by Michael E. Salla, PhD
April 25, 2006

from Exopolitics Website
 

I wish to clarify my position concerning Comet 73P, its association with the Iranian nuclear weapons issue and a possible comet impact event on or around May 25, 2006. My interest in these issues was sparked by a paper authored by Eric Julien in the April edition of the Exopolitics Journal. He argued that nuclear weapons testing forms a threat to extraterrestrial civilizations due to the disruptive effects of such weapons on the space time continuum used by extraterrestrials to visit the Earth. He provided some statistical data on the correlation between nuclear weapons testing and UFO sightings/crashes to support his hypothesis.

Eric’s paper made the argument that the threat posed by humanity’s irresponsible use of nuclear weapons could lead to extraterrestrials taking punitive action to prevent such use. He gave as an example of such punitive action the use of comets and cited Immanuel Velikovsky as a source confirming the regularity with which comets have impacted the earth with devastating effects in the past.

Eric’s paper was followed on April 8 by news that investigative journalist, Seymour Hersh, had authored a paper in the New Yorker describing the steps taken by the Bush administration to secure military approval for a preemptive nuclear strike against Iran. According to Hersh, senior military officials were opposed and were threatening resignation over the issue. This greatly alarmed many individuals including myself who could immediately recognize the same pattern in the build up to the 2003 Iraq war where the Bush administration successfully overcame all internal resistance to launch the war.

I consequently authored a short article discussing the plans for a preemptive nuclear attack and how this might be responded to by extraterrestrials that might be directly affected by the use of such weapons. Using Eric’s analysis, I raised the possibility that an asteroid strike might be used to stop such a nuclear war. This appeared to me to be a logical conclusion based on a hypothetical threat assessment that might be used by extraterrestrials monitoring political events on Earth.

Eric Julien subsequently authored a paper on April 11, "May 25, 2006 - Day of Destiny," where he discussed his later research concerning Comet 73P Schwassman-Wachman 3. He linked the use of nuclear weapons and the threat they pose to extraterrestrial civilizations, to the forthcoming May passage of the comet. He cited coded messages contained in some crop circles to support his argument that the unexplained break up of comet 73P in 1995 was linked to extraterrestrials. He further argued that extraterrestrials deliberately fragmented the comet due to their awareness that nuclear weapons would eventually be used in a war and that the extraterrestrials’ intent was to time the comet’s passage to coincide with a predicted nuclear war.

Using an online NASA orbital simulator, Eric tracked the comet’s passage, and argued that several fragments from comet Schwassman-Wachman’s, would pass through the Earth’s ecliptic plane on May 25. This in his view was the most likely date of impact. Using data gained from his own private extraterrestrial communications, Eric predicted that the impact would occur in the Atlantic Ocean and generate giant tsunamis. Eric’s ideas had great exopolitical significance though his Atlantic prediction was something that I could not support due to a lack of firm evidence for his conclusions. Consequently, I authorized a press release for Eric’s paper in order to promote awareness of his research and its exopolitical significance.

Eric’s research generated immediate media interest and appeared throughout the internet. I was asked to appear on George Noory’s Coast to Coast program on April 20 discuss Eric’s research and his integrity as a researcher . While I supported his integrity as a researcher, and the exopolitical significance of his hypotheses based on the available empirical evidence, I attempted to distance myself from Eric’s prediction of a crash in the Atlantic Ocean. I stated that his prediction of the impact location was based on his own personal experiences and not supported by independent evidence.

I was subsequently alarmed by Eric’s decision to begin a public campaign to warn the general public of an impending comet crash in the Atlantic Ocean that would cause 200 meter high tsunamis and generate millions of deaths on or around May 25. His public campaign quickly led to tension between us due to the conflicting interests of the Exopolitics Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to scholarly analysis of exopolitical issues, and Eric’s public campaign to warn the general public of an impending catastrophe.

I had increasingly developed misgivings over his analysis of the crop circle data, his selective use of extraterrestrial communications, and especially his May 25 Atlantic coast impact prediction. On April 23, I informed Eric that I could not support his public campaign and that I believed he was misinterpreting the available data. Eric subsequently decided to resign from the Exopolitics Institute and has withdrawn from all Institute activities and events. He has decided to devote himself over the next month to warn as many people as possible of a comet collision that he believes is highly likely, and the need to save as many lives as possible.
 

Eric’s decision to start a public campaign has forced me to reconsider my earlier support of his analysis of the empirical evidence of a possible comet impact, its link to extraterrestrials and a possible preemptive war against Iran. I think it important to clearly disassociate myself from his May 25 prediction so there is no chance that the public associates either me or the Exopolitics Institute with predictions of a possible comet strike against Earth orchestrated by extraterrestrials. While I consider his research to have exopolitical significance and Eric to have transparent sincerity in his decision to publicly warn the public of a possible comet impact, I believe the evidence is inconclusive and that misinterpretations have been made.

While it is a fact that comet Schwassman-Wachman will pass relatively closely by the Earth from mid-May until the end of May, and this may cause meteor showers, there are no reliable independent sources supporting Eric’s prediction of a devastating impact which is based on his own extraterrestrial related experiences. Consequently, I publicly disassociate myself with any prediction of a devastating comet strike on or around May 25. Furthermore, I publicly disassociate myself from speculation on a possible link between extraterrestrials and the comet as a punitive action against a possible preemptive nuclear war against Iran. I subsequently will withdraw references to a comet strike as a possible extraterrestrial response from my exopolitics website.

I don’t believe Eric Julien’s decision to start a public campaign concerning May 25 as a "Day of Destiny" is motivated at all by monetary gain or a desire for media attention. I consider Eric to be a very sincere and competent researcher with transparent integrity who has been tremendously influenced by his extraterrestrial experiences. He is highly motivated by a deep concern to save as many lives as possible from what he genuinely believes is an impending planetary catastrophe on or around May 25 unless there is a dramatic change in US plans to launch a preemptive nuclear war.

While Eric’s public campaign will spark intense controversy, he deserves to be acknowledged for following his sincere convictions despite the obvious personal and professional toll he will suffer from those publicly questioning his integrity, sincerity, research abilities and extraterrestrial experiences. I believe his decision to resign from the Exopolitics Institute was prompted by his understanding that I and many Institute members would desire to publicly disassociate ourselves from his prediction. For that noble gesture I am truly grateful.

In conclusion, despite Eric’s clear sincerity, I believe he has misinterpreted the available public data and overemphasized his own personal data gained through extraterrestrial experiences. I conclude that a devastating impact by a fragment of comet 73P Schwassman-Wachman is in fact unlikely.

There are profound foreign policy and exopolitical implications raised by the Bush administration’s drive to sanction a preemptive nuclear war against Iran as originally reported by Seymour Hersh. The exopolitical implications deserve balanced scholarly analysis so the public can be properly informed of the consequences of such a war, the link with extraterrestrials, and how extraterrestrials may respond; and not be distracted by unconfirmed predictions of a devastating comet strike.