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03/05/00

Struggle For UFO Disclosure

THE STRUGGLE FOR UFO DISCLOSURE:
THE UFO POLITICS OF THE CLINTON ERA

BY JEFF LOVE

Imagine this Presidential event. The President of the United States speaks to the world in a press conference. Present are the leaders of the world. The President declares, "I have a vital announcement for the world. Extraterrestrial beings from other worlds are visiting our planet and studying the human race". This incident hasn't happened yet. The struggle for disclosure is the important story of the UFO politics of the Clinton Administration. Some of the crucial events for UFO Disclosure are related from 1993, the beginning of the Clinton Presidency, through 1999.

UFO disclosure involves two parts: the first part is revelation - the truth about UFOs previously secret and hidden by the Government will be revealed to the public, and the other part is acknowledgement - the American Government , the institution that concealed many truths for decades, reluctantly will release the facts and information about the realities of UFOs.

The drama of UFO disclosure involves two opposing forces: a protagonist and an antagonist. The protagonists are the advocates of disclosure, while the antagonists are the adversaries who oppose disclosure.

The protagonists are made up of some of the foremost researchers and investigators of UFOs. Presently, there exists an unofficial coalition of UFO organizations that speaks to these matters, including, but not limited to the following:

CSETI - Dr. Steven Greer, Skywatch International - Bill Hamilton, Operation Right To Know - Ed Komarek, Stargate International - Robert Dean, Paradigm Research Group - Stephen Bassett. The MSN coalition pushed UFO Disclosure forcefully in 1999.

The core beliefs of the protagonists: (1) UFOs are craft operated by intelligent entities. The craft are either from other physical worlds or other dimensions; (2) At the highest levels of US Government UFOs are considered an important matter; (3) The Government deliberately follows cover-up and disinformation policies; (4) Ample evidence exists to demand Congressional hearings; (5) Many reliable witnesses have observed UFOs; (6) The protagonists believe the American public can live with disclosure; (7) Pressure on the Government can persuade officials to change their UFO policies.

Skeptics and the United States Government are the antagonists. Two leading skeptics of UFOs: the first is Philip Klaus, a UFO skeptic writer and researcher of UFOs for 30 years, and the other is the Committee For the Scientific Investigation of the Paranormal. This organization investigates the paranormal and UFOs and publishes a magazines called Skeptical Inquirer. The beliefs of the skeptics: (1) No reliable UFO reports exist: (2) Hard evidence to prove UFOs exist is lacking; (3) No acceptable film or photographs are available; (4) Some witnesses hallucinate when they claim to see UFOs; (5) Other witnesses mistake natural and physical phenomena for UFOs. These phenomena include stars, planets, satellites, airplanes, etc; (6) Abductions are false memories and wrong interpretations by investigators; (7) The American Government is telling the truth about UFOs; they are not alien space crafts.

The United States Government's official position is UFOs are not alien crafts, and that there is no ongoing, government investigation of UFOs. The Air Force officially investigated UFOs from 1947 through 1969. The Air Force Project Blue Book was closed after a private report sponsored by the Air Force called the Condon Report called for the closure of the Air Force investigating UFOs. Three reasons were presented for ending Air Force investigation of UFOs: (1) No UFO case investigated by the Air Force indicated a threat to national security; (2) The Air Force found no evidence UFOs are beyond the knowledge and principles of modern science; (3) The Air Force found no evidence UFOs are extraterrestrial vehicles.

William Clinton is the current and 42nd President of the United States. His political career evolved in the state of Arkansas where he served as Attorney General from 1976 to 1978 and Governor from 1978 - 1980 and 1982 -1992. Clinton's fellow Governors showed high regard for him; his peer Governors rated Clinton the most effective Governor in the United States in a June, 1991 Newsweek survey. Clinton won the Presidency in 1992, because two conservative candidates divided the vote. George Bush, the incumbent Republican President, received 39 million votes and H. Ross Perot, a third party candidate, received 20 million votes. Clinton obtained 45 million votes or about 43% of the vote. His first term involved struggles over policy. During the first two years Clinton's own Democratic Party controlled Congress, but Clinton lost the big battle over health care reform. The Republicans under Representative Newt Gingrich crafted "Contract With America." The result was the Republicans won a large majority in both Houses of Congress. Conservative legislation was passed and signed by President Clinton. The conservative legislation included severely limiting welfare state and tough law and order bills. The President faced serious crisis in foreign policy: unstable, weak democratic Russia, North Korea, Iraq, and a divided Yugoslavia. He won a second term from 1996 to 2000. A sexual scandal involving a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky spoiled the second term of Clinton. The outcome of this scandal was impeachment in the House, but the Senate trial did not bring about Clinton's removal from the Presidency. Clinton will be President for less than a year. Clinton is in a weak position, because of his scandals.

The struggle for UFO Disclosure was the big event in UFO policy-making in the Clinton Era from 1993 to 1999. These stories constituted the drama of UFO Disclosure struggle.

Is President Clinton Outside Real UFO Policy-Making?

