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Eisenhower's 1954 Meeting With Extraterrestrials:
The Fiftieth Anniversary of First Contact?

Research Study #8, Revised Febuary 12, 2004;
first published January 28, 2004, http://www.exopolitics.org (c) Michael E. Salla, PhD

-----ABSTRACT-----

On the night and early hours of February 20-21, 1954, while on a 'vacation' to Palm Springs, California, President Dwight Eisenhower went missing and allegedly was taken to Edwards Air force base for a secret meeting. When he showed up the next morning at a church service in Los Angeles, reporters were told that he had to have emergency dental treatment the previous evening and had visited a local dentist. The dentist later appeared at a function that evening and presented as the 'dentist' who had treated Eisenhower.

The missing night and morning has subsequently fueled rumors that Eisenhower was using the alleged dentist visit as a cover story for an extraordinary event. The event is possibly the most significant that any American President could have conducted: an alleged 'First Contact' meeting with extraterrestrials at Edwards Air Force base (previously Muroc Airfield), and the beginning of a series of meetings with different extraterrestrial races that led to a 'Greada Treaty' that was eventually signed. This astonishing First Contact event, if it occurred, will experience its 50th anniversary on February 20-21, 2004.

-----About the Author-----

Dr. Michael E. Salla has held academic appointments in the School of International Service, American University, Washington DC (1996-2001), and the Department of Political Science, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia (1994-96). He taught as an adjunct faculty member at George Washington University, Washington DC., in 2002. He is currently researching methods of Transformational Peace as a Researcher in Residence in the Center for Global Peace (2001-2004) and directing the Center's Peace Ambassador Program which uses transformational peace techniques for individual self-empowerment. He has a PhD in Government from the University of Queensland, Australia, and an MA in Philosophy from the University of Melbourne, Australia.

He is the author of Exopolitics: Political Implications of the Extraterrestrial Presence (Dandelion Books, 2004); and The Hero's Journey Toward a Second American Century (Greenwood Press, 2002) and co-editor/author of three other books, and authored more than seventy articles, chapters, and book reviews on peace, ethnic conflict and conflict resolution. He has conducted research and fieldwork in the ethnic conflicts in East Timor, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Sri Lanka. He has organized a number of international workshops involving mid to high level participants from these conflicts. He has an academic website at http://www.american.edu/salla/ and is the founder of the website: http://www.exopolitics.org

-----Eisenhower's 1954 Meeting With ETs: NOW the 50th Anniversary-----

This paper explores the evidence that the First Contact meeting had occurred with extraterrestrials with a distinctive 'Nordic' appearance. The likelihood of an agreement having been spurned with this 'Nordic race', then started a series of meetings that led to a Greada Treaty eventually being signed with a different extraterrestrial race dubbed the 'Greys', and the motivations of the different extraterrestrial races involved in these Greada Treaty discussions.

The paper will further examine why these events were kept secret for so long, the significance of the 50th anniversary of Eisenhower's meeting with extraterrestrials, and whether an official disclosure announcement is likely in the near future.

-----Circumstantial Evidence Supporting 'First Contact' Meeting with Ets-----

There is circumstantial and testimonial evidence supporting "Ike's" meeting with ETs and the start of a series of meetings that culminated in the signing of a Greada Treaty with a different group of ETs. The most intriguing are circumstances surrounding Ike's alleged winter vacation to Palm Springs, California from February 17-24, 1954.

First, the "vacation for the President" was announced rather suddenly and came less than a week after his 'quail shooting' vacation in Georgia. According to UFO researcher, William Moore, all this was quite unusual and suggested that there was more to the one week visit to Palm Springs than a simple holiday. [2]

Secondly, on Saturday night of February 20, 1954, President Eisenhower did "go missing"--fueling press speculation that he had taken ill or even died. In a hastily convened press conference, Eisenhower's Press Secretary announced that Eisenhower had lost a tooth cap while eating fried chicken and had to be rushed to a local dentist. A local dentist was introduced at an official function on Sunday February 21, as "the dentist who had treated the president". [3] Moore's investigation of the incident concluded that the dentist's visit was being used as a cover story for Eisenhower's true whereabouts.

Consequently, Eisenhower was missing for an entire evening and could easily have been taken from Palm Springs to the nearby Muroc Airfield [later renamed Edwards Air Force Base]. The unscheduled nature of the President's vacation, the missing President and the dentist cover story provide circumstantial evidence that the true purpose of his Palm Springs vacation was for him to attend an event whose importance was such that [--NSA felt--ed} it could not be disclosed to the general public. A meeting with ETs may well have been the true purpose of his visit.

