A.D. After Disclosure: When the Government Finally Reveals the Truth About Alien Contact (17 page)

Clearly, for a mass sighting to be effective, it needs, at minimum, multiple video recordings. The extraordinary Stephenville sighting did not make further headway because it lacked video or photographic evidence. But even video is not good enough; it must be absolutely clear and undeniable. For instance, the Phoenix Lights of 1997, although recorded on multiple camcorders, never showed a clear object—only a huge formation of lights that admittedly defied easy explanation. Some of the Mexican sightings of the 1990s, although recorded from multiple vantage points, showed white dots in the sky. These white objects were undeniably strange, and moved in ways that were not normal, but once again they
were not definitely recognizable as something “not ours.” There could always be some reserve of doubt associated with them. Some of the Gulf Breeze photographs and video were compelling, but were typically shot by lone operators (and many of these by the same person, Ed Walters). The Hudson Valley cases, while utterly spectacular, occurred during the early 1980s, when camcorders were rare, and people didn’t really travel with cameras. In the case of Belgium, there were several interesting photographs, some good video, and Air Force radar data. They were not, however, simultaneously recorded.

Today’s cell phone video cameras are widespread, and they will continue to improve in quality and capability. Every major city in the world is “covered,” so to speak, by citizens who have the ability to record strange things in the sky. Many of these objects are already being recorded; a quick web search will turn up hundreds of video recordings of UFOs from around the world. Some are hoaxes, which only serves to complicate the issue. Yet, it is only a matter of time before an unusual object of exceptional capability is clearly seen by hundreds or even thousands, and recorded by enough of them to force the hand of the powers behind the secrecy.

That is what is needed to start a chain reaction, or avalanche.

It is clear that major media groups have been complicit in downplaying the UFO reality, partly due to alliances with the national security apparatus, but also—after generations of denial and ridicule—from sheer terror at taking a risk on this subject. It would help, therefore, that the mass UFO event occurred while members of the major media were present with cameras already operating live. Better still would be to get unrehearsed reactions from on-the-spot television reporters or other major public figures.

A Combination of Events

Whatever the trigger event to Disclosure, it will certainly feel unique when we experience it, and it may well draw from different categories. For example, while we are not optimistic that investigative journalism in today’s environment will be successful, it may be that a mass sighting leads
to greater interest by reporters and then, finally, an investigation. Intrepid journalists may play a part, but will probably not start the ball rolling.

By the same token, although no one believes that a photo, by itself, will break the cover-up, a photo can be part of an ensemble of evidence. In the event of a mass-sighting, photographic and video evidence will be paired with hundreds, if not thousands, of witness testimony. This can get covered in the media, may generate leaks, and so on.

The future is unwritten on this topic, but there is one fundamental reality of our current era that may play a powerful role in the end of secrecy.

Political Instability

Throughout the past decades, there has been an undeniable relationship of political instability to the release of volatile UFO data. Mostly, this seems due to the likelihood that uncertain times provide greater opportunities for insiders to talk openly to journalists, as well as for initiatives that force greater degrees of government openness. In addition, it seems that there may be a connection between heightened UFO activity with locations and periods of instability.

It happened in the United States during the 1960s. At that time, extreme social agitation appeared alongside a willingness by Congress, for the only time in American history, to question the official line on UFOs. Perhaps one can chalk most of this up to coincidence, but it is true that during the late 1960s, everyone was questioning authority. Members of Congress did so because their own constituents demanded answers. In this case, the result was the Condon Committee Report, which admittedly was not a victory for Disclosure advocates. The point, however, is that the issue was brought into the open. It also happened that this was a time of heavy UFO activity, indeed one of the greatest in U.S. history.

A better example of political turmoil and UFO openness occurred after the scandal of Watergate and the collapse of U.S. power in Vietnam. It was during this political climate, one of great liberalism by the standards of the American system, that the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was strengthened in 1974, when, in the final throes of the Nixon administration it became a useful tool for matters that included UFOs. It was then strengthened again in 1977. Jimmy Carter further liberalized FOIA,
explicitly ordering federal agencies that, when in doubt, the basic rule would be to release formerly classified information, provided that national security was not damaged thereby.

Although these new laws were not designed with the release of UFO data in mind, they did result in an avalanche of formerly classified UFO documents being made public. From the mid-1970s until the early 1980s, FOIA was behind the most important release of official UFO documents there had ever been—roughly 10,000 pages. The result was not the end of denial regarding UFOs, but truly an exposure of the cover-up itself, for it became clear that many government agencies that had denied an interest in UFOs were simply lying. It is also noteworthy that during this period, large numbers of leaks began to discuss secret retrievals of crashed UFOs, or the possession of alien bodies. In several cases, retired military people quietly came forward to UFO researchers, because they believed that the new openness portended an official announcement that would come from the Jimmy Carter administration. Finally, we must also note that late 1973 to 1978 were extremely active years of reported UFO activity within the United States, as well most of the world.

Other nations offer their own examples of political turmoil and transformation linked to the release of UFO data. In Spain, following the death of longtime
Caudillo
Francisco Franco in 1975, UFO information began immediately to reach the public via official channels.
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It is also noteworthy that Spain was the scene of an impressive wave of UFO activity from 1974 through 1976.

