Statement to Congress

Statement to Congress is a congressional source in which George Knapp describes his investigation of UFO reports, Russian military studies and United States government programmes concerned with anomalous aerospace phenomena.

Pdf · Statement · George Knapp · 4 pages

The Statement to Congress records George Knapp’s account of his involvement in Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) reporting and investigation. Knapp says that his interest in UFO secrecy began in 1987,¹ and that he subsequently wrote hundreds of UFO-related news stories and series.² He states that, since 1969, the official position of the United States military had been that UFOs posed no threat to national security and were not worthy of further study.³ Against that background, he refers to Freedom of Information Act documents which, he says, showed that high-ranking military officers regarded the subject as “serious business”.⁴

Knapp describes a long-running exchange with Harry Reid, whom he says he first told in 1989 about accounts of crashed saucers and secret investigations. He also discusses Robert Bigelow and the creation of the National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS) in 1996.⁵ The statement then recounts Knapp’s spring 1993 visit to Moscow Russia, where he says he interviewed more than a dozen military officials, intelligence operatives and scientists.⁶ He attributes accounts of a Russian military investigation, including 45 reported encounters between Russian warplanes and UFOs, to Colonel Boris Sokolov.⁷⁸ In the later United States section, Knapp says the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) was launched from the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence (OUSDI) and managed by Lue Elizondo.⁹ He distinguishes it from the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP), whose contract he says went to a subsidiary of Bigelow Aerospace.¹⁰ Knapp describes AAWSAP as a broad study that catalogued more than 200,000 cases,¹¹ beginning with the 2004 USS Nimitz Tic Tac UAP incident.¹² He says the programme lasted 27 months rather than the five years planned by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA),¹³ after which AATIP was created from its remnants.¹⁴ The statement concludes that Knapp regards Elizondo’s public exposure of AATIP as contributing to the creation of the Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena Task Force (UAP Task Force) and subsequently the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).¹⁵

References (16)

George Knapp said his interest in UFO secrecy began in 1987.
“As a journalist, my interest in UFO secrecy began in 1987.”
Statement to Congress char:774-827
George Knapp said he had written hundreds of UFO-related news stories and series.
“I have written hundreds of UFO-related news stories and series”
Statement to Congress char:858-914
George Knapp said the United States military's official position since 1969 was that UFOs posed no national-security threat and did not merit further study.
“Since 1969, the position of our military has been that UFOs pose no threat to national security and are not worthy of further study.”
Statement to Congress char:1565-1691
George Knapp said Freedom of Information Act documents showed that senior military officers regarded the UFO mystery as serious.
“High ranking military officers considered the UFO mystery to be "serious business."”
Statement to Congress char:1809-1882
George Knapp said he first told Harry Reid about crashed-saucer accounts in 1989.
“The first person I told about this - outside of our newsroom - was U.S. Senator Harry Reid, then in his first term in the Senate.”
Statement to Congress char:2661-2783
George Knapp said Robert Bigelow created the National Institute for Discovery Science in 1996.
“In 1996, Bigelow created his own research organization, the National Institute for Discovery Science”
Statement to Congress char:3770-3863
George Knapp said he travelled to Moscow in spring 1993 and interviewed more than a dozen officials, operatives and scientists.
“In the spring of that year, I traveled with two colleagues to Moscow, met and interviewed more than a dozen military officials, intelligence operatives, and scientists who had knowledge of UFO incidents and studies in the former USSR during the Cold War.”
Statement to Congress char:5813-6063
George Knapp said the Russian military investigation was directed by Colonel Boris Sokolov.
“Many of the incidents described to me by the program's director Col. Boris Sokolov were alarming.”
Statement to Congress char:6623-6711
George Knapp said Boris Sokolov described 45 incidents involving Russian warplanes and UFOs.
“Sokolov said there had been 45 incidents in which Russian warplanes engaged with UFOs, chased them, even shot at them.”
Statement to Congress char:6721-6834
George Knapp said AATIP was launched from OUSDI and managed by Lue Elizondo.
“AATIP was launched from OUSDI, the office of the undersecretary for defense intelligence and was managed by a career counterintelligence officer named Lue Elizondo.”
Statement to Congress char:8712-8867
George Knapp said the AAWSAP contract was awarded to a subsidiary of Bigelow Aerospace.
“The contract for AAWSAP was awarded to a subsidiary of Bigelow Aerospace, owned by Robert Bigelow.”
Statement to Congress char:9970-10060
George Knapp said AAWSAP catalogued more than 200,000 cases.
“The team compiled what might be the largest and most sophisticated UFO data warehouse ever created, with more than 200,000 cases catalogued.”
Statement to Congress char:10526-10655
George Knapp said the first case investigated by AAWSAP was the 2004 USS Nimitz Tic Tac UAP incident.
“The very first case investigated by AAWSAP was the Tic Tac incident from 2004.”
Statement to Congress char:11018-11091
George Knapp said AAWSAP lasted 27 months rather than the five years planned by DIA.
“It lasted a mere 27 months before the plug was pulled, instead of a five year operation as planned by DIA.”
Statement to Congress char:12104-12206
George Knapp said AATIP was created from the remnants of AAWSAP.
“After AAWSAP ended, AATIP was created from its ashes.”
Statement to Congress char:13090-13137
George Knapp said Elizondo's public exposure of AATIP contributed to the creation of the UAP Task Force and AARO.
“His exposure of the existence of AATIP was a major factor in the eventual creation of the UAP Task Force and later, of AARO.”
Statement to Congress char:13315-13434

Statement to Congress

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