-----Gerald Light's Letter-----


that Eisenhower Met With Ets.--The first public source alleging a meeting with ETs was Gerald Light who in a letter dated April 16, 1954, to Meade Layne, then Director of Borderland Sciences Research Associates (now Foundation), claimed he was part of a delegation of community leaders to an alleged meeting with ETs at Edwards Air Force Base.

In a subsequent article, Meade Layne described Light as a "gifted and highly educated writer and lecturer", who was skilled both in clairvoyance and the occult. [4] Light was a well-known metaphysical community leader in the Southern California area. The alleged purpose of him and others on the delegation was to test public reaction to the presence of ETs. Light described the circumstances of the meeting as follows:

"My dear friends: I have just returned from Muroc [Edwards Air Force Base]. The report is true -- devastatingly true!

"I made the journey in company with Franklin Allen of the Hearst papers and Edwin Nourse of Brookings Institute (Truman's erstwhile financial advisor) and Bishop MacIntyre of L.A. (confidential names for the present, please). When we were allowed to enter the restricted section (after about six hours in which we were checked on every possible item, event, incident and aspect of our personal and public lives).

I had the distinct feeling that the world had come to an end with fantastic realism. For I have never seen so many human beings in a state of complete collapse and confusion, as they realized that their own world had indeed ended with such finality as to beggar description. The reality of the 'other plane' aeroforms is now and forever removed from the realms of speculation and made a rather painful part of the consciousness of every responsible scientific and political group.

During my two days' visit I saw five separate and distinct types of aircraft being studied and handled by our Air Force officials -- with the assistance and permission of the Etherians! I have no words to express my reactions. It has finally happened. It is now a matter of history. President Eisenhower--as you may already know--was spirited over to Muroc one night during his visit to Palm Springs recently. And it is my conviction that he will ignore the terrific conflict between the various 'authorities' and go directly to the people via radio and television -- if the impasse continues much longer. From what I could gather, an official statement to the country is being prepared for delivery about the middle of May. "[5]

**********

Of course no such formal announcement was made, and Light's supposed meeting has either been the best-kept secret of the twentieth century or the fabrication of an elderly mystic known for out of body experiences. The events Light describes in his meeting in terms of the panic and confusion of many of those present, the emotional impact of the alleged landing, and the tremendous difference of opinion on what to do in terms of telling the public and responding to the extraterrestrial visitors, are plausible descriptions of what may have occurred. Indeed, the psychological and emotional impact Light describes for senior national security leaders at the meeting is consistent with what could be expected for such a 'life changing event'. A further way of determining Light's claim is to investigate the figures he named along with himself as part of the community delegation, and whether they could have been plausible candidates for such a meeting.

Dr Edwin Nourse (1883-1974) was the first chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors to the President (1944-1953) and was President Truman's chief economic advisor. [6] Nourse officially retired to private life in 1953 and would certainly have been a good choice of someone who could give confidential economic advise to the Eisenhower administration. If Dr Nourse was present at such a meeting, he did so in order to provide his expertise on the possible economic impact of First Contact with extraterrestrials.

Another of the individuals mentioned by Light was Bishop MacIntyre. Cardinal James Francis MacIntyre was the bishop and head of the Catholic Church in Los Angeles (1948-1970) and would have been an important gauge for the possible reaction from religious leaders generally, and in particular from the most influential and powerful religious institution on the planet - the Roman Catholic Church. In particular, Cardinal MacIntyre would have been a good choice as a representative for the Vatican since he was appointed the first Cardinal of the Western United States by Pope Pius XII in 1952. All Cardinal MacIntyre's correspondence is closed to researchers thus making it impossible to confirm what impact the visit to Muroc had on him and what he communicated to other church leaders and the Vatican. [7] Cardinal MacIntyre had sufficient rank and authority to represent the Catholic Church and the religious community in a delegation of community leaders.

[The fact that the Vatican subsequently established its own astronomical observatory in the American southwest attests to the urgency with which Bishop MacIntyre's messages were met by the Vatican.--ed.]

The fourth member of the delegation of community leaders was Franklin Winthrop Allen, a former reporter with the Hearst Newspapers Group. [8] Allen was 80 years old at the time, author of a book instructing reporters on how to deal with Congressional Committee Hearings, and would have been a good choice for a member of the press who could maintain confidentiality.