President Clinton's relationship with UFO policy seemed peripheral and restricted. Webb Hubbell, an associate Attorney General appointed by Clinton and close Clinton friend, revealed this incident in his book - FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES. Webb wrote Clinton was interested for a long time in whether or not UFOs and space aliens are real. Clinton told Hubbell, "If I put you over at Justice I want you to find answers to two questions, "One, who killed JFK? And two, are there UFOs?" Hubbell accepted the assignment and was unable to find satisfactory answers. Richard Boylan, a noted UFO researcher and writer, divulged President Clinton was dissatisfied with CIA briefings on UFOs because there was a huge gap in information acquired independently by Clinton's scientific advisor, Jack Gibbins. Michael Wolf, a high official of the alleged Shadow Government and a confidant to Boylan, disclosed Clinton possessed only limited access to information about UFOs.

Two leading UFO researchers, Dr. Steven Greer of CSETI and Richard Boylan, claimed an alleged secret, shadow Government controls UFO policy.  The secret, shadow government is the parallel Government to the textbook official elected and appointed Government of the United States. It determines important UFO policy, possesses black budgets, and conducts secret operations. Richard Boylan postulates these purposes of the secret government:

a.. (1) Establish national and international UFO policy independent of the official U.S. Government; (2) Collect information about institutions and personnel of the shadow Government; (3) Develop high tech arms and equipment and its own specialized units to implement covert UFO policies; (4) Prevent the American public from knowing any revelations of the reality of UFOs and Extraterrestrial presence; (5) Formulate disinformation campaigns; (6) Develop the right to know policies at policy-making levels; (7) Control its own funding independent of the official Government.
b.. An ultra secret group which is the successor of MJ-12 has its own policy elite. This agency receives all important information about UFOs and ETs, makes the important decisions about UFO policy, spends enormous sums of money secretly, develops secret, covert projects, orchestrates the cover-up, and controls the Intelligence Community of the USA. The President and Congress do not control this organization. The agency is so powerful it manipulates the media, law enforcement, state governments, and scientific and professional organizations. Little is known about this policy elite and its policies.
c.. According to Boylan, at the highest level there is a serious split on the disclosure of UFOs and ETs. About 2/3 of the policy elite supports the status quo and opposes disclosure. They believe the American public cannot handle a disclosure and do not want public scrutiny of their organizations and policies. A minority of the elite advocates disclosure.

Laurence Rockefeller --A Wealthy Member of One of the Powerful Families of the Planet Tried to Influence UFO Policy

Laurence Rockefeller, the 85-year-old billionaire philanthropist, pushed boldly for UFO disclosure during the Clinton presidency. Laurence Rockefeller is a member of one of the most influential and wealthiest families on our planet. David Rockefeller, the former President of Chase Manhattan Bank and brother of Laurence, shapes the economy of the world through capital flow. Mr. Rockefeller gives large financial support to prominent UFO and ET researchers such as Dr. Steven Greer and Dr. John Mack. Laurence Rockefeller and Scott Jones, a close associate of Mr. Rockefeller, Director of the Human Potential Foundation, a retired Commander of the United States Navy and intelligence officer, developed a campaign called the White House Initiative. Rockefeller sought to have the Clinton Administration reveal what the American Government knows about UFOs and extraterrestrials. Rockefeller asked Dr. John Gibbins, the Clinton advisor on science in 1994 - to find out important information on UFOs. On August 19 - 20, 1995 Laurence Rockefeller invited President Clinton and his wife as guests at his Wyoming Ranch at Grand Tetons. It is rumored that Mr. Rockefeller pressured President Clinton to open Government files on UFOs. In 1995 Mr. Rockefeller financed a major UFO report entitled "The Best Available Evidence." The report featured the testimony of former military officials and astronauts and was sent to President Clinton, world leaders, and selected Representatives and Senators. Only 1,000 copies of the report were printed.

Strange Political Events of the Arizona Light Incident of March 13, 1997

A spectacular UFO event took place on the night of March 13, 1997 over the state over Arizona. This event has two names: the Phoenix Lights or Arizona Lights. The lights were witnessed for three hours between 7:30 to 10:30 P.M. Mountain Time. This event took place over a 300 mile corridor from the Nevada line through the Prescott Valley and Phoenix to Tuscon. This event occurred in two phases: the first phase lasted from 7:30 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. and involved numerous cities along the Arizona corridor such as Paulden, Prescott Valley, Dewey, Cave Creek, Scottsdale, Phoenix, Chandler, Kingman, Tempe, Mesa, Apache Junction, Gila River, Case Grande, and Tuscon and the second phase took place in the vicinity of the Estralla Mountains of Phoenix. An illustration from Phoenix: Two competent observers - Bill Hamilton, a well known UFO investigator and Director of Skywatch International and Tom King, a prominent UFO investigator from Phoenix - videotaped UFOs for 4 minutes at 9:55 P.M. The two men saw six globes appear near the Estrella Mountains. The globes turned in sequence and left the scene in reverse order. Hamilton explained what the globes were not: aircraft because no planes were in the area at the time, balloons, and flares because there were no sparks or smoke and the area was not illuminated. This UFO incident was one of the best witnessed in UFO history: hundreds of witnesses reported these objects to the police, newspapers, television and radio, private UFO investigating organizations, and the Air Force Bases of Arizona. Dozens of people
photographed the UFOs. The most important object was a huge triangle or V-shaped object. The huge triangle had seven lights: three on each prong of the V and a seventh set off from the other lights. Some of the lights blinked out, and at times it hovered. The witnesses agreed upon these characteristics: the UFO was enormous - the size of three football fields or over one mile long; the object was silent and moved very slowly, about 35 miles per hour. The military claimed the people of Arizona saw flares and tried to discourage the people of Arizona from taking this event seriously. Peter Davenport, a Director of a prominent UFO organization called The National Reporting Center, took calls of witness accounts during the Arizona Lights. Davenport received a call from an undisclosed person at 3:20 A.M. on March 14. The caller told Davenport that he just got off duty from Luke Air Force Base. At 8:15 P.M. the base went on Ready Alert. Two F - 16 jets were kept on Ready Alert. These jets protect presidential planes when they fly over the vicinity of Phoenix. The base sent up these two jets to intercept the mysterious object. At 8:32 P.M. the two F-16s encountered the object over the sky of Phoenix at Seventh Road and Indian School Road. The pilots described the UFO and took gun camera film of it. According to the caller, "It scared the hell out of them."

