NASA FOIA 21-HQ-F-00500

In response to (Fi's first request letter, NASA came back relatively quickly with a " no records"
response. This was one of the many "go away" responses that CFi expected to receive from the
federal government at the outset of its FOIA initiative, Most FOIA practitioners steer clear of
pursuing "no records" responses, because, to prevail, the requester most show that the agency
did not conduct a reasonable, good faith search - a showing that requires the FOlA requester to,
in essence, produce govemment documents responsive to his/ her own FOIA request. CFI was
prepared to do this - indeed, as you know, it is actively pursuing a parallel investigation. As a
result, CFi won its administrative appeal of NASA's "no records" response. CFi has now waited
patiently for four months for NASA to produce the results of its promise to conduct an
" expedited" search ,
For over forty years, we lived with the Cold War and all the fear it engendered. The " UFO
phenomenon" - whether it coincided with that War or was a product of it - is an important
chapter in our government's operations and our history. As Kecksburg demonstrates, it still has
an impact on real people and real communities, who have no agenda other than obtaining
honest answers. Aliens may not have invaded Kecksburg in December 1965, but the U,S.
military surely did.
In my opinion, Congress did not intend to force the public to litigate over its own history,
Unfortunately, the government has created FOIA process in which litigation has become a
necessary evil. "Freedom of Information" is being held hostage to a sometimes hostile, and
definitely byzantine bureaucracy, For a democracy, that deserves much more ridicule than
legitimate curiosity about crop circles or extraterrestrial life.