The four represented senior leaders of the religious, spiritual, economic and newspaper communities and were well advanced in age and status. They would certainly have been plausible choices for a community delegation that could provide confidential advice on a possible public response to a First Contact event involving extraterrestrial races. Such a selection would have constituted a 'wise men' group that would have been entirely in character for the conservative nature of American society in 1954.

While Light may well contrived such a list in a fabricated account or 'out of body' experience as Moore implies in his analysis, there is nothing in Light's selection that eliminates the possibility that they were plausible members of such a delegation. [9] At face value then, the selection of such a 'wise men' group gives some credence to Light's claim.

It may be concluded then that following items all make up circumstantial evidence that a meeting with ETs occurred. The first is Eisenhower's missing night. The second is the weak 'cover story' used for his absence. The third is Light's description of actual events at the meeting in terms of the psychological and emotional impact of the described meeting which is consistent with what could be anticipated. The final is Light's description of the composition of community leaders or 'wise men' at the meeting. These four items collectively provide circumstantial evidence that a meeting with Ets is likely to have occurred and that Eisenhower was present.

-----Testimonies Supporting Ike's Meeting With Ets-----

There are a number of other sources alleging an ET meeting at Edwards Air Force Base that corresponded to a formal First Contact event. These sources are based on testimonies of 'whistleblowers' who witnessed documents or learned from their 'insider contacts' of such a meeting. These testimonies describe what appears to be two separate sets of meetings involving different ET groups who met either with President Eisenhower and/or with Eisenhower administration officials over a short period of time.

The first of these meetings--the actual 'First Contact' event--did not lead to an agreement and the ETs were effectively spurned. The second of these meetings did lead to an agreement, and this has been apparently become the basis of subsequent secret interactions with extraterrestrial races involved in the 'Greada Treaty' that was signed. There is some discrepancy in the sequence of meetings and where they were held, but all agree that a 'First Contact' meeting involving President Eisenhower did occur, and that one of these meetings occurred with his February 1954 visit to Edwards Air force base.

The first version of Eisenhower's meeting is described by one of the most 'controversial' whistleblowers to ever have come forward into the public arena to describe an ET presence. William Cooper served on the Naval Intelligence briefing team for the Commander of the Pacific Fleet between 1970-73, and had access to classified documents that he had to review in order to fulfill his briefing duties. He describes the background and nature of the 'First contact' with ETs as follows:

"In 1953 Astronomers discovered large objects in space which were moving toward the Earth. It was first believed that they were asteroids. Later evidence proved that the objects could only be Spaceships.

"Project Sigma intercepted alien radio communications. When the objects reached the Earth they took up a very high orbit around the Equator. There were several huge ships, and their actual intent was unknown. Project Sigma, and a new project, Plato, through radio communications using the computer binary language, was able to arrange a landing that resulted in face to face contact with alien beings from another planet. Project Plato was tasked with establishing diplomatic relations with this race of space aliens.

"In the meantime a race of human looking aliens contacted the U.S. Government. This alien group warned us against the aliens that were orbiting the Equator and offered to help us with our spiritual development. They demanded that we dismantle and destroy our nuclear weapons as the major condition. They refused to exchange technology citing that we were spiritually unable to handle the technology which we then possessed. They believed that we would use any new technology to destroy each other. This race stated that we were on a path of self destruction and we must stop killing each other, stop polluting the Earth, stop raping the Earth's natural resources, and learn to live in harmony.

"These terms were met with extreme suspicion, especially the major condition of nuclear disarmament. It was believed that meeting that condition would leave us helpless in the face of an obvious alien threat. We also had nothing in history to help with the decision. Nuclear disarmament was not considered to be within the best interest of the United States. The overtures were rejected." [10]

The significant point about Cooper's version is that the humanoid extraterrestrial race was not willing to enter into technology exchanges that might help weapons development, and instead was focused on spiritual development. Significantly, the overtures of these ETs were turned down.

-----Secondary Confirmation-----

That the First Contact meeting involving ETs effectively spurned them for taking what might be called "a principled stand on technology" assistance and nuclear weapons comes from the son of a former Navy Commander who claimed his father had been present at the First Contact event on February 20-21, 1954.

