UFO conspiracy theory: Encyclopedia II - UFO conspiracy theory - 1980s

UFO conspiracy theory - 1980s

UFO conspiracy theory - MJ-12

The so-called Majestic 12 documents surfaced in 1982, suggesting that there was secret, high-level U.S. government interest in UFOs dating to the 1940s. (See Majestic 12 for further information.)

UFO conspiracy theory - Linda Moulton Howe

In the late 1970s, Denver, Colorado-based journalist Linda Mounton Howe had produced Strange Harvest, a documentary film about the many allegedly strange deaths of cows throughout the western U.S. See cattle mutilation

Strange Harvest was a modest success, and Howe became interested in UFO reports in general and the Bennewitz affair especially.

In 1983, Howe agreed to produce a new documentary called UFO's: The ET Factor for HBO. Peter Gersted (head of Citizens Against UFO Secrecy) told Howe that Air Force Sergeant Richard C. Doty wanted to meet her and disclose some secret UFO information, specifically a supposed UFO account from Ellsworth Air Force Base.

Howe says that she met Doty at Kirtland AFB, and rather than discuss the Elleman incident, he allowed her to read a secret document. "A Briefing Paper for the President of the United States on the Subject of Unidentified Flying Vehicles." (Clark 1998, 154) Howe says she was not allowed to copy the paper or take notes, and was required to read it in Doty's presence.

The document, Howe reported, detailed a series of events: Several UFO crashes and recoveries, including some where the alien occupants were alive and remained in the care of the U.S. government. The aliens gave several aircraft to the U.S. as a gift, and the government were reverse engineering them to determine how they worked. A UFO landing had indeed been filmed at Holloman AFB but in 1964, not 1971.

Howe reported that Doty promised considerable confirmation, including documents, film and photographs. The U.S. government had wanted to reveal the reality of UFOs for some time, Doty allegedly reported, but had waited until the political and cultural climate was receptive.

When she told HBO about Doty's statement, they were intrigued, but insisted on a letter of intent from the U.S. government before pursuing the documentary any further. Howe reported that Doty promised to obtain guarantees.

Through the summer of 1983, Howe says Doty repeatedly made and canceled various conferences with her: A meeting with a retired Air Force Colonel who had extensive contact with an EBE, and various opportunities for Howe to view UFO films or documents. Howe says she spoke to other ostensible government officials who confirmed parts of the UFO conspiracy she had read in the classified memo, but always with Doty as liaison.

Then in July 1983, Howe says, Doty told her that he was no longer allowed to be involved with her UFO documentary. Without his aid, Howe says she lost her contacts with other officials. By 1984, HBO gave up on the documentary.

In 1989, UFOlogist William L. Moore would report that "I became aware that Rick (Doty) was involved with a team of several others ... in playing an elaborate disinformation scheme against a major UFO researcher who, at the time, had close connections with a major television film company interested in doing a UFO documentary." Moore says that Howe was discredited due to her interest in Bennewitz. (Clark 1998, 156) Clark does note if Moore offered proof of his assertions.

UFO conspiracy theory - John Lear

In the late 1980s, John Lear became prominent in UFO circles. Citing "unnamed but well-connected sources" (Clark 1998, 157), Lear asserted that the U.S. government had in fact recovered dozens of UFOs over the decades. In exchange for advanced technology, the government allowed for a limited number of alien abductions.

This proceeded for some years, until in 1972 the government discovered that the aliens were kidnapping far more persons than their agreement had stipulated. This dispute culminated in a conflict between aliens and humans at a secret military base near Dulce, New Mexico. The aliens supposedly killed about 40 high-ranking military officials or scientists, and many more military personnel who tried to invade the base.

Following this conflict, Lear reports, the aliens have essentially gone about their schemes with no interference. Up to 10% of the U.S. population has been abducted, and the Strategic Defense Initiative was actually proposed to protect from alien invaders, not Soviet missiles.

Lear relied heavily on Bennewitz' stories, which Bennewitz claimed to have heard from officials at Kirtland AFB.

UFO conspiracy theory - William Milton Cooper

As unlikely as Lear's accounts might seem, William Milton Cooper's tales were wilder still. Clark writes that "Cooper told his lurid and outlandish claim as if it were so self-evidently true that sources or supporting data were irrelevant." (Clark, 1998, 162) Cooper came to public awareness in the late 1980s.

