If you’re one of the millions of Americans who are interested in the UFO phenomenon, this was a rather important week for you.
For the first time in 60-some years, the US government was involved in a public hearing regarding flying saucers, and specifically answered questions about their knowledge and research on the subject.
The hearing was a blockbuster one, complete with astonishing video and eyewitness statements, many of which came from highly trained military observers.
But, according to reports out of the deepest, darkest parts of the DOD, there are plenty more such stories that may never see the light of day.
As Congress prepares to hold the first public hearing on UFOs in half a century, the Pentagon and intelligence agencies are feuding internally over how much to cooperate with demands to investigate and share what they know, according to current and former national security officials.
Pentagon officials are under increasing pressure to carry out Congress’ recent mandate to establish a permanent effort to coordinate research into reports of highly advanced aircraft of unknown origin intruding into protected airspace.
The true extent of the government’s knowledge appeared to be shrouded in secrecy.
But there is a tug of war among competing factions inside the national security bureaucracy that will make it difficult for Congress to compel military branches, spy agencies, national laboratories and other organizations to come clean given the longstanding secrecy and stigma surrounding the issue.
“Without forcing peoples’ hand, it is going to be very difficult to uncover legacy ventures and programs that we know about based on oral interviews we dug up,” said a Defense Department official who is involved in the new effort but was not authorized to speak publicly. “There has to be a forcing mechanism.”
“There has to be something to hold people accountable but also give them a chance to come out clean for a period of time,” the official added, noting that in his experience the Pentagon oversight group has been “stonewalled.”
The official said there are people with knowledge of the phenomena who have yet to contribute to the oversight effort.
“These people exist and they are protecting very interesting information,” the official said.
If the truth is out there, the Pentagon will need to start playing nice so that the rest of us can have peek.
