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CIA

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is the primary civilian foreign intelligence service of the United States federal government, which has intersected with UAP research, policy, and personnel at numerous points since the early 1950s.

1947 · Langley, Virginia, USA · Federal intelligence agency

The Central Intelligence Agency has been linked to the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena subject since at least the early 1950s, when a surge in UFO sightings prompted internal review. Following a notable wave of sightings over Washington D.C. in the summer of 1952, the CIA’s Deputy Director for Intelligence tasked the Office of Scientific Intelligence’s Physics and Electronics Division to assess UFO cases.1 By December 1952, H. Marshall Chadwell, Assistant Director of the Office of Scientific Intelligence, had briefed Director of Central Intelligence Walter Bedell Smith on the matter.2 Smith had reportedly already been privately advised that UAP sightings raised serious national security concerns and were “not attributable to natural phenomenon or known types of aerial vehicles”.3

The most consequential early CIA action on the UFO question was the convening of the Robertson Panel, the Scientific Advisory Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects, which met from 14 to 18 January 1953 under the auspices of the CIA Office of Scientific Intelligence.4 The panel reportedly advised the Air Force to enlist the Walt Disney Company and mass media in a campaign to debunk UAP, ostensibly to prevent US air defence communications from being overwhelmed by public reports.5 The AARO Historical Record Report later confirmed there was at least one USG proposal — by the CIA-sponsored Robertson Panel — to engage in an active debunking effort using public media tools.6 One analysis characterised the broader climate of hostility toward the UAP issue as a direct result of US government policies formulated by the panel.7 The CIA updated its UFO evaluation in 1964 following White House discussions, with Director of Central Intelligence John McCone tasking the agency with a fresh assessment;8 at that time, the CIA’s scientific division also formally acquired UFO-sighting case information from NICAP, a private organisation.9 Separately, a declassified CIA assessment noted that more than half of UFO reports investigated during the 1950s and 1960s were assessed to be US reconnaissance flights,10 a finding connected to CIA-led programmes such as the OXCART programme, approved by Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958 to develop a successor to the U-2 Dragon Lady Aircraft.11 UFO reports were documented to spike when the U-2 was in flight, particularly from airline pilots reporting to Air Traffic Control.12

The CIA also sponsored the Stargate Program, the federal government’s remote-viewing research effort. The programme was run for years by the CIA before later transferring to the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).13 Harold E. Puthoff, then a Stanford University researcher and employee of the National Security Agency, was approached by the CIA along with his colleague Russell Targ, after the CIA informed them that the Soviet Union had its own remote-viewing programme and that the US needed to develop a counterpart capability.1415 The programme reportedly became sufficiently successful that Puthoff reported directly to the CIA director and the White House on a regular basis.16

The CIA’s relationship with UAP-related political developments continued across subsequent administrations. According to Daniel Sheehan, President Jimmy Carter sought a UAP briefing from CIA Director George Herbert Walker Bush prior to his January 1977 inauguration, but was refused on the grounds that he had no need to know.17 In 1993, President Bill Clinton ordered CIA Director James Woolsey to release more files on UAPs following lobbying from Laurance Rockefeller.18 That same year, Steven Greer has claimed to have held a covert briefing on UFOs with Woolsey, conducted under the guise of a dinner party.19 In 1986, following the JAL 1628 sighting, CIA agents reportedly confiscated all radar evidence at a meeting held at the Federal Aviation Administration’s Washington office, according to John Callahan;20 Callahan further stated that an order was made by the CIA to deny the meeting had ever taken place.21

Several individuals closely associated with To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science (TTSA) held significant CIA backgrounds. Jim Semivan joined the CIA in 1982 and retired in 2007 after a twenty-five-year career as an operations officer, at which point he was a member of the CIA’s Senior Intelligence Service, before remaining a CIA contractor after retirement.2223 Norm Kahn, a TTSA advisory board member, was a former CIA expert on biological weapons decorated with the CIA’s Intelligence Medal.24 During the Pentagon Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) UFO Program, 2007–2017, Luis Elizondo worked with CIA officials after 201225 and led classified investigations with partners including the CIA and FBI.26 The National Security Agency and CIA offered to provide assets for the UAP-related operation known as OPLAN Interloper, with weekly meetings subsequently convened in Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) spaces at the Pentagon and other agencies.27 Elizondo also convened a meeting at which the Gimbal Video was screened before CIA, NSA, and Navy representatives, none of whom believed the object depicted was of human manufacture.2829

Former CIA Director John Brennan has publicly stated that he found some UAP videos “eyebrow-raising” and acknowledged that certain phenomena could potentially involve a different form of life.30 The CIA’s institutional posture toward UAP has thus ranged from active debunking policy in the 1950s, through sponsorship of research programmes such as Stargate, to more recent engagement with UAP data alongside defence and intelligence partners.

