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Unidentified Flying Objects, The CIA, and Congress,
Essay by Source S-1 (443k)
Source S-1 writes a memo entitled Unidentified Flying
Objects, the CIA, and Congress. It opens
with an interesting story of an interview with
President Truman by the FBI and
states: “he was asked the embarrassing question did you
authorize Operation Majestic 12? To which
he replied ‘I never gave any thought about it after
leaving office.’ He added, ‘it was not my intention when
I set up the CIA would be injected into
strange activities of that sort.’ He was upset when the
subject was brought up and it was sensed that Mr.
Truman was being coy and evasive.”
The paper goes on to discuss congressional surveillance
concerning the UFO issue, which came to a head in the
Senate in early 1956. “The specific point at issue was
whether Congress was to establish a standing Joint
Committee on the CIA, similar to the joint
Committee on Atomic Energy, to provide a fuller and
continuing look at the United States UFO intelligence
programs. The
CIA’s UFO intelligence budget is concealed
within the budgets of various government departments,
mainly that of the Defence Department. The average
member of Congress has no more knowledge than the
average citizen of annual expenditures or of the size
and scope CIA UFO operations...
"Ever since CIA was established, the
director has been authorized, and in fact, directed to
make complete disclosure of CIA UFO activities
to special committees in both the Senate and House. The
CIA is at times completely responsive to their
questions, no matter how sensitive. For example, during
the first 12 weeks as DCI
Admiral William F. Raborn was called to 17
meetings with these congressional committees. The
legislative log for the year 1965 shows that the
DCI
or his senior (sic) aides met a total of 34
times with four special subcommittees.” Additionally,
there are three tabs attached to the paper that discuss
arguments in favour of a joint UFO committee
and arguments against it.
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