According to Charles L. Suggs, a retired Sergeant from the US Marine Corps, his father Charles L. Suggs, (1909-1987) was a former Commander with the US Navy who attended the meeting at Edwards Air force base with Eisenhower. [11] Sgt Suggs recounted his father's experiences from the meeting in a 1991 interview with a prominent UFO researcher:

"Charlie's father, Navy Commander Charles Suggs accompanied Pres. Ike along with others on Feb. 20th. They met and spoke with two white-haired Nordics that had pale blue eyes and colorless lips. The spokesman stood a number of feet away from Ike and would not let him approach any closer. A second Nordic stood on the extended ramp of a bi-convex saucer that stood on tripod landing gear on the landing strip. According to Charlie, there were B-58 Hustlers on the field even though the first one did not fly officially till 1956. These visitors said they came from another solar system. They posed detailed questions about our nuclear testing." [12]

Another 'whistleblower' who confirms that First Contact involved an extraterrestrial race being spurned for their principled stand on technology transfer is the son of the famous creator of the Lear Jet, William Lear. John Lear is a former Lockheed L-1011 Captain who flew over 150 test aircraft and held 18 world speed records, and during the late 1960's, 1970's and early 1980's was a contract pilot for the CIA. Lear developed a close relationship with CIA Director (DCI) William Colby who was in charge of covert operations in Vietnam before becoming DCI. According to Lear there had indeed been a warning from another race prior to an agreement being eventually signed, and he claimed they visited Muroc/Edward and the following occurred:

"In 1954, President Eisenhower met with a representative of another alien species at Muroc Test Center, which is now called Edwards Airforce Base. This alien suggested that they could help us get rid of the Greys but Eisenhower turned down their offer because they offered no technology. "[13]

Cooper's and Lear's idea of more than one ET race interacting with the Eisenhower administration is supported by other whistleblowers such as former Master Sergeant Robert Dean who like Cooper, had access to top secret documents while working in the intelligence division for the Supreme Commander of a major US military command. In Dean's 27 year distinguished military career, he served at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe where he witnessed these documents while serving under the Supreme Allied Commander of Europe. Dean claimed:

"The group at the time--there were just four that they knew of for certain--and the Greys were one of those groups. There was a group that looked exactly like we do. There was a human group that looked so much like us that that really drove the admirals and the generals crazy because they determined that these people, and they had seen them repeatedly, they had had contact with them, there had been abductions, there had been contacts... Two other groups, there was a very large group, I say large, they were 6-8 maybe sometimes 9 feet tall and they were humanoid, but they were very pale, very white, didn't have any hair on their bodies at all. And then there was another group that had sort of a reptilian quality to them. We had encountered them, military people and police officers all over the world have run into these guys. They had vertical pupils in their eyes and their skin seemed to have a quality very much like what you find on the stomach of a lizard. So those were the four they knew of in 1964." [14]

There is some discrepancy in the testimonials as to which Air force base the spurned ETs met with President Eisenhower and/or Eisenhower administration officials. Cooper claims this occurred at Homestead Air force base in Florida, and not Edwards. [15] On the other hand Lear and Suggs suggest it occurred at Edwards. In his letter, Gerald Light pointed to intense disagreement amongst Eisenhower officials in responding to the ETs at the Edwards AFB meeting. Such intense disagreement may predictably have occurred if national security officials were responding to an ET request to abandon the pursuit of weapons technologies. Given the intensity of the Cold War, the national security officials present may well have decided it was more prudent to seek better terms before agreeing to the ETs request. Light's testimony implies that the meeting at Edwards did not result in an agreement, but instead resulted in intense disagreement between Eishenhower officials. Consequently, I will conclude that the Lear and Suggs version is more accurate, and that the 'First Contact' meeting occurred at Edwards Air force base in February 20-21, 1954.

-----The Subsequent 1954 Agreement with Ets-----

According to the testimonies examined so far, the February 20-21, 1954 meeting was not successful, and the ETs were spurned due to their refusal to enter into technology exchanges and insistence on [OUR--ed] nuclear disarmament by the US and presumably other major world powers. Cooper describes the circumstances of a subsequent agreement that was reached after the failure of the first meeting. While Cooper has a different version of dates and times for the 1954 meetings, he agrees that there were two sets of meetings involving different ETs meeting with President Eisenhower and/or Eisenhower administration officials. [16]

