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"Chilling" First Amendment Rights; and (e) Preventing the Free One of Project Blue Book's primary functions was to carry out Exchange of Ideas.” The committee found that "[o]fficials of the the first plank of the "education program" recommended by the intelligence agencies occasionally recognized that certain activities Durant Report. It would "train" the general public in how to were illegal... [and] that the law and the Constitution, were simply evaluate the UFO data correctly in ways that would defuse public ignored".* More disturbingly, the committee concluded that and media interest in such reports. In short, Blue Book was a key "[uJnsavory and vicious tactics have been employed".* part of the covert psychological operations being conducted to The Church Committee did not discuss COINTELPRO in convince the general public and media that UFO reports were not regard to the UFO issue or contactee claims. Despite that important and not worth considering. Nevertheless, the status of omission, circumstantial evidence clearly points to Project Blue Book as an official Air Force investigation COINTELPRO being used against contactees and being the final encouraged UFO researchers that rigorous scientific methods and stage of a well-orchestrated counterintelligence program to research would eventually bear fruit. Such hopes were dashed in "disrupt" and "neutralize" the contactee movement. As shown 1969 by the Condon Committee's final report which publicly put earlier in the cases of Van Tassel and Adamski, contactee claims an end to the Air Force investigation and Project Blue Book. dealing with a range of socio-economic and military policies from Another primary function of Blue Book was to neutralise the the perspective of extraterrestrial life were viewed as subversive contactee movement by depicting personal testimonies of contact and a direct threat to US national security. with extraterrestrials as unscientific. By providing a highly The full nature of the threat posed by the reality of visible public investigation, Project Blue Book provided the extraterrestrial life and technologies was vividly evidenced in the necessary "training" for scientific research that would 1961 Brookings Institution Report, commissioned by NASA on systematically exclude contactee reports. UFO researchers would behalf of the US Congress. Titled "Proposed Studies on the be encouraged to attack contactee reports as unscientific, prone to Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs", the delusion or fraud and an insult to "serious" UFO research. report discussed the societal impact of extraterrestrial life or Statements by leading UFO researchers such as Dr J. Allen "artifacts" being found on nearby Hynek, a former consultant to Project planetary bodies. Devastating Blue Book, provide evidence that societal effects, according to the such a process occurred. In a 1972 report, could result from contact with A division between exponents of book purporting to provide the more technologically advanced off- a purely scientific approach to scientific foundations of UFO world societies: research, Dr Hynek dismissed "Anthropological files contain UFO data and those supporting testimonies of contactees, whom he many examples of societies, sure of the testimonies of contactees regarded as "pseudoreligious their place in the universe, which fanatics" with "low credibility value": have disintegrated when they had to was cleverly exploited by "It is unfortunate, to say the least, associate with previously unfamiliar . that reports such as these have societies espousing different ideas COINTELPRO operatives. brought down upon the entire UFO and different life ways; others that survived such an experience usually did so by paying the price of changes in values, attitudes and behavior."* problem the opprobrium and ridicule of scientists and public alike, keeping alive the popular image of ‘little green men’ and the fictional atmosphere surrounding that aspect The Brookings Report went on to raise the possibility of of the subject."* suppressing any announcement of extraterrestrial life or artifacts UFO researchers attacked contactee reports with great vigour to for national security reasons: defuse what they considered to be a major challenge to serious "How might such information, under what circumstances, be public consideration of UFO reports. By encouraging UFO presented or withheld from the public?"* researchers that a purely scientific method would result in the Consequently, it is clear that official fear over societal truth about UFOs and extraterrestrial life eventually coming out, responses to any official announcement of extraterrestrial life was Galactic COINTELPRO succeeded in creating a major schism a paramount national security concern. A powerful justification among those accepting the reality of UFOs and extraterrestrial for the use of COINTELPRO against contactees had been found. life. By the end of the 1960s, the contactee movement had been One of the most important tactics used by COINTELPRO was to so thoroughly debunked and discredited by UFO researchers that disrupt dissident groups by creating divisions and suspicion among COINTELPRO no longer needed to have Project Blue Book their supporters. In the "Galactic" version of COINTELPRO, continue. UFO researchers had become the unwitting disruption occurred by dividing those who accepted evidence accomplices of intelligence agencies conducting the various confirming the reality of UFOs and extraterrestrial life. A division covert psychological programs that made up Galactic between exponents of a purely scientific approach to UFO data and COINTELPRO. It also had a more sinister side in terms of the those supporting the testimonies of contactees was cleverly "[u]nsavory and vicious tactics" that were employed against exploited by COINTELPRO operatives. Victory would be contactees, which reflected methods used against political achieved by convincing more technically oriented supporters of a dissidents.” purely scientific approach that the contactee movement would The mysterious Men in Black (MIB) phenomenon has been discredit "serious" researchers. To help convince supporters of a described by various researchers who discovered that individuals scientific approach that their efforts would eventually bear fruit, an with extraterrestrial-related experiences were often threatened and official Air Force investigation was launched in 1952. Project harassed by well-dressed men in dark business suits who gave the Blue Book was little more than a public relations exercise by the appearance of being public officials. Evidence that elite US Air Force to convince the general public and UFO researchers intelligence groups were tasked to intimidate, harass and even that it was taking UFO reports seriously.” neutralise contactees or others with direct experience with ETs or a purely scientific approach to UFO data and those supporting the testimonies of contactees was cleverly exploited by COINTELPRO operatives. NEXUS +57 A division between exponents of FEBRUARY — MARCH 2008 www.nexusmagazine.com