Most politicians from Arizona ridiculed witnesses as crazy, denied it happened, and refused to investigate the Arizona Lights. Two politicians from Arizona tried to get the Government to investigate the Arizona lights: Governor Fife Symington acted weirdly and Frances Emma Barwood demonstrated courage.

Fife Symington was elected Governor of Arizona for two terms. Symington was put on trial and found guilty of seven felony charges. On September 5, 1997 Symington resigned as the Governor of Arizona. Governor Symington, during his trial on June 20, 1997, held his bizarre UFO news conference. During a break in his trial Symington called a press conference that was attended by all Phoenix television stations and newspapers. He told reporters he had in his possession an intriguing video of the Arizona Lights, and the Department of Public Safety held secret evidence; he asked the Arizona Department of Public Safety to investigate the objects over Arizona. At 5:00 P.M. after his trial was finished for the day Symington held a second press conference, which was extensively covered by the media: newspapers from the state of Arizona, live television coverage, and reporters from ABC, NBC, and USA TODAY newspaper. Two Department Of Safety Police Officers flanked the Governor as he told the press conference how the Department of Public Safety solved the mystery of the Arizona Lights. In walked a pink, silver alien with a large head. Underneath the costume was John Heiler, the Chief of Staff of the Governor. Syminton said the call for an investigation was a joke, and there would be no investigation. Syminton declared, "If this event was significant, I think you would probably have national security involved; the Air Force and everyone else working on it." The newspapers and people of Arizona were filled with outrage.

A courageous lady politician from Arizona named Frances Emma Barwood fought for disclosure. Barwood served two terms as a Councilwoman from Phoenix and vice Mayor of Phoenix in 1996. Barwood, prior to the night of the Phoenix Lights, had no interest in UFOs. On the night of March 13 Barwood returned home from a meeting at 10:50 P.M. and saw something on television about mysterious lights over Phoenix. She thought it was an airplane and forgot about it. On May 16 Barwood was on the way to a council meeting held outside the council chambers. Before the meeting three reporters surrounded Barwood. A lady reporter asked Barwood about the strange lights over Phoenix. She replied she had no information, but she would ask the Mayor and members of city council about these objects. At the televised session of city council meeting Barwood asked about these lights over Phoenix and received an unsatisfactory answer. She next asked the Air Force what these objects over Phoenix were. She received many explanations: first, nothing was in the sky, next flares, then fighters from the Maryland National Guard, then hanger gliders, and last, old airplanes. On the local level Barwood pushed for an investigation of the Phoenix Lights by either city council or the Department of Public Safety. She was turned down by Mayor Skip Rumza. Scott Phelps, the spokesman for Mayor Rumza, explained, "It's beyond our resources to chase lights in the sky. We pick up trash. Call the Governor." The city politicians gave these reasons for not investigating the lights in the sky: the city lacks the resources and expertise, and the jurisdiction for such an investigation is the Air Force. She next wrote a letter to John McCain, the Republican Senator from Arizona. She asked Senator McCain to ask the Air Force to investigate the lights over Arizona and what actually happened over the skies of Phoenix. The Air Force explained to the Senator that the Air Force no longer investigates UFOs. The Air Force stated these reasons: the Air Force has not investigated UFOs since the close of Project Blue Book in 1969, and UFOs are no threat to our national security. Senator McCain appeared on a local television station (KFYI) and said, "I was kind of surprised that the Air Force refused to look into it. People deserve an answer." The local politicians ridiculed Barwood; she was the subject of derisive laughter and nasty jokes. She became a national celebrity who appeared on several Art Bell late night radio shows, CNN, CBS This Morning, and local talk shows in New York, Austin, San Antonio, and Sacramento. Barwood faced a recall election on September 9,1999 and won the election by a 2 to 1 margin.

Barwood, determined to continue the disclosure fight, ran for a state office - Secretary of State. Her Republican opponent was Betsy Bayless, the Republican incumbent who took over as Secretary of State when Syminton resigned as Governor, and the Secretary of State became Governor. Bayless was an Establishment Republican who was a former Maricopa County Board Supervisor and competent administrator. The theme of Barwood's campaign was open government and regaining the people's trust in government. She exclaimed, "Government has gotten so closed to the people, it's become a 'them  against us'attitude..Nobody trusts government." She ran a dole campaign: conservative Republican issues such as the right of law abiding citizens to have guns, states rights, and veteran and senior citizen issues. Barwood also discussed UFO issues as it effected Arizona. She raised the issue why the Air Force refused to discuss the UFOs over Arizona on March 13. Barwood wrote this statement about the UFO issue, "This is a public safety issue of state and national significance, which should not be ignored by responsible candidates for high office." Barwood had the support of UFO organizations and leaders. Stephen Bessant, a Washington lobbyist for UFO organizations, worked as one of her campaign managers. Richard Hoagland, a researcher of the Face on Mars, conducted several fundraisers for Barwood. She was outspent 10 to 1. Barwood raised only $20,000, and Bayless over $200,000. Barwood lost the primary election of September 8, 1998 by a landslide: Bayless received 73% of the vote and Barwood only 27%.

