AARO is mandated to review all non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) relating to UAP; evaluate all UAP intelligence historical documents; and extend protections to anyone who has signed an official US government secrecy agreement related to UAP, thus allowing them to come forward without fear of prosecution. In one fell swoop, then, this new office could solve one of the biggest government conspiracy theories and deepest scientific questions of all time: Are we alone in the universe?
It’s about time they did.
Since AARO was established, I have told them four witnesses who claim to be aware of a secret US government program involving the analysis and exploitation of materials recovered from extraterrestrial craft. Other sources who, rightly or wrongly, distrust AARO’s leadership have also contacted me with additional details and information about an alleged secret US government reverse engineering program. Some have provided information to the intelligence community’s inspector general, others directly to the staff of congressional oversight committees. As this process has progressed and the credibility of these claims has grown, so have my concerns. What if you’re helping to open a veritable Pandora’s box, releasing information that could prove destructive, destabilizing, or for many, just plain terrifying? I repeatedly had to ask myself, “Is disclosure in the public’s best interest? Am I doing the right thing by working to unearth what may be America’s most deeply buried secret?
The most refreshingly clear guidance I’ve received came from the Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (DN.Y.), chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities and a member of the Senate Intelligence Select Committee. When the opportunity arose during a meeting in the Senate, I asked, “You have launched an investigation that may prove that aliens are visiting Earth. What if the answer turns out to be yes? Would you support sharing that information with the American people? After all, the AARO is not required to share its findings with the public, only with Congress. Without hesitation he replied: “Of course! Why not?” I thought that was a great answer because I’ve always believed that the public has a right to know the truth. However, after much thought, I’ve concluded that I too post needs to know the truth. I say this for the following reasons:
Democracy requires transparency. In our democracy the American people have a Right know the truth about this matter. Censoring vital information is not consistent with our values and institutions. It would be the modern equivalent of repressing Galileo’s insights into the solar system or Darwin’s theory of evolution. It hinders scientific and technological progress and undermines trust in government.
We own any discovery. All recovered materials belong to the American people. Any covert government programs that may have existed were funded by American tax dollars and, as such, all proceeds belong to the taxpayer.
We can handle it. While disclosure would initially scare and shock many people, polling data reveals that most Americans already believe we are not alone in the universe. Furthermore, a high percentage of Americans already believe that some UAPs are actually extraterrestrial craft. Our ancestors persevered despite deep fears of the unknown, and so can we.
We do not control UAP. Commercial satellite imagery is becoming ubiquitous and algorithms are already being written to identify UAPs from space. As more powerful and dedicated sensors are deployed to collect UAP data, it is only a matter of time before more compelling UAP data and images emerge. While UAP generally appears to avoid public exposure, there are exceptions. For example: the March 1950 incident in which dozens of UAPs flew over Farmington, New Mexico in broad daylight; the famous flyover of Washington DC on subsequent weekends in July 1952; the “Night of the UFOs” in Brazil in 1986; and the « Phoenix lights” in 1997. The next time there is a mass UAP overflight over a major city, or even an event like the incident at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport in 2006, the ubiquitous video cameras and powerful radars that will cover the event will provide much larger amounts of data with ever greater levels of detail. Better to have information on our terms than a sudden event that could cause panic.
Disclosure is only a matter of time. Foreign nations and civilian scientific groups around the world are undertaking ever more sophisticated and extensive UAP collection campaigns. THE Galileo Project at Harvard, led by Dr. Avi Loeb, the former chair of Harvard’s astronomy department, is a case in point. Numerous other domestic and foreign groups ranging from Scientific Coalition for UAP StudiesTO Americans for Safe Aerospace AND Enigma laboratories many foreign governments, from Japan to France, are also investigating.
Congress is moving forward. A number of credible individuals shared compelling information behind closed doors in meetings with Congressional staff, the intelligence community’s inspector general, and the AARO. Congress is expected to request a report from ICIG on the evidence it has acquired on the issue of crash recoveries. This alone may be enough to provide pointers confirming the truth of long-standing allegations regarding an off-world cover-up of recovered technology. The goal is not to prosecute or punish, but to bring the truth to light.
Secrecy stifles science. If we’ve salvaged out-of-this-world technologies, our best and brightest minds should be busy evaluating them. Assuming UAP propulsion technology is distinct from anything known to the public, a successful reverse engineering program could lead to a revolution in energy, transportation and materials technologies. We may be able to accelerate the transition to clean and affordable energy; maybe even develop superconducting materials and propulsion technologies that are now the stuff of Hollywood movies.
It’s time to reduce international tensions. If we are found to have had any contact with other life forms, a restructuring of international relations would be inevitable, almost certainly for the better. To the extent that the United States has these materials and our rivals do not, this could provide unprecedented new leverage for the United States. Our adversaries will naturally fear unilateral advances by the United States that render their defenses and technology obsolete. Opponents are undaunted if they ignore their opponents’ military capabilities. They better know. And if any of these countries have also recovered off-world technology, all the more reason to make the most of what we have rather than risk being overtaken in research, development and deployment. Above all, once it is clear that we are not alone, this should reduce or deflect tensions between the major nuclear powers. As Ronald Reagan said during a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in 1987:
No imminent threats. It seems unlikely that revealing the truth will change the UAP pattern of behavior we have observed for many decades. Stealth activities across the planet and in our oceans are likely to continue. In the unlikely event that there is a threat, our chances of survival are obviously much greater if we recognize the possibility and work with other nations to develop an effective deterrent. While we are not experiencing any acts of aggression, there is a persistent surveillance pattern around Defense Department fields and test facilities, especially our own nuclear weapons capabilities. We hope that any interest in our military capabilities is purely defensive.
Spark had a vital need for collaboration. I can think of nothing more capable of jolting humanity from its present complacency than the revelation that we are not alone. Our species and planetary civilization is following a perilous trajectory, one that carries a serious prospect of nuclear conflagration. If that were not enough, all nations face the joint prospect of accelerating ecological devastation, the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, and the threat of AI being weaponized or turned against humanity. As the brilliant Israeli historian Yuval Hariri observed,
What better way to provide an existential catalyst?
In conclusion, I believe it is in our interest to follow the facts of the UAP issue wherever they lead. All living beings, all nations and corporations, can only survive by continuing to adapt to changing circumstances. But to do that we need to know the facts. We cannot adapt to what we do not perceive. Withholding such vital information, if indeed we are not alone, poses a huge obstacle to successfully understanding and adapting to the world around us. Lies and disinformation are already polluting public discourse. We can’t have meaningful debates about politics if we don’t even agree on the basic facts.
Sure, disclosure would be initially shocking and disorienting, but we would necessarily adjust our beliefs to accommodate a new understanding of the universe and our place within it. What is thought possible technologically would certainly change, but if our government can reveal the truth of such a deep secret it will prove that government can change too. Perhaps we can build on that, perhaps even by softening the dynamics of our current frighteningly polarized political process.
As Arthur C. Clarke, the brilliant author and inventor of modern communications satellites, once said, commenting on the possibility of extraterrestrial contact: “Strangeness, wonder, mystery and magic – these things which not so long ago seemed lost forever, they will be back in the world soon.” Some people will be fearful of change, as they always are, but change is inevitable and as always, those who recognize and embrace it are the most likely to benefit from it. Thankfully, there are plenty of reasons to believe that if UAPs are manifestations of extraterrestrial intelligence, this remarkable revelation may work to humanity’s advantage.