  1. The CIA's Office of Scientific Intelligence reviewed UFO cases following a surge in sightings over Washington D.C. in 1952.
    “After an increase in UFO sightings in 1952, particularly those that gained widespread attention over the Washington, D.C. area during that summer, CIA's Deputy Director for Intelligence, Robert Amory Jr., tasked the CIA Office of Scientific Intelligence's (OSI) Physics and Electronics Division to review UFO cases.”
    AARO Historical Record Report Volume I: U.S. Government Involvement with UAP page 17, CIA Special Study Group section
  2. H. Marshall Chadwell briefed the Director of Central Intelligence Walter Bedell Smith on UFOs in December 1952.
    “In December 1952, H. Marshall Chadwell, Assistant Director of OSI, briefed the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI), Walter Bedell Smith, on the subject of UFOs.”
    AARO Historical Record Report Volume I: U.S. Government Involvement with UAP page 18, CIA Special Study Group Results
  3. The CIA Director Walter Bedell Smith was privately advised in 1952 that UAP sightings raised serious national security concerns.
    “The director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Walter Bedell Smith, who commissioned the so-called Robertson Panel, was earlier privately advised that 'the reports of incidents convince us that there is something going on that must have immediate attention'. The sightings of UAPs raised serious national security concerns and were 'of such nature that they are not attributable to natural phenomenon or known types of aerial vehicles'.”
    Ross Coulthart UAP Book - Prologue, Chapter 1 & Chapter 2 2021
  4. The Robertson Panel was convened by the CIA Office of Scientific Intelligence from 14 to 18 January 1953.
    “'Report of Meetings of Scientific Advisory Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects Convened by Office of Scientific Intelligence', CIA, 14–18 January, 1953.”
    Ross Coulthart UAP Book - Prologue, Chapter 1 & Chapter 2 Chapter 3, endnote 26
  5. The Robertson Panel advised the Air Force to enlist Walt Disney and mass media in a campaign to debunk UAP.
    “Claiming to fear US air defense communications might be overwhelmed by UAP reports, this CIA panel advised the Air Force to enlist the Walt Disney Company and the mass media in a campaign to "debunk" UAP.”
    Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Foreword, paragraph 4
  6. There was at least one USG proposal by the CIA-sponsored Robertson Panel to engage in an active debunking effort using public media.
    “There was at least one USG proposal - by the CIA-sponsored Robertson Panel - to engage in an active "training" and "debunking" effort using various public media tools to steer the public away from reporting UFOs.”
    AARO Historical Record Report Volume I: U.S. Government Involvement with UAP page 28, Key Findings section
  7. The climate of hostility toward the UAP issue was a direct result of US government policies formulated by the CIA's Robertson Panel in 1953.
    “This climate of hostility toward the UAP issue was a direct result of US government policies formulated by the CIA's Robertson Panel in 1953.”
    Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Foreword, paragraph 4
  8. In 1964, Director of Central Intelligence John McCone tasked the CIA to update its evaluation of UFOs following White House discussions.
    “Following high-level White House discussions on what to do if alien intelligence was discovered or there was a new outbreak of UFO sightings, DCI John McCone tasked the CIA to update its evaluation of UFOs.”
    AARO Historical Record Report Volume I: U.S. Government Involvement with UAP page 20, CIA Evaluation section
  9. The CIA's scientific division acquired UFO-sighting case information from NICAP in 1964.
    “The CIA's scientific division officially acquired UFO-sighting case information from the director of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), a private organization founded in 1956.”
    AARO Historical Record Report Volume I: U.S. Government Involvement with UAP page 20, CIA Evaluation section
  10. More than half of UFO reports in the 1950s and 1960s were assessed to be US reconnaissance flights, per a declassified CIA assessment.
    “More than half of the UFO reports investigated in the 1950s and 1960s were assessed to be U.S. reconnaissance flights, according to a declassified CIA assessment on reconnaissance aircraft.”
    AARO Historical Record Report Volume I: U.S. Government Involvement with UAP page 42, Project Aquatone section
  11. President Eisenhower approved the CIA-led OXCART programme in 1958 to develop a successor to the U-2.
    “President Eisenhower approved this CIA-led program to develop a successor to the U-2 spy plane in 1958, which became fully operational in 1965.”
    AARO Historical Record Report Volume I: U.S. Government Involvement with UAP page 42, Oxcart/A-12/SR-71 section
  12. UFO reports would spike when the U-2 was in flight, especially from airline pilots.
    “The report noted that UFO reports would spike when the U-2 was in flight, especially from airline pilots to Air Traffic Control.”
    AARO Historical Record Report Volume I: U.S. Government Involvement with UAP page 42, Project Aquatone section
  13. The Stargate Programme was embedded in the federal government, run for years by the CIA and later the DIA.
    “Stargate was embedded in the federal government, run for years by the CIA, and later the DIA.”
    Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 3, paragraph 29
  14. Harold Puthoff and Russell Targ were approached by the CIA while Puthoff was a Stanford University researcher and NSA employee.
    “Hal had been a Stanford University researcher and an employee of the NSA when he and his colleague Russell Targ were approached by the CIA”
    Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 3, paragraph 31