Cooper claimed to have been a Naval intelligence officer, and in many ways, his accounts were similar to earlier UFO conspiracy theories: UFOs had crashed, the ships and their alien pilots had been recovered, and the government made agreements with aliens. There were further details as well, in Cooper's self-published 1989 screed "The Secret Government: The Origin, Identity and Purpose of MJ-12".[2]

Cooper's 25-page pamphlet was crammed full of lurid claims: UFOs had been crashing on Earth by the dozens since the mid-1940s, and Secretary of Defense James Forrestal threatened to publicize the fact and was killed to prevent him from doing so; In 1954 "His Omnipotent Highness Krlll"—leader of a species living on a planet orbiting Betelgeuse—appeared on earth and suggested a treaty: The aliens would abduct humans and wipe their memories of the event in exchange for sharing their technology. U.S. officials feared the aliens' superior technology, and felt they had no choice by to accept the conditions offered by the aliens. Aliens quickly broke the treaty, kidnapping and killing humans and livestock. The Cold War, Cooper says, was largely a facade: The United States and the Soviet Union were actually in close collaboration, both to combat the aliens and to pave the way for a totalitarian one world government. The Majestic 12 committee began selling drugs to raise funds to combat the aliens, reports Cooper, and President John F. Kennedy was assassinated when he objected. Cooper borrowed liberally from Alternative 3, a tongue-in-cheek Anglia Television prank program.

Cooper manages to involve Our Lady of Fatima, the Antichrist, and an impending nuclear World War III in 1999. He predicted that Jesus would return in 2011.

Many ufologists who were striving for legitimacy ignored Lear and Cooper, yet both men were popular speakers on the UFO lecture circuit, and Cooper expanded his account into the book Behold A Pale Horse.

Lear remains active in UFO circles; Cooper was shot and killed in a confrontation with police.

UFO conspiracy theory - Bob Lazar

Bob Lazar came to public prominence in the late 1980's; he claimed to have taken part in the back-engineering of extra-terrestrial craft at Area S-4 (approx. 10 miles south of Area 51). (See Bob Lazar for further information.)

UFO conspiracy theory - UFO Cover-Up?: Live!

On October 14 1988, actor Mike Farrell hosted "UFO Cover-Up?: Live!" a two-hour prime-time syndicated television special that was broadcast in the United States (and elsewhere). William Moore and Jamie Shandera appeared (among many other guests) and discussed the acquisition of the Majestic 12 documents, and introduced their sources "Falcon" and "Condor", allegedly high-level government intelligence officials. Interviewed in shadow and with masked voices, Falcon and Condor disclosed information about the U.S. government’s involvement in UFO’s and alien interaction, UFO crashes and occupant retrievals, and alien biology. This broadcast also included the first known mention of Area 51 on television.

UFO conspiracy theory - July 1989 MUFON Convention

The Mutual UFO Network held their 1989 annual convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 1, 1989.

Moore was scheduled as the main speaker, and he generated controversy even before his appearance: He refused to submit his paper for review prior to the convention, and also announced that he would not answer any follow-up questions as was common practice. Unlike most of the convention's attendees, Moore did not stay at the same hotel that was hosting the convention.

When he spoke, Moore said that he and others had been part of an elaborate, long-term disinformation campaign begun primarily to discredit Paul Bennewitz: "My role in the affair ... was primarily that of a freelancer providing information on Paul's (Bennewitz) current thinking and activities." (Clark, 1998, 163) Air Force Sergeant Richard C. Doty was also involved, said Moore, though Moore thought Doty was "simply a pawn in a much larger game, as was I." (ibid.) One of their goals, Moore said, was to disseminate information and watch as it was passed from person to person in order to study information channels.

Moore said that he "was in a rather unique position" in the disinformation campaign: "judging by the positions of the people I knew to be directly involved in it, [the disinformation] definitely had something to do with national security. There was no way I was going to allow the opportunity to pass me by ... I would play the disinformation game, get my hands dirty just often enough to lead those directing the process into believing I was doing what they wanted me to do, and all the while continuing to burrow my way into the matrix so as to learn as much as possible about who was directing it and why."(ibid., 164)

Once he finished the speech, Moore immediately left the hotel. He left Las Vegas that same night.

Moore's claims sent shock waves through the small, tight-knit UFO community, which remains divided as to the reliability of his assertions.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "1980s", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki