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Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower was President of the United States, whose administration authorised Cold War reconnaissance programmes including the U-2 and CORONA satellite projects, and who recurs across UFO folklore, alleged extraterrestrial treaty accounts, and the disputed Majestic 12 documents.

Cold War-era reconnaissance programmes; recurring figure in UFO folklore and the disputed Majestic 12 documents · President of the United States

Dwight D. Eisenhower served as President of the United States during a period of significant expansion in American aerial and space reconnaissance. In 1954 he authorised Project Aquatone to develop the U-2 Dragon Lady, a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft intended to collect intelligence on Soviet nuclear deployments.¹ Following the launch of Sputnik, his administration made the WS-117L satellite reconnaissance programme a high priority.² In February 1958 he decided that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) would take the lead role in the WS-117L/CORONA programme, jointly managed with the United States Air Force.³ Later that year he approved the CIA-led Project OXCART programme to develop a successor to the U-2, which became fully operational in 1965.⁴ Shortly after the formation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958, Eisenhower passed over Hugh L. Dryden, naming T. Keith Glennan as NASA Administrator instead.⁵

Eisenhower also features prominently in UFO-related folklore and unverified testimony. Gerald Light said that during a visit to Palm Springs in April 1954, Eisenhower was secretly taken one night to Muroc Air Base to meet with aliens, in an episode later referred to as the 1954 Muroc Air Base extraterrestrial spacecraft viewing.⁶ Jesse Mitchells said that Eisenhower is rumoured to have made a deal with aliens in 1954 permitting medical experiments to be carried out on the human population, an allegation known as the Eisenhower extraterrestrial treaty (alleged).⁷ According to Erik Nanstiel, a legend holds that Eisenhower was offered two deals: one from the Greys (extraterrestrial beings), offering technology to the military in exchange for the right to abduct humans and cattle within the United States from a set list, though Nanstiel does not think the terms were adhered to.⁸ The second, Nanstiel said, came from the Nordic extraterrestrials, who offered to get rid of the Greys and help humanity achieve world peace, but at the cost of less freedom.⁹

In 1984, microfilm documents mailed to the home of UFO researcher Jaime Shandera, when enlarged and printed out, appeared to be a genuine top-secret briefing memo to then President-elect Eisenhower.¹⁰ Researcher Jonathan Caplan has said that the detail of the Majestic 12 (MJ-12) documents corroborates contemporary diaries that were not released at the time, including those of Harry S. Truman, James Forrestal, and Eisenhower.¹¹ Caplan said that Truman and Eisenhower felt that craft arriving in numbers with an unknown agenda might mean an imminent attack was being faced,¹² and that the two wanted to increase production of atomic weapons because they felt there might be a war that had to be fought in space, requiring delivery of weapons in or near space.¹³ Caplan used the Truman and Eisenhower diaries to help corroborate the provenance of the newly found MJ-12 documents.¹⁴ The Blair House meeting of 1949-07-14 is recorded in the diaries of Truman, Eisenhower and David Lilienthal.¹⁵ Caplan has said he does not believe a forger of the Majestic 12 documents released in the 1980s would have had access to the Truman and Eisenhower diaries, since those diaries were only released in later years and had been kept in secure conditions.¹⁶

Luis Elizondo has said that he believes Eisenhower was among a group of US presidents briefed in some way on UAP, a list he extends to Truman, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Herbert Walker Bush and Donald Trump.¹⁷

David Fravor has said that Eisenhower warned of the military-industrial complex around 1962,¹⁸ and that in his view the military-industrial complex has since become everything Eisenhower warned about.¹⁹

According to Jacques Vallée, during World War II the activities of the London Controlling Section (LCS) were known only to Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and a handful of high officials, bypassing Congress and Parliament.²⁰ Separately, Robert Monroe said that following the 1961-07-13 Cape Cod Hyannis Kennedy out-of-body experience (Robert Monroe), he realised Eisenhower was no longer President and became convinced that Kennedy had a psychic bodyguard.²¹

References (21)

Authorised Project Aquatone to develop the U-2 Dragon Lady for intelligence collection on Soviet nuclear deployments
“President Eisenhower authorized Project Aquatone to develop the U-2 Dragon Lady, a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft to collect intelligence on Soviet nuclear deployments.”
Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), Volume I char:122138-122301 View the source record →
Made the WS-117L satellite reconnaissance programme a high priority after Sputnik
“Following the launch of Sputnik, the Eisenhower Administration made this program a high-priority.”
Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), Volume I char:123645-123733 View the source record →
Gave the CIA the lead role in the WS-117L/CORONA programme in February 1958
“In February 1958, President Eisenhower decided the CIA would have the lead role in the program, called "CORONA," and that it would be jointly managed alongside the USAF.”
Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), Volume I char:123743-123907 View the source record →
Approved the CIA-led Project OXCART programme in 1958
“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.”
Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), Volume I char:126286-126424 View the source record →
Passed over Hugh L. Dryden and named T. Keith Glennan NASA Administrator in 1958
“Shortly after the formation of NASA back in 1958, then-President Eisenhower surprised many in the scientific community by passing over the highly respected, apolitical Hugh L. Dryden (Director of NACA since 1949, after Dr. Bush left), naming T. Keith Glennan instead as NASA Administrator.”
Dark Mission ch12:111886-112161
Gerald Light's account of Eisenhower secretly meeting aliens at Muroc Air Base, April 1954
“The same Gerald Light writes that President Eisenhower was “spirited away” to Muroc one night during a visit to Palm Springs, also in April 1954, to meet with the “aliens.””
Messengers of Deception: UFO Contacts and Cults ch10:47286-47450
Jesse Mitchells' rumour of a 1954 alien deal permitting medical experiments on humans
“Eisenhower is rumored to, you know, do his deal with the aliens around allowing medical experiments to be done among the human population.”
The UFO Cover-Up Leads to One Secret Society — and One Final Event 02:23:59.6-02:24:07.6
Erik Nanstiel's account of a legend involving a Greys deal offered to Eisenhower
“there's there's a legend that said that uh eisenhower was offered two deals ... uh one from the greys it said you know in exchange for uh permission to ... abduct humans and cattle uh from a set list ... In exchange for the right to abduct human and cattle within the United States, we will provide the technology to the military.”
"Skinny Bob is Real" – Lifelong Abductee Reveals Everything - Erik Nanstiel | DEBRIEFED ep. 85 01:43:51.5-01:44:31.2
Erik Nanstiel's account of a second, Nordic deal offered to Eisenhower
“And then there's a story about how the Nordics were offering to, we'll get rid of the greys for you. They're no good. They're not good for you people. ... we can help you achieve world peace, but ... it would come with like less freedom.”
"Skinny Bob is Real" – Lifelong Abductee Reveals Everything - Erik Nanstiel | DEBRIEFED ep. 85 01:44:31.2-01:44:54.0
1984 microfilm mailed to Jaime Shandera appeared to be a top-secret memo to President-elect Eisenhower
“In 1984, microfilm documents were mailed to the home of UFO researcher Jaime Shandera. When enlarged and printed out, the documents appeared to be a genuine top-secret briefing memo to then President-elect Dwight Eisenhower.”
Dark Mission ch12:70296-70510
Jonathan Caplan on Majestic 12 documents corroborated by Truman, Forrestal and Eisenhower diaries
“the detail of the documents check out with contemporary diaries, which were not released at the time. The meetings that are referred to in the documents are reflected in the diaries of not just the president, but Forrestal, Eisenhower.”
Watergate, the JFK assassination and a UFO secret at the center of it all | Reality Check 00:20:15.5-00:20:30.3
Caplan on Truman and Eisenhower fearing craft arriving in numbers signalled imminent attack
“And Truman and Eisenhower felt that the risk of these craft that were coming in numbers with an agenda that wasn't known might mean that we were facing imminent attack.”
Watergate, the JFK assassination and a UFO secret at the center of it all | Reality Check 00:32:23.4-00:32:36.2
Caplan on Truman and Eisenhower wanting increased atomic weapons production for a war in space
“And they wanted to increase the production of atomic weapons because they felt there might be a war that had to be fought in space. and they would have to deliver these weapons in or near space.”
Watergate, the JFK assassination and a UFO secret at the center of it all | Reality Check 00:32:37.5-00:32:52.1
Caplan used the Truman and Eisenhower diaries to corroborate the MJ-12 documents' provenance
“I understand, for example, Truman and Eisenhower's diaries had useful information to help you corroborate.”
Watergate, the JFK assassination and a UFO secret at the center of it all | Reality Check 00:41:37.1-00:41:43.0
The Blair House meeting of 1949-07-14 recorded in Truman, Eisenhower and Lilienthal diaries
“So the meeting itself is recorded in those diaries. It's an off the record meeting. It's recorded, as I said, also in David Lilienthal's diaries.”
Watergate, the JFK assassination and a UFO secret at the center of it all | Reality Check 00:41:46.4-00:41:56.6
Caplan doubts a 1980s forger could have accessed the Truman and Eisenhower diaries
“I don't believe so because these diaries have only been released in succeeding years and were not available. I'm sure somebody possibly in the Central Intelligence Agency might have been able to get special access to them, but they have not been available to the public and have been kept in pretty secure conditions.”
Watergate, the JFK assassination and a UFO secret at the center of it all | Reality Check 00:42:22.1-00:42:41.5
Luis Elizondo's belief that Eisenhower was among the presidents briefed on UAP
“As far as I know, the following US presidents were briefed in some way: Truman, Eisenhower, JFK, LBJ, Carter, Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Trump.”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs ch31:16189-16330 View the source record →
David Fravor on Eisenhower warning of the military-industrial complex around 1962
“I said, you know, in I think it was 62 when Eisenhower warned of the industrial defense complex”
David Fravor: UFOs, Aliens, Fighter Jets, and Aerospace Engineering | Lex Fridman Podcast #122 02:17:05.0-02:17:09.5
Fravor's view that the military-industrial complex became everything Eisenhower warned about
“which it has become everything he warned us of, you know, it has become”
David Fravor: UFOs, Aliens, Fighter Jets, and Aerospace Engineering | Lex Fridman Podcast #122 02:17:11.2-02:17:15.4
Jacques Vallée on the London Controlling Section being known only to a handful of leaders including Eisenhower
“During the war, the activities of the LCS were known only to Churchill, Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and a handful of high officials. They bypassed everything else, including Congress and Parliament.”
Messengers of Deception: UFO Contacts and Cults ch13:29827-30009
Robert Monroe's account of realising Eisenhower was no longer President during an out-of-body experience
“Lying in bed, thinking it over, I first realized that Eisenhower was no longer President, of course. I also suddenly had the very deep conviction that Kennedy had a psychic bodyguard (or rather mindguard).”
Journeys Out of the Body ch20:18963-19159

Dwight D. Eisenhower

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