1979 06 00 OMNI - Gatti - UFO Update

Magazine Overview

This issue of OMNI magazine, identified by its page number 32 and 127, features an article titled "SAUCER-EYED SPIES UFO UPDATE" by Art Gatti. The cover story, "SAUCER-EYED SPIES," is accompanied by an illustration of a flying saucer. The magazine's publisher is OMNI, and it is published in the USA. The content is in English.

UFO Update: Declassified Files and Intelligence Involvement

The article by Art Gatti details the implications of the recent release of top-secret files by the CIA, Air Force, DIA, and other agencies. These files indicate that the U.S. intelligence community is actively collecting data on Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs), suggesting that the phenomenon is not merely a product of mass delusion. The author argues that the time has come to move beyond dismissing the 10 percent of unexplainable sightings and to accept that "there's something there."

The current Freedom of Information (FOI) suit brought against the CIA and USAF by the Citizens Against UFO Secrecy (CAUS) has led to the declassification of numerous UFO files. While the declassification of the Air Force's Blue Book files was intended to downplay the issue, it instead convinced many that UFOs were real. Even though only a fraction of cases were officially recorded, they were significant.

The article highlights that while the government has complied with judicial directives to release information, much of it is superficial. The CIA files contain thousands of unexplained sightings, but most are stamped "THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION." CAUS is pursuing further legal action to uncover evaluations of this material. The "'75 flap," a period of intense UFO activity, has been verified by documents obtained by CAUS director Todd Zechel, which chronicle a "near infestation by UFOs of sensitive military bases" in the continental United States, including pursuits by planes and radar returns. These sightings occurred in areas where atomic materials were manufactured or stored.

CIA's Role and Deception

In sifting through over 1,000 CIA documents, Gatti divided them into UFO sightings and miscellany. The latter included bureaucratic repetitions and correspondence. A key finding is that the CIA "lied as a matter of policy on UFOs." Memos reveal instructions on how to provide "extraordinarily noncommittal and evasive" answers to inquiries about UFOs, even advising then-Senator Lyndon Johnson on how to respond to constituents without directly referencing the agency.

Evidence suggests the CIA monitored private UFO groups, such as the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) and the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO), while publicly disclaiming interest. The files mention NICAP extensively and refer to APRO as "some crackpot group in the Midwest."

Historical UFO Sightings and Cases

The article presents a compilation of UFO sightings and reports from various sources and time periods:

• A 1958 report sent to the U.S. State Department by the British commissioner of the Cayman Islands.
• A 1958 sighting by the Brazilian Navy, with photos not provided to CAUS.
• Dozens of sightings along the Soviet border from Finland to Afghanistan during the 1950s.
• In 1959, the U.S. Navy intercepted two Soviet reports of UFO sightings over the Afghani-Soviet border, one describing a UFO exploding midair, which was later connected to earth-tremor reports.
• A 1957 sighting report from the Finnish-Soviet border, along with similar reports from the U.S. Army near the Afghan border.
• A 1955 sighting report from an Afghan army officer passed through U.S. intelligence channels.
• Dozens of sightings in 1965 by an Argentinean weather team in the Antarctic.
• A July 1960 report on a sighting by a U.S. Army Geographical Specialist team in Northern Iran.
• A report from Finland detailing four separate sightings, one creating a near-blinding light.
• An October 1962 report from Czechoslovakia (six pages, mostly blacked out), a report from within the USSR (three pages, two blacked out), and a summer 1962 report on sightings over Kamchatka in the eastern USSR with enclosed sketches.
• Descriptions of color slides, not included, taken by an Argentinean weatherman-astronomer showing UFOs around an eclipse.
• A 1965 sighting by hundreds of witnesses in Czechoslovakia.
• A brilliant UFO over a Russian city in 1977 that shed light like rain.
• The 1952 flap in North Africa, which generated hundreds of reports.

Additionally, a cryptic dossier from the Defense Intelligence Agency (November 1968) contains heavily edited pages of a report on sightings over Laos and Thailand during the Southeast Asian conflict. This report noted that "unknown returns" (UFOs on radar) had been reported since 1965, yet no unidentified aircraft had crashed or been physically observed. It also stated that friendly forces had not shot down these intruders, while U.S. helicopters and aircraft in Vietnam and Laos had suffered hits and losses.

The Robertson Panel and J. Allen Hynek

The article revisits the 1952 Scientific Advisory Committee on Unidentified Flying Objects, also known as the Robertson Panel. The panel officially consisted of Robertson, S. A. Goudsmit, Thornton Page, Louis Alvarez, and Lloyd Berkner. However, the declassified files reveal that J. Allen Hynek was an adviser to the panel, a fact not widely known at the time. Goudsmit, in a letter to Phil Strong, expressed doubt about Berkner's membership, recalling Hynek's involvement more clearly. The files also indicate that the CIA, not the USAF, established the Robertson Panel. Brad Ayers, a CIA operative, was a key investigator, and 1976 documents suggest that Hynek's Center for UFO Studies may have included someone monitoring the group for the intelligence community.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue are government secrecy surrounding UFOs, the role of intelligence agencies in collecting and analyzing UFO data, and the persistent nature of the unexplained phenomenon. The article strongly implies that the government has been less than transparent with the public regarding UFOs, engaging in a policy of obfuscation and providing misleading information. The author concludes that UFOs are real and will not disappear, urging a more direct and honest approach from authorities. The editorial stance is critical of government secrecy and supportive of the Ufologists' efforts to uncover the truth.

An illustration on page 129, captioned "Methane... Methane!" by Rice, depicts an alien creature on a desert-like planet, suggesting a speculative or fictional element within the magazine's broader coverage of science and the unknown.