The Legendary Roswell Event in the 90s Again! Again! Again! Again!

Kevin Randle is an authority on Roswell. He relates what happened at Roswell in a book - THE RANDLE REPORT: UFOs IN THE 1990s: Randle describes the original alleged Roswell incident.

a.. Radar watched a UFO in the sky and vicinity of Roswell a week prior to the crash.
b.. The object crashed north of Roswell on the evening of July 4, 1947.
c.. Witnesses in the Roswell area saw an object in the sky, which angled downward.
d.. At dawn of July 5th the military reached the scene of the crash. They saw a craft that was trapped and impacted into a rocky cliff and five ET bodies: two inside and three outside the craft.
e.. A recovery operation took place. The impact site was 30 miles north of Roswell. The bodies were first removed, and later the craft was taken away on a flatbed truck. At first the bodies were taken to Roswell Air Force Base, and later sent to Wright - Patterson Air Force Base at Dayton, Ohio.
f.. W.W. 'Mac' Brazel owned a ranch near Corona, New Mexico. Brazel drove his car to speak to George Wilcox, the Chaves County Sheriff. He told the Sheriff that he found a field containing mysterious debris. The Sheriff called the Roswell Air Force Base and spoke to Major Jesse Marcels, an Air Force intelligence officer. Marcel and Captain Sheridian Cavitt, intelligence official, followed Brazel back to his ranch to investigate. They found a strip of debris: ¾ miles long and 2 or 3 feet wide. Down the middle of the debris was a gorge. Marcel tried to burn the paper-like debris, but it wouldn't burn. Major Marcell told John Mann, a reporter, that the debris was something extraterrestrial in origin.
g.. The Army on July 8, 1947 announced it captured a flying saucer craft. But within hours it changed the story - the army claimed it found only a weather balloon and a radar target.

These important UFO events related to Roswell happened in the Clinton Presidency.

From 1947 to 1994 the Air Force explanation of Roswell - the artifact was a neoprene weather balloon with a radar platform. A new report entitled THE AIR FORCE FINAL REPORT ON ROSWELL was issued on September 8, 1994. It claimed the material found was a special weather balloon assigned to the top secret Project Mogul.

President Clinton made this speech about Roswell during a December 1, 1995 State visit to Belfast, Ireland. He explained his position on Roswell. "I got a letter from 13-year-old Ryan from Belfast. Now, Ryan, if you're in the crowd tonight, here's the answer to your question. No, as far as I know, an alien spacecraft did not crash in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947. (Laughter) And, Ryan if the United States Air Force did recover alien bodies, they didn't tell me about it either, and I want to know. (Applause)."

Representative Steven Schiff from New Mexico and the Republican Party, requested the United States General Accounting Office (GAO) undertake a document search on records pertaining to the Roswell incident. In July 1995 the GAO replied, "RAAF (Roswell Army Air Field) administrative records (from March 1945 through December 1949) and outgoing messages (from October 1946 through December 1949) were destroyed." Barry Blitzer, Schiff's press liaison, said, "Having spent 24 years in the military, (Schiff) did express some surprise that those records were destroyed, supposedly against regulations and without traceable authorizations."

Roswell remains a popular event with the American public. A successful six day extravaganza called Roswell UFO Encounter 97 celebrated the 50th anniversary of the alleged UFO crash at Roswell. The crowds were large and enthusiastic. Hotels for more than 100 miles in every direction reported maximum occupancy. A three-day UFO Conference with 12 UFO speakers was well attended with an audience of more than 900 people. Numerous activities such as outdoor games, indoor trade shows, films, planetarium programs, and special programs at the Roswell UFO museum took place. During the many celebrations people were dressed as aliens. The national media covered this event; 200 journalists from 17 nations covered this event.

The Roswell autopsy film promoted a great controversy. Ray Santilli, an owner of a small London video distribution company, claimed he had an authentic black-and-white film of an autopsy of an alien creature recovered from the crash in the vicinity of Roswell. Medical doctors conducted the autopsy. Santilli claimed he came into possession of the film during a 1992 trip to Cleveland, Ohio to collect Elvis Pressley vintage rock-n- roll film. A man approached Santelli and told him that he was a former army cameraman who had authentic film of an alien autopsy from an UFO crash at Roswell. For members of the audience who want to read Santilli's story it can found at this Internet address:

http://www.v-j-enterprises.com/santstry.html

The film contained evidence it was genuine, such as 1940 clocks and telephones, medical instruments of that era, and the film was handheld and shaky quality. In 1995 millions watched the film worldwide. It was shown on television networks in 32 countries. British channel 4 showed a documentary film of the autopsy. The Fox Television showed an hour long program called ALIEN AUTOPSY: FACT OR FICTION. The first showing on Fox was August 28, 1995. The film was a best seller at video stores. The film was discussed on television and radio talk shows. Many discussions of this film took place on the internet, in UFO magazines, and UFO conferences. Cyril Wecht, the coroner of Allegheny County, interviewed on the program, made this statement about the autopsy: "I have never performed an autopsy on anybody that even closely resembles the being that we see on the film. I cannot relate the structure to abdominal content.. I have difficulty correlating this with any human brain I have seen. The brain is not a human brain.. I am extremely reluctant to say it, but what I have seen does not appear to be a human being. I would prefer to say it is a humanoid. I won't say it's from another planet."