  15. The CIA told Puthoff and Targ that Russia had a remote-viewing programme and the US needed to develop one in response.
    “told that Russia had a remote-viewing program. The US needed to catch up and beat their efforts.”
    Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 3, paragraph 31
  16. The Stargate Programme became so successful that Puthoff reported directly to the director of the CIA and the White House.
    “Stargate became so successful, Hal reported directly to the director of the CIA and the White House on a regular basis.”
    Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 3, paragraph 31
  17. After Carter's inauguration, Carter sought a UAP briefing from CIA Director George Herbert Walker Bush, who refused.
    “According to celebrated civil rights attorney Daniel Sheehan, before Carter's January inauguration he sought a meeting with the then Director of the CIA, George Herbert Walker Bush, later the 41st president, but the CIA Director flatly refused to give the president-elect a briefing on UFOs telling Carter he had no 'need to know'.”
    Ross Coulthart UAP Book - Prologue, Chapter 1 & Chapter 2 Chapter 6, paragraph 15
  18. Bill Clinton ordered CIA Director James Woolsey to release more files on UAPs in 1993.
    “on entering the White House in 1993, both Bill and Hillary Clinton took a strong interest in UAPs, and after lobbying from billionaire businessman and UAP believer Laurance Rockefeller, the president ordered his new CIA Director James Woolsey to release more of the files on the subject”
    Ross Coulthart UAP Book - Prologue, Chapter 1 & Chapter 2 paragraph 1
  19. Steven Greer claims he held a covert briefing on UFOs with CIA Director James Woolsey in 1993.
    “he dramatically casts a meeting he had with the then Director of America's Central Intelligence Agency, James Woolsey, in 1993 as 'a covert briefing on the topic of UFOs under the guise of a dinner party'”
    Ross Coulthart UAP Book - Prologue, Chapter 1 & Chapter 2 paragraph 4
  20. CIA agents confiscated all radar evidence at a meeting held at the FAA's Washington office after the JAL 1628 sighting.
    “a meeting was held at the Federal Aviation Administration's Washington office in which Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agents confiscated all the radar evidence.”
    Ross Coulthart UAP Book - Prologue, Chapter 1 & Chapter 2 paragraph 9
  21. There was an order by the CIA to deny the 1986 JAL radar evidence meeting even happened.
    “there was also an order made by the CIA to deny the 1986 meeting even happened. The CIA agent said revealing the existence of 'a UFO' would panic the American public”
    Ross Coulthart UAP Book - Prologue, Chapter 1 & Chapter 2 paragraph 9
  22. Jim Semivan joined the CIA in 1982 and retired in 2007 after a twenty-five-year career.
    “Jim joined the CIA in 1982 and retired in 2007 after a twenty-five-year career.”
    Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 17, paragraph 34
  23. After retiring from the CIA, Jim Semivan remained a CIA contractor and stayed connected to CIA efforts.
    “Having recently left the agency, Jim remained a CIA contractor but was still 'plugged in.'”
    Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 17, paragraph 34
  24. Luis Elizondo after 2012 worked with CIA officials on the Pentagon AATIP UFO programme.
    “From then on, Mr. Elizondo said in an interview, he worked with officials from the Navy and the C.I.A.”
    Glowing Auras and 'Black Money': The Pentagon's Mysterious U.F.O. Program (2017) paragraph 17
  25. Luis Elizondo led classified investigations worldwide with partners including the CIA and FBI.
    “I led classified investigations worldwide with partners that included the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).”
    Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 1, paragraph 2
  26. The NSA and CIA offered to provide assets for OPLAN Interloper, and weekly meetings were launched in SCIF spaces.
    “The NSA and CIA offered to provide assets as well, and we launched weekly meetings in the SCIF spaces we had available. Some of these meetings occurred at the Pentagon, while others were held at other agencies.”
    Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 15, paragraph 18
  27. Elizondo held a meeting with Navy officials, CIA representatives, and an NSA representative at which the Gimbal video was screened.
    “A few months later I was sitting in a room with high-level Navy officials, CIA reps, and someone from the NSA. After the usual exchange of pleasantries and some backslapping, we rolled the tapes.”
    Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 15, paragraph 31
  28. No one in the room when the Gimbal video was shown to CIA, NSA, and Navy representatives believed the UAP was made by humans.
    “To be clear, no one in that room thought this UAP was made by humans.”
    Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 15, paragraph 32
  29. Norm Kahn was a former CIA expert on biological weapons and part of Tom DeLonge's TTSA advisory board.
    “Dr. Norm Kahn, a former CIA expert on biological weapons”
    Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Chapter 21, TTSA advisory board paragraph
  30. Former CIA Director John Brennan stated he had seen UAP videos which were eyebrow-raising and that some phenomena could involve a different form of life.
    “I have seen some of the videos… and they are quite eyebrow-raising… . I think it would be presumptuous and arrogant for us to believe there is no other form of life anywhere in the entire universe… . I think some of the phenomena we're going to be seeing continues to be unexplained and might, in fact, be some type of phenomenon that is the result of something that we don't yet understand”
    Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs — Chapter 2 (image only) Appendix, Statements section

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