DISINFORMATION

By The Night Watchman

Are we being observed by life forms from the outer areas of the universe? Is the government covering up crucial evidence that could prove the existence of other civilizations? Or, is it just a bunch of hooey that makes for great movies and late night radio? I'm going out on a limb to say that I, for one, believe we are being watched.

I don't have the proof. I've never seen a UFO or strange crop formations, let alone been abducted. But, on the other hand, I've heard stories from friends who've seen strange things from up above they can't explain. I've talked with former military men who have witnessed events they believe are extraterrestrial in nature. And, I've read extensively on ufology issues and events, from seemingly sane and reliable sources, to come to the conclusion that there is enough evidence to believe something is going on. But, is it enough for the average citizen? Well, if a jury couldn't convict O.J. Simpson, then maybe there's a lot more work to be done.

Is it a conspiracy? You bet! Since the Roswell incident in 1947, and most likely before World War II, governments, and not just the U.S., have been on a disinformation campaign to discredit the existence of extraterrestrials under the guise of "plausible denial". In other words, governments will leak out whatever information they deem helpful, whether truth or fiction, to give them options of what kind of explanation they want to give to keep the public confused. And, a confused public is a public who'll pretty much believe anything told to them.

I could be wrong about a government's campaign, but I wonder... have you ever noticed that the government's "logical" explanations many times seem not so logical? For instance, let's look at the mother of all UFO stories - the Roswell incident.

Shortly before ten, one evening during the first week of July, 1947 (dates vary), witnesses around the area of Roswell, New Mexico reported descriptions of a large glowing object flying overhead at a high rate of speed.

Later that evening, northwest of Roswell, a sheep rancher named Mac Brazel, heard a loud explosion which he described as much louder than the thunderstorm sweeping the area. The next morning, according to accounts, Brazel explored some of the area and found fragments of very thin, but tough, foil-like substance scattered over a quarter mile of ground. He also found a disc shaped object which he immediately turned over to the intelligence officer at the Roswell Army Air Field. A subsequent story was printed July 8 in the Roswell Daily Record where they quoted Lieutenant Walter Haught, the public relations officer at the base.

"The many rumors regarding the flying disk became a reality yesterday when the intelligence office of the 509th Bomb Group of the Eighth Air Force, Roswell Army Air Field, was fortunate enough to gain possession of a disk through the cooperation of one of the local ranchers and the sheriff's office of Chaves County."

There were few other details, but confirmation of the story that some sort of UFO had been recovered caused a media frenzy nationwide.

The fragments and disc were later taken to Eighth Air Force Headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas where Brigadier General Roger Ramey quickly changed the official story saying that what Mac Brazel had found was not the wreckage of a flying disc, but merely debris from a downed weather balloon. Now, there are other inconsistencies regarding the Roswell incident, which we'll outline shortly, but from the onset, the newly created "official" explanation seems kind of, well... for lack of a better word...stupid, at least in hindsight. But back then, with the lack of the technological knowledge of the general public, it probably seemed a reasonable explanation of the event.

The "official" Army account of the Roswell incident, I believe, also set the stage for the government's disinformation campaign regarding UFO's and aliens. Debate between skeptics and true believers fostered the conditions for the government to continue their investigations and research while maintaining credibility with the public.

In short, while the two groups are busy trying to disprove one another, the government can stand back and watch the fight. Any information they make public will just add to the confusion. So even though the "official" account of the events of July 1947 seem questionable, it did what it was supposed to do - confuse the public.

After more than 50 years of research following the Roswell incident, here is what we do know according to the most renowned Roswell researchers. They include physicist Stanton Friedman, www.stantonfriedman.com ; former military intelligence officer and journalist, Kevin Randle; and author Don Schmitt, as well as numerous other publications.

• Major Jesse Marcel, the officer ordered to gather the remains on Mac Brazel's ranch, was an experienced intelligence officer and likely would have identified a weather balloon on sight. Marcel, long into retirement, admitted in a videotaped interview, to retrieving fragments of weightless material, some which had markings similar to hieroglyphics.

• A number of civilians were reportedly threatened by military officials to keep their mouths shut about the story. Some of them recently have come forward. Mac Brazel was silent to his grave.

• General Ramey's Chief of Staff at the time, Colonel Thomas DuBose, testified in 1992 that he had taken the telephone call ordering General Ramey to cover up the initial Roswell story.

• There is testimony from Glenn Dennis, who in 1947, as a young mortician in Roswell, received calls from the mortuary officer from the Air Base asking about the availability of small, hermetically sealed caskets, and how to preserve bodies that had been exposed to the elements for several days.

• No witnesses have come forward to corroborate the "weather balloon" story.