A recent UFO book of the late 1990s called THE COMPLETE BOOK OF UFOs presented this extraordinary document of a FBI agent. The two British writers of this book (Jenny Randles and Peter Hough) have an excellent reputation. On March 22, 1950 Guy Hottel, a field agent of the FBI, sent this memo to the FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover. He titled the memo FLYING DISCS OR FLYING SAUCERS. It stated:

"An investigator for the Air Force stated three so-called flying saucers had been recovered in New Mexico. They were described as being circular in shape with raised centers, approximately 50 feet in diameter. Each one was occupied by three bodies of human shape but only 3 feet tall dressed in metallic cloth of a very fine texture. The saucers were found in New Mexico due to the fact that the Government has a very high-powered radar set up in that area and it is believed the radar interferes with the controlling mechanism of the saucers."

The most important book about Roswell during the Clinton Presidency was THE DAY AFTER ROSWELL by Lt. Col. Philip J. Corso. The book was published in 1997. He possessed superior credentials: a member of General MacArthur's staff, a national security advisor for President Eisenhower, and worked at Foreign Desk of the Army Research and Development. During his military career Corso received 19 commendations. After he retired from the Army Corso served Senators Thurmond and Eastland as a national security advisor. In his book, Corso revealed the American Government's role in the Roswell incident and confirmed the Roswell crash actually happened. Corso described the structure of the alien craft, its sources of energy, and methods of flight. He described seeing a corpse of a dead alien from Roswell. He explained how through reverse engineering his agency developed such products as integrated circuit chips, fiber optics, lasers, and super-tenacity fibers. He also participated in the transfer of this alien technology to the commercial sector through American corporations.

The Mass Media Role in the UFO Disclosure Drama of the Clinton Era

Most of the important media members belong to the antagonists. Stephen Bessant, the Washington lobbyist for UFO and an expert on the media, describes the situation. Citizens and UFO researchers have revealed UFO events and evidence to the top-tier news organizations. Editors refuse to investigate and report the UFO situations; often, they laugh at these people. Bessant explains, "Most respected news organizations such as New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and ABC/NBC/CBS/CNN news television still steadfastly refuse to properly investigate extraterrestrial phenomena and the process of disclosure." The important UFO organizations are pushing for congressional hearings on UFO phenomena. Stephen Bessant contacted these big time television shows (ABC News, 20/20, Nightline, Watch, Post, USA Today, and NBC Dateline) about UFO Congressional hearings. They refuse to report this issue, because the television people fear losing their well-paid jobs and ridicule of bosses, peers, and friends.

Sarah McClendon is the legendary 88-year-old senior White House correspondent and the owner of her own news service - McClendon News Service. She has been a White House reporter for over 50 years and is known for her controversial and provocative questions. McClendon has campaigned for many causes: women's rights, civil rights, children's rights, and veteran rights. She broke the gender barrier at the National Press Club when she became its first woman member in 1971. In her late 80s and suffering spinal arthritis she maintains a vigorous work schedule: a weekly syndicated column, a biweekly newsletter, and a weekly radio commentary on over 1,200 stations in USA. Helen Thompson, the veteran UPI White House correspondent, describes Sarah McClendon as bold and brave.She said, "Sarah walks where angels fear to travel. She's a great newspaper woman who asks questions and follows roads other reporters don't think of." McClendon's involvement with UFOs goes back to the beginning of her news career. As a young reporter in Texas she reported UFO sightings for the Morning Telegraph and Tyler Courier-Times. During the Roswell Incident McClendon was the White House correspondent for the El Paso Times. The newspaper had a large circulation in New Mexico where the Roswell event took place. The newspaper asked her to make inquires about the alleged Roswell crash from the Air Force. She was and still is convinced the object was not a weather balloon. In the late 1990s she became concerned about the heavy blanket of Government secrecy over the UFO issue. Steven Bassett, the Washington lobbyist for many UFO organizations and a real expert on UFOs, informed her of the important events and issues related to UFOs. She wrote two articles concerning UFOs in 1998: on March 3 - LID COMING OFF GOVERNMENT COVER-UP ON UFOs and on July 1 - PRESSURE IS BUILDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS ON UFOs. The main points of the articles: (1) "A community of scientists and technicians employed by the government" believe UFOs "are actual visitors from other worlds" (2) Several officials of the Clinton Administration have received briefings and read documents about UFOs. President Clinton and his wife and Vice President Gore have been briefed. (3) Laurence Rockefeller consulted President Clinton on the UFO issue; (4) Scientists from leading American universities such as Stanford, MIT, Cornell and Princeton are studying UFO evidence; (5) 30 members of Congress and their staffs received briefings on UFOs on April, 1997. Representative Dan Burton, a Republican from Indiana and Chairman of the Government Reform and Oversight Committee, has expressed interest in Congressional UFO hearings. (6) Many Government workers do not talk publicly about UFOs, because of fear of repercussions and apprehension co-workers and friends will consider them crazy. (7) Hundreds of government workers of defense and scientific agencies "are willing to swear under oath that alien craft are repeatedly penetrating
our airspace." On March 24, 1999 Dr. Steven Greer, the International Director of CSETI, addressed the McClendon Study Group at the National Press Club. The McClendon Study Group gives in-depth background on important news stories.

