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 02 RUEKJCS7748 UNCLAS OF WHICH IS THE PANEL BEING HEADED BY FORMER SENATOR KASSENBAUM BAKER THAT LOOKS AT INTEGRATED TRAINING, HOW IT'S WORKING, AND OTHER RELATED ISSUES. THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO REPORT IN THE FALL. WE ALSO HAVE THE TASK FORCE THAT'S LOOKING AT THE "GOOD ORDER AND DISCIPLINE" PHRASE, HOW THAT'S UNDERSTOOD, HOW IT'S IMPLEMENTED, WHETHER THERE'S CLEAR AND CONSISTENT APPLICATION OF THAT. AND WE HAVE ANOTHER GROUP LOOKING AT THE RULES THAT DEAL SPECIFICALLY WITH ADULTERY. THAT'S ALSO TO LOOK AT THE CLARITY OF THE LANGUAGE, THE DEGREE OF UNDERSTANDING OF THE RULE AND HOW WELL IT'S BEING ENFORCED. Q: IS THERE ANY WORD YET ON WHEN MILITARY SUPPORT TO CIVILIAN AGENCIES ON THE BORDER MIGHT RESUME, AND IF THERE WILL BE ANY CONDITIONS ATTACHED TO THAT? A: NO. I'M AFRAID WE HAVEN'T FINISHED THAT REVIEW YET. Q: ON THE UFO STUDY THAT THE CIA DID OVER THE WEEKEND, OR IT WAS RELEASED OR REPORTED ON OVER THE WEEKEND -- AS PENTAGON SPOKESMAN ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT A REPORT THAT SAYS THAT THE GOVERNMENT WILLFULLY MISLED INDIVIDUALS TO CONCEAL PROGRAMS? A: I'VE READ THE CIA STUDY, AND I HAVE READ WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT THE AIR FORCE. IT'S THEIR CHARACTERIZATION OF WHAT THE AIR PAGE 03 RUEKJCS7748 UNCLAS FORCE SAID. I HAVE NOT GONE BACK AND CHECKED WHAT THE AIR FORCE SAID AT THE TIME, SO I'D PREFER NOT TO COMMENT ON WHAT THE STUDY SAID. IT IS NOT THE POLICY OF SECRETARY COHEN OR ANY OF THE PEOPLE WHO WORK FOR HIM TO MISLEAD THE PUBLIC. Q: WERE YOU AT ALL AWARE OF ANY MISLEADING OF THE PUBLIC THAT WAS DONE BY THE AIR FORCE PRIOR? A: I WAS NOT AWARE OF THAT. I WILL SAY THAT ONE INTERESTING ASPECT OF THE REPORT WAS THAT FOR YEARS, UFO PEOPLE HAVE BEEN CHARGING THAT WE'VE COVERED UP THE FACT THAT THERE REALLY ARE UFOS, AND THE CIA STUDY CONFIRMS, AS HAS EVERY OTHER STUDY DONE BY THE GOVERNMENT, THAT WE HAVE NO EVIDENCE OF UFOS. WE HAVE NO EVIDENCE OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL VISITORS TO THIS PLANET. THE STUDY GOES ON TO SAY THAT ONE EXPLANATION FOR MANY OF THESE SIGHTINGS MIGHT HAVE BEEN AIRPLANES THAT WERE BEING TESTED AT THE TIME. Q: DO YOU THINK THAT APPLIES TO ANY PROGRAMS THAT MIGHT BE TESTED NOW, OR CAN YOU SAY CATEGORICALLY THAT THE DEPARTMENT DOES NOT ENGAGE IN THAT KIND OF PUBLIC RELATIONS ACTIVITY IN TERMS OF PROGRAMS THAT ARE PERHAPS FLYING TODAY? A: FIRST OF ALL, WE CERTAINLY HAVE CLASSIFIED PROGRAMS AND PAGE 04 RUEKJCS7748 UNCLAS WE CERTAINLY HAVE LEGITIMATE REASONS FOR NOT DISCLOSING SOME OF THE WORK WE'RE DOING, WHETHER IT'S RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OR WHETHER IT'S OPERATIONS. I AM NOT AWARE THAT WE ARE PUTTING OUT STORIES THAT MISSTATE THE TRUTH ABOUT THOSE PROGRAMS. THE DISTINCTION WOULD BE WE JUST DON'T TALK ABOUT THE PROGRAMS AT ALL, SO I CERTAINLY WOULDN'T TALK ABOUT ANY OF THOSE PROGRAMS
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.