Later in 1954 the race of large nosed Gray Aliens which had been orbiting the Earth landed at Holloman Air Force Base. A basic agreement was reached. This race identified themselves as originating from a Planet around a red star in the Constellation of Orion which we called Betelgeuse. They stated that their planet was dying and that at some unknown future time they would no longer be able to survive there. [17]

The meeting at Holloman Air force base in New Mexico has reportedly been the site of subsequent ET meetings with the same ETs who it will be shown signed the 1954 Greada Treaty. In 1972-73, for example, the producers Robert Emenegger and Allan Sandler, had allegedly been offered and witnessed actual Air force film footage of a meeting involving Grey ETs that occurred at Holloman Air force base in 1971. [18] Cooper explained the terms of the 1954 Greada Treaty reached with the Grey ETs as follows:

"The Greada Treaty stated that the aliens would not interfere in our affairs and we would not interfere in theirs. We would keep their presence on earth a secret. They would furnish us with advanced technology and would help us in our technological development. They would not make any Greada Treaty with any other Earth nation.

"They could abduct humans on a limited and periodic basis for the purpose of medical examination and monitoring of our development; with the stipulation that the humans would not be harmed, would be returned to their point of abduction, would have no memory of the event, and that the alien nation would furnish Majesty Twelve with a list of all human contacts and abductees on a regularly scheduled basis. "[19]

Another whistleblower source for a Greada Treaty having been signed is Phil Schneider, a former geological engineer that was employed by corporations contracted to build underground bases. Schneider worked extensively on black projects involving ETs. He revealed his own knowledge of the Greada Treaty in the following:

"Back in 1954, under the Eisenhower administration, the federal government decided to circumvent the Constitution of the United States and form a Treaty with alien entities. It was called the 1954 Greada Treaty, which basically made the agreement that the aliens involved could take a few cows and test their implanting techniques on a few human beings, but that they had to give details about the people involved." [20]

Schneider's knowledge of the Greada Treaty would have come from his familiarity with a range of compartmentalized black projects and interaction with other personnel working with ETs. Yet another whistleblower source for an agreement being signed is Dr Michael Wolf, who claims to have served on various policy-making committees responsible for extraterrestrial affairs for twenty-five years. [21] He claims that the Eisenhower administration entered into the Treaty with an ET race and that this Greada Treaty was never ratified as Constitutionally required. [22]

Significantly, a number of whistleblowers argue that the Greada Treaty that was signed involved some compulsion on the part of the ETs. Don Phillips is a former Air force serviceman and employee on clandestine aviation projects testified having seen documents describing the meeting between President Eisenhower and ETs, and the background to a subsequent agreement:

We have records from 1954 that were meetings between our own leaders of this country and ET's here in California. And, as I understand it from the written documentation, we were asked if we would allow them to be here and do research. I have read that our reply was well, how can we stop you? You are so advanced. And I will say by this camera and this sound, that it was President Eisenhower that had this meeting." [23]

Col Phillip Corso, a highly decorated officer that served in Eisenhower's National Security Council alluded to the Greada Treaty signed by the Eisenhower administration with ETs in his memoirs. He wrote:

"We had negotiated a kind of surrender with them [ETs] as long as we couldn't fight them. They dictated the terms because they knew what we most feared was disclosure." [24]

Corso's claim of a 'negotiated surrender' suggests that some sort of agreement or 'Treaty' was reached which he was not happy with.

-----What Do We Know of the Grey ETs that signed the Greada Treaty?-----

According to Cooper, the Grey ETs signing the Greada Treaty were not trustworthy:

"By 1955 it became obvious that the aliens had deceived Eisenhower and had broken the Greada Treaty.... It was suspected that the aliens were not submitting a complete list of human contacts and abductees to the Majesty Twelve and it was suspected that not all abductees had been returned. "[25]

Similarly, Lear argued that the Grey ETs quickly broke the Greada Treaty and could not be trusted:

"... a deal was struck that in exchange for advanced technology from the aliens we would allow them to abduct a very small number of persons and we would periodically be given a list of those persons abducted. We got something less than the technology we bargained for and found the abductions exceeded by a millionfold than what we had naively agreed to." [26]

Other whistleblowers also suggested that the ETs who signed the Treaty with Eisenhower couldn't be trusted. Schneider claimed that despite the Greada Treaty's provisions on the number of humans who would be 'abducted' for experiments, "the aliens altered the bargain until they decided they wouldn't abide by it at all." [27]