Popular entertainment and communication related to UFOs thrive and help disclosure.

a.. These science fiction movies had UFO themes: INDEPENDENCE DAY (1996) - Its stars were Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith. Aliens invade our planet and zap the White House; MEN IN BLACK (1997) - Its stars were Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. Men In Black in this comedy had their organization in New York City and were involved with adventures and strange aliens; CONTACT (1997) - Its star was Jodie Foster. The movie was founded on a novel by Carl Sagan. Astronomers receive contact from alien life on another world.
b.. Television programs made the UFO issue available to a large audience. Two regular programs were SIGHTINGS on Fox TV and the Sci Fi Channel. and a syndicated program called STRANGE UNIVERSE. In February, 1999 NBC presented a UFO special based on a book by Whitley Streiber, and it was called CONFIRMATION: HARD EVIDENCE OF ALIENS AMONG US.
c.. The Internet is a great source of information and recent news about UFOs. Some fine sites: MOTHERSHIP
www.ufomind.com and WELCOME TO GALACTIC
d.. INFORMATION Service
http://www.ifrance.com/galactic. A very fine UFO chat room is Ufotalk-Time which is located at Delphi. https://members.tripod.com/~Royce3/index.html
e.. Late night talk radio shows present information, news, and guests about UFOs. Two of the most important are Art Bell with his Internet page
www.artbell.com and Jeff Rense with his Internet page www.sightings.com.Walt Disney Company, the popular children media entertainment corporation, brought to the public a one hour movie documentary report titled ALIEN ENCOUNTER. Andy Thomas is the writer, producer, and director of the film. The
Walt Disney Company produced this UFO film. Thomas was a producer of a reality television series called COPS, an investigative reporter on such topics as terrorism and the Kennedy Assassination, and a believer UFOs are extraterrestrial spacecraft. The Disney CEO Michael Eisner introduces the film; television actor Robert Urich narrates the documentary. Several well-known UFO researchers such as Budd Hopkins and Kevin Randles appear in the film. Michael Lindermann , the producer of CNI NEWS, states, "It is the opinion of CNI News that this documentary has made some of the most explicit claims regarding UFOs and alien encounter ever seen in a 'fact-based' television." ALIEN ENCOUNTER appeared on independent television stations between February and March, 1995 with no prior announcements and at odd hours. Quotes from the program.

a.. Mankind is in the midst of the most profound event in history; actual contact with the human life from other planets. Intelligent life from distant galaxies is now attempting to make open contact with the human race, and tonight we'll show you the evidence.
b.. From beyond the boundaries of our perceptions, intelligent beings are beckoning mankind to join the galactic community. It's an invitation which is both wondrous and terrifying.
c.. Alien ships seem to arrive in waves, and if the last few years are any indication, planet earth is experiencing a tsunami of sightings.
d.. As early as 1947, the large alien ships began to arrive, navigated by large creatures. Their advanced physics allowed them to traverse the galaxy and pierce Earth's atmosphere with amazing speed.
e.. More than one alien craft crashed and was recovered for secret US military research.
f.. The actual site (Roswell, New Mexico) was discovered, along with the bodies of extraterrestrial missionaries who didn't survive the collision. The debris and the dead were impounded and taken away for top-secret study, while a classified investigative committee, called Majestic Twelve, was organized by President Truman, and a government cover-up was initiated with a calculated disinformation campaign.
g.. For a government determined to maintain their authority, extraterrestrial contact is pure dynamite.
h.. When Jimmy Carter assumed the office of President of the United States, his staff attempted to explore the availability of official investigations and contact. As the internal memo illustrates, there are some security secrets outside the jurisdiction of the White House.
i.. In November, 1975, essentially every SAC (Strategic Air Command) base in the United States was visited by UFOs.
j.. Indications are that government, military, and scientific leaders will soon release nearly a half-century of official documents on ongoing alien encounters on Earth.
k.. Statistics indicate a greater probability that you'll experience extraterrestrial contact in the next few years than the chances that you will win the state lottery.
l.. Most Americans will likely explore outer space aboard crafts of alien origin.Some UFO researchers believe ALIEN ENCOUNTERS was a test to determine the
public ability to deal with revelations related to UFO reality and the cover-up by the government.

Political Activists and Organizations Struggle for UFO Disclosure

Dr. Steven Greer is a dynamic leader of the UFO disclosure movement. Today, he leads The Center For The Study Of Extraterrestrial Intelligence (popularly known as CSETI) as its International Director. CSETI investigates UFOs and ETs. CSETI has thousands of members, 25 working groups, 10 member Executive Committee, and offices in Boulder, Colorado and Asheville, North Carolina. Despite cancer Dr. Greer spends most of his time devoted to the UFO cause of disclosure. CSETI is also known for Close Encounters of the fifth kind, which involves communication with ETs. Dr. Greer's duties have included working as an emergency room physician in an Asheville hospital and serving as chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Caldwell Memorial Hospital. He also served as President of the International Meditation Society of the Bahamas. CSETI believes UFOs are extraterrestrial spacecraft and works for its powerful mission. Dr. Greer explains, "Our mission is establishing sustainable relations between human civilization and extraterrestrial civilizations and to facilitate through a project known as Project Starlight - a disclosure event that will involve a number of the world's leaders, as well as many witnesses who are military intelligence, aerospace scientists and others."