China, too, appears to show a relationship, especially regarding the death of longtime dictator Mao Zedong in the fall of 1976. China had previously been a blank spot on the map as far as UFOs were concerned. That changed dramatically with the leader’s death. Immediately afterward, Chinese ufology began to grow and thrive, and Chinese UFO reports became frequent, many of which were spectacular.

Similar to China, UFO activity in the Soviet Union had scarcely reached the West. This changed as the nation began its final convulsions prior to dissolution at the end of 1991. All through 1989, 1990, and 1991, UFOs were reported throughout the country. This was possible because, similar
to the United States, Spain, and China, important laws were relaxed, which allowed people to make such reports and encourage public discussion. For a few years, not only did many well-documented and disturbing reports come out (including one of a large UFO just east of Moscow on March 21, 1990), but several statements by leading Soviet defense figures confirmed a serious UFO problem. This could never have happened under the old regime. However, in an era in which all bets were off regarding the future, powerful people, such as Deputy Minister of Defense Ivan Tretyak and Chief of the Soviet Air Defense Forces, General Igor Maltsev, spoke in a surprisingly candid fashion. Maltsev, discussing the March 1990 object, told the press that it was a disc 100 to 200 meters in diameter, and it was able to perform an “S turn” flight horizontally and vertically, as well as hover and then fly “with a speed exceeding that of the modern jet fighter by 2 or 3 times.” All the while, it had been silent while doing these things. “At the present time,” he added, “terrestrial machines could hardly have any such capabilities.”
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Reaching critical mass. In the final days, citizens will band together to demand the truth. Night Falls in Tahrir Square, February 1, 2011
. Image courtesy of The Associated Press/Tara Todras-Whitehall/AP Images.

The outbursts of openness in these nations all occurred during periods of regime change or extreme instability. Of course, this is no guarantee that UFO information will leak, and there are many counter-examples in which regime changes did not result in the release of such information. But such periods of instability appear to lend themselves to this kind of openness in one form or another.

This leads to the obvious question: How likely will the global situation of the early 21st century lead to another spectacular release of UFO data, one that may push the world past the tipping point and into Disclosure?

By all accounts, the current situation is unstable. The global financial crisis of 2008 is not over; the U.S. economy and much of Europe continue in a free-fall of deindustrialization; Greece and several other European nations are close to bankrupcy; in the United States many states have cut major services and several have flirted with bankruptcy; tensions in the Middle East have peaked; nuclear fears dominate the India-Pakistan, North Korean, and Middle Eastern regions; the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to bleed global resources dry; an environmental crisis struck the Gulf of Mexico; and other eco-crises have engulfed much of the rest of the world. These problems do not describe the full weight of the world’s problems, but they show that the global kindle is dry; a spark may well set major crises into motion. As of this writing, the movement to “Occupy Wall Street” has gained worldwide recognition, and is clearly a sign of widespread dissatisfaction by people with the current structure of political and financial power. Perhaps the global spark has been ignited, or perhaps this is a precursor to the main event.

If history is our guide, the current unrest may jar UFO secrecy loose.

Finding Out for Ourselves

Behind any of the specific events that may result in UFO Disclosure, however, there is one great, inexorable force, relentlessly pushing us all into the future, into the light of truth. That is the steady growth of human technology and capabilities.

The Endgame could happen tomorrow, it could happen in 20 years. It might even wait longer, although we doubt it. There are a few reasons: the
increasing rate of change of our society, the greater volume and acknowledgment of truly mysterious sightings, and the global need to get on with business. We may be at the tipping point, or at least at its beginning. Even if the Others do not wish to be found, those of us who for so long have been on the outside of this secret may find them first.

Consider the pace of change in our civilization. For thousands upon thousands of years, human society went on with very little change. More than a century ago, European farmers commonly used hand scythes not much different than those used by the earliest farmers from 10,000 years ago. As recently as the 19th century, most human production was based on muscle power, whether human or beast, just as it had been since time immemorial. In the realm of the mind, too, our condition was marked, century after century, by the replacement of one set of superstitions with another. That is, until the introduction of scientific thought throughout the last four centuries—a blink in cosmic time.

Following eons upon eons of life that went on in a certain way, human civilization has reinvented itself in the last century. Using science as its basic tool, we have unlocked Pandora’s box, releasing our vast potential for good and ill. From the relatively recent reality of horses pulling carts, we have invented: the light bulb, the automobile, the airplane, the radio, motion pictures, mechanical robots, insulin, television, frozen food, liquid fueled rockets, the electron microscope, radar, jet engines, helicopters, computers, the atomic bomb, transistors, bar codes, the hydrogen bomb, solar cells, optic fiber, the hovercraft, the modem, integrated circuits, the microchip, compact discs, hand held calculators, cell phones, personal computers, super conductors, the World Wide Web, fuel cells, the sequencing of the human genome, the iPad, optical camouflage systems, YouTube, and smart phones.

And time will not stop; emerging technologies today are of incredible diversity and transformative power. In the area of transportation, they include: nuclear fusion power, biofuels, nanowire batteries, ultracapacitors, wireless energy transfer, and electric cars. In material science they include high-temperature superconductivity and superfluidity, carbon nanotubes, cloaking devices, and self-healing materials.