As mentioned earlier, Col Phillip Corso similarly believed that ETs [with whom] Eisenhower's administration entered into agreements couldn't be trusted. Corso believed these forced a 'negotiated surrender' suggesting an ET agenda that was suspect. While General Douglas MacArthur didn't directly mention any government Treaty with ETs, he gave a famous warning in October 1955 suggesting that some ET presence existed that threatened human sovereignty:

"You now face a new world, a world of change. We speak in strange terms, of harnessing the cosmic energy, of ultimate conflict between a united human race and the sinister forces of some other planetary galaxy. . . . The nations of the world will have to unite, for the next war will be an interplanetary war. The nations of the earth must someday make a common front against attack by people from other planets." [28]

MacArthur may well have been alluding to the same ETs that Corso, Cooper and Lear believed had entered into an agreement with the Eisenhower administration. Significantly, reports of contacts with ETs began to change once the alleged Greada Treaty began to be implemented. The friendly 'space brothers' reports involving contactees of the 1950s changed as reports of abductions began to emerge after the first recorded case in 1961 involving Barney and Betty Hill:

Another apparent pattern that has occurred in Ufology is the dominance of the space brothers in the 1950's who were kind, interacted with people who became known as contactees, and took people for rides in their space crafts. This pattern changed dramatically with the abduction of Betty and Barney Hill in the early 1960's. The space brother human types of the 1950's seemed to fade away, and they were replaced in the UFO literature with another type of alien. In the early sixties the first abduction of the Hills began a new pattern where the aliens were grey "evil" aliens who would abduct people against their will and perform medical procedures on them. There were, as far as this author is aware no confirmed cases of "classic" abductions in the 1950's. Unlike the "good" space brothers of the 1950's these Grey aliens were described by all, who were unfortunate enough to have met with them, as being distant and without emotions." [29]

According to Wolf, the ETs were Greys from the fourth planet of the star system Zeta Reticulum, while Cooper claims they were tall Greys from Betelgeuse, Orion. Wolf's and Cooper's differing versions likely reflect a close relationship between Greys from Rigel and Betelguese, and that more than one species of ETs may have been covered in the Greada Treaty. Wolf has described the Greys as having positive motivations in regard to their presence on Earth, but have been inhibited and targeted by rogue elements in the US military. [30] Similarly, Robert Dean believes that ETs visiting Earth are friendly. [31] This contrasts with the testimonies of Cooper, Lear, Schneider, Corso and arguably even MacArthur over the true motivations of Greys. It is worth repeating Gerald Light's claim of a "terrific conflict between the various 'authorities'" on whether to inform the general public or not. It is likely that these differing perspectives on the motivations of the Greys reflected an uncertainty that has continued to intensely divide policy makers up to the present on how to best respond to the extraterrestrial presence and what to tell the general public. [32]

-----Maintaining Secrecy and Witness Credibility-----

The uncertainty over the motivations and behavior of the Grey ETs appears to have played a large role in the government decision not to disclose ETs' presence and the Greada Treaty Eisenhower signed with them. The following passage from an 'alleged official document' leaked to UFO researchers describes the official secrecy policy adopted in April 1954, two months after Eisenhower had 'First Contact' with ETs who were spurned by the Eisenhower administration:

"Any encounter with entities known to be of extra-terrestrial origin is to be considered to be a matter of national security and therefore classified TOP SECRET. Under no circumstances is the general public or the public press to learn of the existence of these entities. The official government policy is that such creatures do not exist, and that no agency of the federal government is now engaged in any study of ETs or their artifacts. Any deviation from this stated policy is absolutely forbidden. "[33] [Lies, lies and more lies--ed.]

Penalties for disclosing classified information concerning ETs are quite severe. In December 1953, the Joint Chiefs of Staff issued Army-Navy-Air Force publication 146 that made the unauthorized release of information concerning UFOs a crime under the Espionage Act, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. [34] According to Robert Dean, this draconian penalty is what prevents most former military servicemen from coming forward to disclose information. [35]

The strategies for dealing with those former servicemen, corporate employees or witnesses brave or 'foolish' enough to come forward to reveal classified information is to intimidate, silence, eliminate or discredit these individuals. This policy involves such strategies as removing all public records of former military service men or corporate employees, forcing individuals to make retractions, deliberately distorting statements of individuals, or discrediting individuals. Bob Lazar, for example, claimed to be a former physicist employed with reverse engineering extraterrestrial craft. He described the disappearance of all his university and public records indicating how military-intelligence agencies actively discredit whistleblowers. [36]