Project Starlight has developed since 1993 - the first year of the Clinton Presidency. In the summer of 1993 a group of CESTI advisors and military consultants met to develop a strategy to discuss how to contact reliable people in the US Government. This method was considered necessary, because CESTI team members discovered in CE-5 sessions that interference occurred with diplomatic initiatives. They decided to pursue contact first in the Executive Branch of the US Government and later congressional leadership. They also devised a strategy . "to 1) collect and identify the Best Available Evidence related to UFOs/ETI; 2) identify top-secret military and intelligence witnesses to the matter who were willing to come forward and disclosure of what they knew; 3) create a team of advisors to the Executive Branch officials and military officials who conduct briefings and recommend near-term disclosure of the subject and the end of secrecy related to the subject."

The project was implemented :

a.. In September, 1993 a meeting with the assistance of a senior official of the Joint Chief of Staff was set up at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base with the top-secret Foreign Aerospace And Technology Center. This organization has allegedly long handled UFO matters.
b.. Extensive briefings were given to officials about UFOs. Briefings involved senior officials of the United States Executive Branch, intelligence officials of CIA and National Security Agency, United States and military leaders, Congressional leaders, foreign heads of states, royalty, senior officials of the United Nations, and industrial titans. Dr. Greer admitted on an Art Bell Show that head of the CIA, Admiral Woosley, received a briefing. Dr. Greer describes the reaction of US, foreign, and UN leaders to extensive briefings. "It became obvious that 1) these leaders were deliberately kept in the dark on the subject and 2) that they did not possess the courage or political will to take on the covert apparatus managing the UFO/ETI matter. In fact, they were visibly shaken by the situation."
c.. Today, Dr. Greer has available over 200 witnesses prepared to testify in open congressional hearings based on personal knowledge of events and evidence regarding UFOs. The witnesses are willing to testify about these subjects: 1) Retrieval of disabled and crashed UFOs 2) Reverse engineering projects related to extraterrestrial technology 3) Reconnaissance and tracking UFO and ET vehicles 4) Covert UFO projects 5) Military and UFO encounters 6) UFO disinformation programs 7) The nature of extraterrestrial life forms. The sources of witnesses are military, intelligence agencies, civilian government, and scientists and engineers from the aerospace industry. Because of top-secret oaths CESTI seeks special pardon by a Presidential directive or act of Congress for these witnesses. This immunity will protect witnesses from penalties.
d.. On April 9, 1997 CESTI held briefings in Washington, D.C. for members of Congress, White House officials, and senior military officers. Special briefings were presented to key congressional committee chairmen. Many CSETI supporters have written letters to important congressional leaders.

Operation Right To Know (O.R.T.K.) is a UFO organization which devotes its efforts to public and political activism. Its mission is to end the UFO cover-up and to pressure the governments of the world to reveal the truth about UFOs. Its fear is suppression of the UFO reality endangers democracy within the United States. O.R.T.K. was founded in the United States in1991; today, it has affiliates in France, Argentina, and the United Kingdom.
O.R.T.K. prominent leaders in the United States includes Ed Komarek, Mike Jameson, Larry Bryant, Dan Pinchas, Richard Boylan, Mary Karefoot, and Leo Paguyoya. Its methods involve demonstrations, rallies, lobbying, and writing letters. Its targets involve U.S. government agencies, private corporations taking part in the cover-up, the press, and members of Congress. In 1994 -1995 O.R.T.K. held demonstrations in Washington and London. On March 23, 1994 it held a demonstration outside the Pentagon. On March 25, 1995 30 protestors marched outside General Accounting Office in Washington to pressure for release of Roswell documents; on the same date 25 demonstrators protested outside the Ministry of Defense Building in Whitehall, London.

Open Congressional Hearings is a high priority of UFO organizations. At the fiftieth year celebration of the Roswell event on July 4, 1997 six UFO organizations launched a petition seeking open congressional hearings. This coalition includes CSETI, Skywatch International, Operation Right To Know, Enterprise Mission, Stargate International, and Paradigm Research Group. The goal of this coalition was one million signatures for the petition; at the
beginning of 1999 only 20,000 signatures were collected. More information about the petition can be found on the Internet at this address    :
http://www.paradigmclock.com/therighttopetition.html. No Congressional hearings are scheduled.

Peter Gertsen is the UFO lawyer concerned with US Government UFO cover-up and
secrecy. Today, Gertsen is the UFO lawyer who sues for UFO documents. He was admitted to practice law in two states - New York and Arizona. Formerly, he worked as a New York trial attorney in murder cases. He was a founder and the current Director of the UFO organization called Citizens Against UFO Secrecy, which is better known as CAUS. The basic beliefs of CAUS: 1) Our planet is interacting with non-human intelligence; 2) CAUS opposes Government UFO secrecy; 3) The people of the United States have an absolute right to know the truth about UFOs; 4) "CAUS believes that is through the judicial process that the truth will be set free and secrecy ended." Today, Gertsen's residence is located in Sedona, Arizona. Peter Gertsen's strategy attempts to use the Federal Court system to legally order the U.S. Government and its agencies to release information about their investigations and lawsuits to obtain this information. In the 80s CAUS sued in the Federal Courts to acquire 57 UFO documents from the Central Intelligence Agency and 135 documents from the National Security Agency. The courts refused to release the documents for national security reasons. Today, CAUS has a lawsuit in Federal Courts based on abductions and mysterious huge Triangle Crafts. More information about CAUS and the lawsuits can be found on this Internet page:
http://www.caus.org/.

