Documents / Official release

[01/08/1997 - 09/11/1997]: 24194018-20060474F-001-018-2023

· 48 pages · text by GLM-OCR

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.

  • p. 13 …BACON, ASD (PA) AT THE PENTAGON MR. BACON: GOOD AFTERNOON. IT'S APRIL FOOL'S DAY…
  • p. 16 …IF IT'S SUCH A GOOD PLANE, WHY DOESN'T THE PENTAGON WANT TO BUY ANY…
  • p. 19 …CAN YOU SHED ANY LIGHT ON EITHER OF THOSE REPORTS? IS THE PENTAGON AWARE OF IT…
  • p. 20 …TO KIND OF PUT THIS STORY IN PERSPECTIVE, HAS THE UNITED STATES OR THE PENTAGON NOTICED…
  • p. 22 WITHOUT ANY PENTAGON REVIEW OF THE SECURITY THREAT? A: THE SECURITY REVIEW OF THE COSCO ARRANGEMENT…
  • p. 23 …HAVE BEEN--ARE--LOOKING AT WAYS THAT THE PENTAGON CAN BE RUN MORE EFFICIENTLY, AND THAT…
  • p. 25 …BACON, ASD (PA) AT THE PENTAGON MR. BACON: WELL, GOOD AFTERNOON. IT CERTAINLY IS A GREAT…
  • p. 28 …APOSTOLOS TSOHATZOPOULOS AND THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE WILLIAM COHEN HERE AT THE PENTAGON? A: I HAVEN…
  • p. 30 …DOES THE PENTAGON SEE ROOM FOR COMPROMISE HERE, OR IS THE PRESIDENT GOING TO INSIST, AND…
  • p. 31 …THAT IF THE CONGRESS DOESN'T LIFT THE 60-40 RULE, THAT THE PENTAGON WILL NOT…
  • p. 33 …BACON, ASD (PA) AT THE PENTAGON MR. BACON: GOOD AFTERNOON. SORRY I'M LATE FOR THE…
  • p. 36 …OF THE SECURITY PROCEDURES? AND ARE YOU CONFIDENT GENERALLY THAT SECURITY AT THE PENTAGON IS ADEQUATE…
  • p. 38 …WERE HIS ACTIONS CAPTURED ON THE PENTAGON VIDEO MONITOR? PAGE 03 RUEKJCS7746 UNCLAS A: THEY WERE…
  • p. 39 …HE'S PART OF THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM THAT THE PENTAGON HAS, SORT OF A SEPARATE…
  • p. 40 PAGE 06 RUEKJCS7746 UNCLAS NAVAL HEADQUARTERS WHICH IS ON THE FOURTH FLOOR OF THE PENTAGON. FIRST…
  • p. 41 …DOES DEFENSE SECURITY GO TO THE VITAL OFFICES AROUND THE PENTAGON AND ALSO TO PROTECT TOP…
  • p. 42 …THE PENTAGON? A: WE ARE DOING IT. WE ARE, ONE, LOOKING AT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE…
  • p. 43 …OVER THE WEEKEND, OR IT WAS RELEASED OR REPORTED ON OVER THE WEEKEND -- AS PENTAGON SPOKESMAN…

Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.

JUST MEANS THAT THIS IS ALWAYS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK FOR WAYS TO FINE TUNE THE OPERATION.

Q: AT ANY TIME DID THE SECURITY GUARDS DRAW THEIR GUNS?

THE AIDE, FRAZIER, WAS NOT ARMED. FRANKLY, FREEMAN DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO DRAW HIS GUN.

Q: IS THERE NO PANIC BUTTON UP THERE? DO THEY HAVE TO ACTUALLY, PHYSICALLY, PHONE FOR HELP?

A: IN THIS CASE THEY PHONED. I DON'T BELIEVE THERE'S A PANIC BUTTON. I'LL FIND THAT OUT. I DON'T ACTUALLY KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION. I'LL FIND THAT OUT.

Q: YOU MENTIONED HE RENTED HIS CAR ON FRIDAY AT BWI

PAGE 05 RUEKJCS7745 UNCLAS

AIRPORT.

A: RIGHT.

Q: DO WE KNOW IF HE FLEW INTO BWI THAT DAY, OR HE WAS...

A: THAT'S WHAT WE'RE STILL TRYING TO CHECK. HE IS FROM CALIFORNIA, BUT WE DON'T KNOW HOW LONG HE'D BEEN IN THE AREA. THE OBVIOUS QUESTION IS: DID HE FLY IN HERE WITH THE WEAPON AND THE 130 ROUNDS OF AMMUNITION, OR DID HE ACQUIRE THEM HERE? IF HE ACQUIRED THEM HERE, HOW DID HE DO IT IF HE HAS A CRIMINAL RECORD? THOSE ARE STILL QUESTIONS WE'RE LOOKING INTO. AS I SAY, THE FELLOW IS STILL BEING QUESTIONED.

Q: WHAT OTHER INVESTIGATIVE AGENCIES ARE INVOLVED?

A: MANY. THE FBI, FOR ONE, IS INVOLVED.

Q: YOU SAY OFFICER, IS THAT HIS RANK? OFFICER FREEMAN? AND THE SPELLING OF MR. FRAZIER'S NAME? AND IS THAT HIS RANK AS WELL?

A: HE'S CALLED A SECURITY AIDE. I BELIEVE THAT FRAZIER IS SPELLED THE NORMAL WAY, F-R-A-S-E-R [CORRECTED TO F-R-A-Z-I-E-R], BUT I'LL DOUBLE CHECK ON THAT. MARVIN IS HIS FIRST NAME. AND THERE ARE TEN OF THOSE. THERE ARE ABOUT TEN AIDES AND 220 OFFICERS WHO ALL HAVE ABOUT EIGHT AND A HALF WEEKS OF TRAINING

PAGE 06 RUEKJCS7745 UNCLAS

BEFORE THEY BECOME OFFICERS, AND THAT'S FOLLOWED BY ABOUT 12 WEEKS OF ON-THE-JOB TRAINING ONCE THEY GET HERE.

Q: AM I ACCURATE IN MY PERCEPTION THAT THERE WAS ONE ARMED OFFICER STANDING BETWEEN THIS FELLOW AND NAVAL HEADQUARTERS, ALL THE STAFF UPSTAIRS, AND THE REST OF THE BUILDING, AND AT ONE POINT THIS GUY HAD THE DROP ON THAT GUARD THAT WAS ARMED, MR. FREEMAN?

A: NO. YOU'RE NOT ENTIRELY RIGHT. THERE WAS ONE OFFICER AND ONE AIDE AND THE SECURITY DESK. YOU KNOW THE MACHINE FOR CHECKING PACKAGES IS THERE. BUT YES, THERE WERE TWO PEOPLE THERE AND THOSE TWO PEOPLE WERE ADEQUATE TO APPREHEND THIS FELLOW AND DISARM HIM.

Q: BUT THERE WAS NOTHING BETWEEN THAT SECURITY DESK AND NAVAL HEADQUARTERS, RIGHT?

Q: DID THE SECURITY DOORS NOT CLOSE?

A: HE WAS ALREADY INSIDE. I DON'T BELIEVE THE DOORS CLOSED.

THERE IS A PANIC BUTTON AT THE DESK, IN RESPONSE TO AN

Cases discussed

  • Roswell Incident 1947
    explosion of a UFO in New Mexico in 1947 and the results of an autopsy... kept a secret by the Americans

About this file

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.