John B. Alexander - UFOs

491 Pages·2011·1.62 MB·English

UFOs
MYTHS, CONSPIRACIES, AND REALITIES
JOHN B. ALEXANDER, PH.D.
This book is dedicated to all scientists who have been willing to follow the data3
and acknowledge that phenomena do exist—even at the risk of their careers.
On July 20, 2010, Dr. Dean Judd died unexpectedly, and thus I can now
publicly acknowledge his involvement. For many years he was one of my closest
confidants and his support is evident in many places in this book. Dean served the
nation as the Chief Scientist of SDI (Star Wars), the National Intelligence Officer
for Science and Technology, a member of the U.S. Air Force Science Advisory
Board, and Senior Fellow at Los Alamos National Lab. He was a true skeptic. We
served together on several advisory boards, and often discussed matters on
national security at great length. On UFOs he asked tough questions while
providing key insights into the U.S. space architecture. He was one of many
people who noted there was absolutely no connection between SDI and preparing
to fight ET.
Finally, I thank my wife, Victoria, who sometimes bridges realities with
courage that would fail most people.
CONTENTS 4
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Prologue
1. Advanced Theoretical Physics Project Disclosed
2. The Corso Conundrum
3. The Condon Report Revisited
4. The Congressional Hearings That Never Happened
5. The Government and UFOs
6. The Presidential Paradox
7. Majestic 12
8. The Apollo Lunar Program
9. Reverse-engineering UFOs
10. Real Cases and Hard Data
11. The UK Connection
12. Sworn to Secrecy
13. What NATO Knows
14. Considerations, Speculation, and Puzzles Addressed
15. The Twilight Zone
Epilogue: Quo Vadis?
Notes
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D
Index
Contact Information
Introduction by Burt Rutan
Commentary by Tom Clancy
Foreword by Jacques F. Vallee
Advance Praise for UFOs
Copyright
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 6
Over the decades many people have supported my efforts in researching UFOs and
other phenomena. For good reason, some of them choose to help from the
sidelines and remain anonymous. That is true for several members who
participated in the Advanced Theoretical Physics group. Very importantly, my
acknowledgment does not mean that we necessarily agree on all aspects of the
topic—and in some cases we profoundly disagree.
Among those who deserve thanks for participation and support are Hal Puthoff,
Kit Green, Jacques Vallee, Edward Teller, Tom Clancy, Bob Jahn, Brenda Dunne,
Peter Sturrock, Ted Rockwell, Ben Rich, Scott Jones, Jack Houck, Howell
McConnell, Marty Piltch, John Mack, Dave Pritchard, Bill Coleman, Phil Corso,
Edgar Mitchell, Ron Blackburn, Bob and Ryan Wood, Eric Davis, Colm Kelleher,
George Onet, John Petersen, Jim Channon, Max Thurman, Dick Trefry, Gordon
Sumner, Frank Burns, Bob Klaus, Tyler Nelson, George Knapp, A1 Harrison, Burt7
Rutan, Jack Schmitt, Bert Stubblebine, Bruce Maccabee, John Schuessler, Chuck
Halt, Bob Salas, Lynne Kitei, Nick Pope, Michael Hesemann, Illobrand von
Ludwiger, Anne and Whitley Strieber, Roger Leir, Steve Bassett, Gordon Novel,
Helen and Bob Kupperman, Bob Friend, Paul Tyler, Kreskin, Joe McMoneagle,
Ingo Swann, Paul Smith, Bill McGarity, Oke Shannon, Stan Friedman, Larry
Dossey, Mark Rodeghier, James Gilliland, Gabe Valdez, and others I may have
inadvertently left out. My appreciation also goes to my family members who
provided details of their sightings.
Special thanks go to Bob Bigelow for the creation of the National Institute for
Discovery Science and allowing me the opportunity to participate for several
years.
Finally, thanks also go to my editor, Pete Wolverton, and his staff at Thomas
Dunne Books for their support on this project.
PROLOGUE 8
Imagination is more important than knowledge.
—ALBERT EINSTEIN
UFOs are real! With no prevarication or qualification of terms, there are physical
objects of unknown origin that do transit our universe. The evidence that supports
those statements is simply overwhelming. That evidence includes both hard data
collected via multispectral sensors and from high-quality eyewitnesses that are
neither misreporting facts nor delusional. Determining what these objects are, let
alone the question of origin, is another matter. There are no simple solutions that
fit all of the facts. For about six decades I have been actively exploring the topic
and I'm finally taking the time to write about it.
This book differs from all others written about UFOs because it details a
personal exploration of the topic in ways that no other researcher has been able to
accomplish. What is important and unique are the details of direct interactions
with senior officials from many agencies—and finding that no one was responsible
for this topic anywhere in the U.S. Government. That fact is very significant and
runs counter to conventional wisdom. This book addresses those problems so that
the reader can understand the government's role in UFOs as it really is; not the
way many people believe it should be.
Requirements for Researching UFOs
In presentations and discussions on the topic of unidentified flying objects (UFOs),
I always begin by stating my position. This is important as there is considerable
misinformation about me and my role in the investigation of this fascinating
subject. There are three things that anyone who wants to become involved in the
study of UFOs will require. While they will be more fully explained later, these
attributes are:
— First, a sense of humor; as you will be attacked sooner or later.
— Second, an understanding of conspiracy theory; you are now part of
the plot.
— And finally, a day job—or be independently wealthy; nobody is
making big money from the topic.
My position is simple: by definition, UFOs must exist. At the most elemental
level of understanding, this means that any object that flies, and is not identified, is
a UFO. Of course many things begin as UFOs, and are later identified as some
prosaic alternative, and thus move out of the UFO status. But that is not what
you're here for. What we are really discussing are mysterious craft that appear in
physical reality and that have been observed and reported for millennia. Most
important, the evidence supporting the reality of UFOs, as they are commonly
understood by the general public, is proven beyond any reasonable doubt. There is
a core set of cases—that after you eliminate all of the alternative explanations—
just defy conventional wisdom. Any so-called skeptic that states, "There is no hard
evidence to support the existence of UFOs," is simply wrong! What he or she
really means is that they haven't taken the time to seriously review the data, and
most likely you can infer that they aren't about to start now.
Over the past decades I have had the opportunity to research the topic both
officially and as an avocation. My interest in UFOs began with the first public
pronouncements of Ken Arnold's experience and various other sightings in 1947.
When I was ten years old, I remember a broadcast of the topic on our school's
internal radio system. I attended the Training School, which was located on the
campus of what was to become the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. As a side
note, the name of the school was changed as some people thought we went to a
reformatory, rather than a very progressive school that provided human guinea
pigs for young student teachers.
Throughout the course of this book what I have learned will be covered in
detail. I promise to tell you only things that are believed to be true. There will be
no intentional misleading of the reader. It must also be accepted that people can, in
good conscience, look at the same facts and arrive at different conclusions. In fact?0
I have some good friends whose opinions are highly respected that fall into that
sector. Later some of those alternative opinions will be addressed specifically as
well as the reasons that we see the conclusions quite differently.
Frequently I'm asked whether or not I've seen a UFO. The answer is yes, but it
was not very dramatic. When visiting James Gilliland at his remote site in
Washington State, well known for sightings, I did witness a minor unique event.
This nighttime observation included what appeared to be a satellite moving across
the sky from west to east. I was watching this high-altitude object through very
good, third-generation night-vision goggles when it suddenly stopped moving.
Satellites don't do that. Compared to what others have reported, that is hardly