Page Content (OCR)
It is probable that some small group within the U.S. government first began to suspect the truth about UFOs during World War II. There is curious evidence that Adolf Hitler and his inner circle had some knowl- edge of the ultraterrestrials and may have even made an effort to communicate with them. Perhaps there were even “men in black” episodes of sabotage and subversion that brought the phenomenon to the attention of the wartime Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and other intelligence groups in the United States and elsewhere. At least we do know that the ‘Foo Fighters,” the World War II name for UFOs, caused considerable concem both in Europe and the Pacific. Subsequent events in the United States in 1945, including the still-unexplained disappearance of six airplanes off the coast of Florida on a single, clear day, probably led to serious and secret investigations. If the top leaders of the Royal Air Force, such as Sir Victor Goddard, are aware of these incredible facts, then we must certainly admit that the American intelligence community must also have stumbled onto this many years ago. The official anti-UFO position now makes a great deal more sense. Because our long-haired Venusians are only mischievous impostors, they dare not land on the White House lawn. If a marvelous flying saucer should sweep over crowded Times Square on New Year’s Eve and land with its brilliant lights flashing and its antennas rotating, and an awe-in- spiring Michael Rennie type should strut down the ramp in a tight, metallic spacesuit, in front of the crowds and TV cameras, it is very probable that he would be whisked off to the Pentagon, never to be heard from again, and a general—or the President—would hold a press confer- ence and soberly reveal that the whole thing was merely a publicity stunt for a new science-fiction movie. It is the nature of the game that such a movie would probably even be in the can, and the wonderful flying saucer would actually be an exact duplicate of the prop used in the film. We have actually been subjected to a long series of hoaxes of this type for the past twenty years, although somewhat less dramatic than this example. No responsible government could really attempt to explain this bizarre situation to the general public. Our military establishment has therefore been forced to follow a simpler policy, denying the reality of the phenomenon without trying to explain it. If flying saucers are a cosmic hoax, then it follows naturally that many of man’s basic beliefs may be based on similar hoaxes. No government is willing to expose these beliefs or become involved in the terrible controversies that would result from 264 / Operation Trojan Horse such exposure.