In cases of witnesses cited so far--Cooper, Schneider, Lear, Wolf--all have been subjected to some or all of these strategies, thereby making it difficult for anyone to reach firm conclusions about their testimonies. Since the creation of controversy, uncertainty, and confusion is the modus operandi of military-intelligence agencies in maintaining secrecy of the extraterrestrial presence, then the testimonies of former officials/employees/witnesses need to be considered on their merits. While issues of credibility, credentials, dis-information are important in the study of the extraterrestrial presence, a rigorous methodology for dealing with the efforts of military-intelligence agencies to discredit, intimidate or create controversy around particular witnesses, has yet to be developed.

For example, numerous efforts to discredit Cooper in particular by referring to inconsistencies in his statements, retractions, egregious behavior and stated positions, may be due in part or in whole to the policy of military-intelligence officials to discredit and/or intimidate Cooper from leaking classified information that he may very well have witnessed in his official capacities. Since Cooper's military record does indicate he did serve in an official capacity on the briefing team of the Commander of the Pacific Fleet, it is most likely that much of his testimony is credible. Whatever inaccuracies exist in terms of his recollections of the timing of meetings between the Eisenhower administration and ETs may either have been due to memory lapses or perhaps deliberately introduced as a self-protective mechanism.

It has been pointed out by some 'whistleblowers' that making retractions or sowing inaccuracies in testimonies is sometimes essential in disseminating information without being physically harmed. [37] The controversial Cooper had been subjected to undoubtedly the longest and most intense military-intelligence efforts to discredit or intimidate any whistleblower revealing classified information. [until they finally killed him in 2001].

The non-disclosure policy developed for the ET presence is most likely due to a profound policy dilemma on the part of responsible national security officials. This dilemma comes from uncertainty over what the true benefits of the purported 1954 Greada Treaty were, and what the consequences of the Treaty would be. While the signing of the Greada Treaty provided US national security agencies an opportunity to study ET technologies, and to observe the ET biological program with abducted civilians, it appeared the Treaty was not as beneficial as was first thought due to excessive abductions of US civilians.

The subsequent behavior of Greys in their interactions with US national security agencies was the most likely reason for deferring a decision to release news of the Greada Treaty and the ET presence to the global public. According to Lights' testimony, Eisenhower had indicated to those present on February 20-21, 1954, that an announcement would be made soon after the First Contact event. Since this didn't occur, and the Greada Treaty was eventually signed with a different group of ETs--the Greys--this suggested that the national security agencies were deeply divided over the wisdom of disclosing this information, and alarmed by the possible public reaction to the Grey activities.

At his farewell speech in 1961, President Eisenhower was possibly alluding to the growing power of national security agencies that dealt with the extraterrestrial presence and were gaining great power as a result of the dilemma over what to do with the ET presence:

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together. "

If the President was dissatisfied with the non-disclosure of the ET presence, then his speech was indicating that the responsible national security agencies were both dominating public policy and taking a 'hard-line approach' that was inconsistent with American democratic ideals.

In the subsequent decades, it appears that on a number of occasions, official disclosure was seriously contemplated. For example, Robert Emenegger and Allan Sandler claimed they were approached by the Pentagon in 1972 to produce an officially sanctioned video that would be used for official public disclosure of the ET presence. When the offer was later withdrawn, the reason given was that the time was no longer suitable due to the Watergate Scandal. While it is undoubtedly true that political factors would impact on making a formal disclosure announcement, it is more likely the case that non-disclosure was caused by lack of clarity over what the true motivations of the ETs were, and the impact an announcement would have on ET activities. Making any announcement of the ET presence would naturally have lead to questions concerning their motivations and activities. If officials couldn't agree on appropriate answers, they most likely decided that it was better to defer disclosure rather than threaten national security by making inaccurate announcements.

The precise nature of ET abductions and medical programs implemented by Greys has been extensively researched and discussed by a number of UFO researchers. Their conclusions vary widely, suggesting that the deep disagreement among private UFO researchers over the motivations and activities of the Greys very likely mirrors of official government sources. [38] As long as such uncertainty continues, it appears that disclosure may continue to be deferred until key global events no longer makes the non-disclosure policy viable.

-----Conclusion-----

An examination of the evidence presented in this paper in terms of whistleblower or witness testimonies raises tremendous problems in terms of coming to a conclusive opinion over: