SUN 43 (Jan 1997)

Magazine Overview

Title: Skeptics UFO Newsletter
Issue: SUN #43
Date: January 1997
Publisher: Philip J. Klass

This issue of the Skeptics UFO Newsletter focuses on the declassification of National Security Agency (NSA) "UFO documents" and delves into the credibility of UFO researchers and their claims, particularly concerning the Roswell incident.

NSA UFO Documents Revealed

The lead article details how the NSA responded to a SUN request by declassifying portions of 156 "Top Secret UFO documents." Initially refused for release in 1982, the documents were withheld to protect NSA's eavesdropping operations on Soviet air defense radar sites. These sites were reportedly tracking "Unidentifiable objects," which NSA analysts sometimes translated as "Unidentified Flying Object." However, the reports often identified these as "Probably balloon" objects, used to test the performance and alertness of Soviet air defense radars. The documents, covering 1958-1979, are heavily censored to protect intelligence sources and methods.

The newsletter presents several typical NSA "UFO" summary reports, listing times, numbers of objects, directions of movement, altitudes, and locations, with much of the specific data redacted as [XXXX]. These reports consistently refer to the tracked objects as "PROBABLY BALLOONS."

Beyond the Comint reports, the NSA documents also include a few visual sighting reports, likely from other military facilities. These describe objects with various shapes (semi-circle, arc, luminous, horseshoe, round, spherical, disc-like) and colors (white, yellow), observed at different altitudes and moving in various directions. One report mentions a "smoking luminous object" and another describes a "rocket or [XXXX]" with a "fiery trail."

NSA Analyst's Assessment and Document Explanations

The issue highlights the assessment of former NSA analyst Tom Deuley, who worked with UFO-related documents during his tenure. Deuley stated that the withheld documents lacked scientific value and that national security concerns outweighed any potential information gain. He also noted that during his four years at NSA, he saw no indication of official NSA interest in the UFO subject.

The newsletter explains that NSA's rationale for withholding documents, previously heavily blacked out, is now clearer. A 1980 Top Secret affidavit described the "UFO documents" as "communications intelligence (COMINT) reports" based on intercepted foreign government communications. NSA argued that releasing these would endanger valuable foreign intelligence sources and methods.

A "bogus Comint" document, which claimed a UFO shot down Cuban interceptors, is discussed. This report was received indirectly via Stanton Friedman's files and was considered fictitious by NSA analysts. The document described SIGINT operations and an alleged intercept, but NSA concluded it was not factual.

Roswell Incident Re-evaluation

A significant portion of the newsletter is dedicated to re-evaluating the Roswell "crashed-saucer" incident. Researchers Karl T. Pflock and Kevin Randle, who previously endorsed the mortician Glenn Dennis' nurse/ET-autopsy story, have now disavowed it. Pflock, in a letter to Dennis, states with certainty that no flying saucer crashed in New Mexico in 1947. He believes the debris was from a "very earthly" source, likely from the "Top Secret Project Mogul." Pflock suggests that the nurse Dennis claimed told him about the ET autopsy "simply did not exist," possibly a "flawed memory explanation."

Stanton Friedman, however, challenged Pflock's new assessment, accusing him of being a "disinformation agent." The newsletter notes that Randle is expected to report that efforts to locate Dennis' alleged nurse friend indicate such a person never existed, though Randle is expected to continue endorsing other "wilder tales."

CSETI's Promises and Threats

The Center for the Study of Extraterrestrial Intelligence (CSETI), led by Dr. Steven M. Greer, has threatened to reveal alleged U.S. government UFO secrets. CSETI sent an ultimatum to President Clinton and other officials, stating that unless directed otherwise by January 1, 1997, "several dozen former and current military, intelligence and defense contractor related witnesses" would be free to publicly disclose government UFO secrets, including "retrieval of disabled extraterrestrial devices and extraterrestrial life forms."

Following no response by the deadline, Greer announced a meeting of these witnesses to request open hearings in Congress. If Congress does not agree, CSETI plans to pursue other venues like the United Nations or a private disclosure event. The Skeptics UFO Newsletter challenges Greer to obtain signed statements from these witnesses, willing to testify under oath.

Short Shrift - Other UFO News

• Former UN Secretary General Denies Hopkins' Claim: Javier Perez de Cuellar has denied Budd Hopkins' claim that he was abducted by a UFO in 1989.
• Canadian Reviewer Pans New Hopkins Book: A review in The Vancouver Sun called Budd Hopkins' book "Witnessed" potentially a "blatant hoax" with "no credible witnesses."
• Dr. Bruce S. Maccabee Proves Many UFOlogists Wrong: UFO researcher Dr. Bruce S. Maccabee evaluated a video of lights seen at night and concluded it was consistent with an airplane, disproving suspicions that he could never find prosaic explanations for UFO cases.
• Friedman Characterized as "World's Most Respected UFO Crash Expert": Stanton Friedman is described in relation to a Brazilian UFO case, with claims of captured ETs, and is presented as a leading expert on UFO crashes.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The Skeptics UFO Newsletter, edited by Philip J. Klass, maintains a critical and skeptical stance towards UFO claims. The publication emphasizes the importance of scientific evidence, prosaic explanations, and the potential for misinterpretation or fabrication in UFO reports. The newsletter consistently scrutinizes the claims of prominent UFO researchers and organizations, highlighting inconsistencies, lack of evidence, and potential motives behind sensational stories. The NSA document declassification serves to reinforce the idea that many reported UFOs were likely misidentified conventional objects or part of intelligence operations, rather than extraterrestrial craft. The re-evaluation of the Roswell incident by researchers, moving away from ET crash narratives towards more conventional explanations, aligns with the newsletter's editorial direction. The challenge to CSETI to provide verifiable evidence underscores the publication's demand for rigorous proof over unsubstantiated claims. The overall stance is to debunk sensationalism and promote a rational, evidence-based approach to the UFO phenomenon.