Stephen Bassett is the only lobbyist to US Congress for UFO interests. He lobbies to end secrecy and open Congressional Hearings on UFOs. Bassett is a strong fighter for DISCLOSURE; on January 8, 1999 he announced on the Art Bell Show UFO Disclosure would be a crucial issue for the UFO community in 1999. Recently, Bassett launched The Extraterrestrial Phenomena Political Action Committee - the first Political Action Committee to directly target the politics of UFO/ETI phenomena. He appears on talk shows and Chat rooms as a guest and expert on UFOs. He also works as a consultant on UFOs. Bassett operates Paradigm Research, an organization devoted to full disclosure by the U.S. Government. Information about Stephen Bassett is available on this web
page:
www.paradigmclock.com.

Two Important UFO Reports Called for New UFO Studies

A UFO report by a prominent United States scientific organization called for a serious scientific study of UFOs. Professor Peter Sturrock is a professor of applied physics at Stanford University. He organized and directed this study; the Society For Scientific Exploration administered the study. Laurence Rockefeller, the billionaire sponsor of UFO research, funded the study. The scientists who participated in this study are faculty members of prominent United States Universities such As the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cornell, Princeton, University of Arizona, and University of Virginia and prominent scientific institutions from France and Germany. A list of some of these respected scientists: Peter Sturrock served as chairman, Dr. J. Randy Jokipi, Professor of Theoretical Physics from the University of Arizona, Professor Von Eshleman, Co-Director of The Center For Radar Astronomy, Radio Communications, and Space Science at Stanford, Francois Louange, Managing Director of Fleximage of Paris, Charles Tolbert, Professor of Astronomy at the University of Virginia. In the fall of 1997 the UFO evidence was examined in two workshops: first, a four-day workshop held in Tarrytown, N.Y. and a second three-day meeting in San Francisco. The evidence included photographic evidence, luminosity estimates, radar evidence, interference with automobile functioning, interference with aircraft equipment, apparent gravitational or inertia effects, ground traces, injuries to vegetation, physiological effects on witnesses, and analysis of debris. . The study of this scientific panel appeared in June, 1998 Journal for Scientific Exploration. The article was titled - THE PROCEEDINGS OF A WORKSHOP HELD AT POCANTICO CONFERENCE CENTER, TERRYTOWN, NY, SEPTEMBER 29 - OCTOBER 4, 1997. It was 50 pages in length. This study was the first serious scientific review of UFOs in 30 years. This study had two purposes: (1) To review evidence related to UFOs; (2) To evaluate the evidence to determine the causes of UFOs. The scientists were cautious in their conclusion: The panel found no evidence to convince them that UFOs were under the control of extraterrestrial life forms. The report said evidence from past reports did not produce a solid debunking or satisfactory answer to UFOs. It called for a new study to evaluate "rival hypothesis." The scientists found some UFOs were caused by rare natural phenomena, but admitted some of the UFO phenomena were not easy to explain. The scientists said some UFO evidence was worthy of further scientific study. The scientist presented these insights: "(1) The UFO problem is not a simple one, and it is unlikely there is any simple, universal answer; (2) Whenever there are unexplained observations, there is the possibility that scientists will learn something new by a study of them; (3) Studies should concentrate on cases that include as much independent physical evidence as possible; (4) Continuing contact between the UFO
community and physical scientists could be productive; (5) Institutional support for research in this area is desirable."

The most important event in the struggle for disclosure took place in a foreign nation - namely France. A French committee called COMETA published a report called UFO AND DEFENSE -WHAT MUST WE BE PREPARED FOR. The report contained 92 pages. The committee was made up of high ranking French military men and scientists. The report was prefaced by these prominent men: French Air Force General Norlan and Andrea Lebeau, a former President of the National Center for Space Studies (the equivalent of America's NASA). According to Michael Lindemann -- former French Air Force General Letty, the President of COMETA explained the theme of the report, "The accumulation of well documented observations compels us to consider all hypothesis as the origin of UFOs, especially extraterrestrial hypothesis." This report was so important that it was submitted to French President Jacques Chivac and Prime Minister Lionel Jospin before it was made public.The committee had access to over 3000 UFO reports from the police and case studies. Lindemann called this report - "One of the biggest UFO developments in recent memory." The conclusions of the report according to Lindemann: (1) "UFOs are physically
real"; (2) "Some UFOs may be extraterrestrial technology": (3) "UFOs pose a major challenge to international security" (4) "UFOs deserve international study".

The crucial UFO issue of the Clinton Era in the last decade of the 20th century was the struggle for DISCLOSURE. The protagonists strove for UFO Disclosure with difficulty, distress, and great effort. The unfavorable outcome resulted in frustration and disappointment. The struggle for UFO Disclosure continues in the new century and millennium.

Questions for the audience consideration:

1.. Why did the struggle for UFO Disclosure not succeed in the Clinton ERA?
2.. What are the lessons of the struggle for UFO Disclosure?
3.. What was the historic significance of the struggle for UFO disclosure?
4.. How can people who seek UFO Disclosure make it a reality?