBY. AND IT OPERATES OUT OF LOS ANGELES AND SEATTLE, OTHER PORTS IN THE UNITED STATES. THE OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE HAS DONE A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION AND HAS TALKED TO SOME PEOPLE ON THE HILL ABOUT ITS FINDINGS. IT HAS NOT FOUND--I DON'T BELIEVE IT HAS FOUND-- NATIONAL SECURITY CONCERNS. WE ARE CONTINUING TO REVIEW THIS, AND THE SECRETARY HAS NOT COMPLETED WORK, THE DEPARTMENT HAS NOT COMPLETED ITS WORK ON PAGE 06 RUEKJCS8441 UNCLAS THIS, BUT THE EARLY REPORTS ARE THAT THERE WERE NOT NATIONAL SECURITY CONCERNS ATTENDANT TO EXPANDING COSCO'S PRESENCE IN THE UNITED STATES. Q: IS THIS REVIEW BEING AFFECTED AT ALL BY THE FUNDRAISING ALLEGATIONS CONNECTING THE WHITE HOUSE AND THE DNC? A: NO, THIS IS TOTALLY SEPARATE FROM THAT. AS I POINTED OUT, COSCO HAS OPERATED IN THE UNITED STATES FOR MANY YEARS BEFORE THESE ALLEGATIONS CAME TO THE SURFACE. THIS IS A COMPLETELY SEPARATE OPERATION FROM THAT. COSCO IS THE WORLD'S LARGEST OCEAN SHIPPING COMPANY. IT CARRIES GOODS FOR THE WORLD'S LARGEST, MOST POPULOUS COUNTRY; A COUNTRY THAT HAS BEEN EXPERIENCING ECONOMIC BOOM AND DOING MORE AND MORE TRADING ALL OVER THE WORLD, INCLUDING WITH THE UNITED STATES. IT IS THE COMPANY THAT BRINGS CHINESE GOODS, ONE OF THE COMPANIES THAT BRINGS CHINESE GOODS TO THE UNITED STATES, AND THEN CARRIES U.S. GOODS BACK TO [CHINA]. I KNOW THAT YOU PROBABLY SPENT ENOUGH TIME IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TO HAVE SEEN COSCO CONTAINERS TRAVELING ON TRUCKS OR RAILROAD TRAINS. YOU'VE PROBABLY BEEN SEEING THIS FOR THE LAST 10 OR 15 YEARS, AND I DOUBT IF YOU'VE EVER WORRIED ABOUT OUR NATIONAL SECURITY WHEN UNCLAS FINAL SECTION OF 05 YOU'VE SEEN A COSCO CONTAINER. Q: HAS THE DEPARTMENT MADE ITS OFFICIAL POSITION YET ON THE MCDONNELL DOUGLAS/BOEING MERGER? AND IF NOT, WHEN WILL ONE BE FORTHCOMING? A: IT HAS NOT MADE ITS POSITION KNOWN YET, AND I DON'T KNOW WHEN THAT DECISION WILL BE. Q: THE QDR REPORT IS DUE TO CONGRESS SIX SEEKS FROM NOW. CAN YOU GIVE US AN UPDATE ON WHERE IT IS? HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS BEEN MADE? WHAT'S THE SECRETARY'S INVOLVEMENT AT THIS POINT? A: THE SECRETARY'S INVOLVEMENT IS INTENSE. HE HAS MET SEVERAL TIMES WITH THE CHIEFS TO DISCUSS THIS. HE HAS BRIEFINGS PRETTY MUCH ON A WEEKLY BASIS ABOUT THE QDR. RIGHT NOW THERE HAS BEEN A DRAFT... HE HAS SAID FROM THE VERY BEGINNING THAT HE WANTS THIS TO BE A STRATEGY DRIVEN REVIEW, NOT IN RESPONSE TO BUDGETARY FIGURES, BUT IN RESPONSE TO OUR VIEW OF WHAT OUR
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.