In other words, by 1952, the historical documentation, as well as the logic of the situation, pointed to one of two possibilities. UFOs were either American, or they were alien. They were not Soviet, nor natural. Within the military and intelligence community, many understood this. Boyd, in his presentation, did not examine the possibility that UFOs were a domestic project. But could they have been? Certainly, the door is open, but there are major problems with this explanation. First, there is no documentation linking UFOs to American technology. Second, there is no evidence in the history of technology. That is, the
American military personnel who had to confront this issue were placed into an exceedingly difficult position, one in which they could almost never speak candidly. The obvious possibilities—alien or American origin—were usually ignored or talked around, while other explanations, e.g., natural phenomena, were not allowed to die.
At the CIA, the most important discussions about UFOs were taking place. Indeed, the agency had been monitoring a separate wave of UFOs all summer long in Europe and Africa. Algeria, Morocco, and Spain, in particular, were the scene of many low-flying, agile, fast, and oval-shaped objects, often seen by many people. In many cases, the objects made “impossible” no-radius turns, and were silent.44 One CIA report even cited an alleged encounter between short humanoid aliens and a German man and his eleven-year-old daughter. While in a wooded area, the two got close to a landed craft that looked like a “huge frying pan ... [with] two rolls of holes along the periphery ... on top of this metal object was a black conical tower about three meters high.” Short beings were nearby, examining the ground; they wore silvery suits, and one had a flashing box. When the beings realized they were being watched, they entered the craft and left at high speed. One of the most fascinating of the CIA reports concerned two “flying saucers” over uranium mines in the Belgian Congo. This was seen by many ground witnesses and reported in extreme detail. The objects glided in “elegant curves,” changed position several times, hovered, moved in a unique zigzag pattern, and made a “penetrating hissing and buzzing sound.” A fighter plane was sent to intercept, and the pilot came to within about three hundred feet of the objects. He described them as saucer shaped, about fifty feet in diameter. “The inner core remained absolutely still, and a knob coming out from the center and several small openings could plainly be seen. The outer rim was completely veiled in fire and must have had an enormous speed of rotation.... Changes in elevation from eight hundred to one thousand meters could be accomplished in a few seconds.” Both objects left in a straight line at more than 1,000 mph. The officer was regarded as “a dependable officer and a zealous flyer.”45
In the case of this last incident, it is ludicrous to ascribe the sighting to some as yet misunderstood natural phenomenon. It seems clear that the objects seen in the Belgian Congo were craft of some sort. But the CIA report studiously avoided discussing any implications of the incident.
While the air force press conference may have bought some time as far as the public was concerned, elements within the CIA believed that much more needed to be done, not necessarily from the vantage point of solving the UFO riddle, but from the more pragmatic position of managing the flow and release of data. On July 29, Ralph L. Clark, acting assistant director for the CIA’s Office of Scientific Intelligence, sent a memorandum to the Deputy Director of Intelligence indicating that, despite the air force explanation, the agency would be looking into matters a little more thoroughly:
Although this office has maintained a continuing review of such reported sightings during the past three years, a special study group has been formed to review this subject to date. O/CI will participate in this study with O/SI, and a report should be ready about 15 August. 46
Clark’s memorandum is also noteworthy for stating that the CIA “has maintained a continuing review of such reported sightings during the past three years,” that is, since 1949.
