By Larry W. Bryant

As a 20-year-old during the late fifties in these United States of Advertising, I was operating as a UFO activist in the wolf's clothing of what today we would call a "culture-jammer." Who knew?!

It wasn't until 30-some years later that I became aware of the term culture-jamming -- a still-thriving dogma (and practice) dear to young people's hearts, mostly. A Google-produced definition tells us that it means "billboard alteration and other forms of media sabotage." (For some historical perspective and philosophical discussion about it, see the web site of http://tinyurl.com/2doux3 .) A culture-jammer, the definition goes on to say, is a communication guerrilla, whose chief goal is "to counter the overpowering signs of corporate advertising."

Now that our nation's governmental institutions, policies, and practices have become so blatantly public-relations-driven, we have every reason to accept the extension of culture-jamming (C-J) to all affairs of self-governance (ever heard of the Internet-fueled "freeway blogger," for instance? Check it out at http://www.freewayblogger.com ).

That UFO-C-J project of mine in the late fifties happened to challenge the status quo of both the private sector and the public sector as regards the content of advertising. As a local UFO researcher in Newport News, Va., I'd begun trying to recruit new members for the Washington, D.C.-based National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena. "How about soliciting local military personnel to join my newly formed pro-NICAP study group, the Air Research Group?" I asked myself. So, I fired off a small classified ad to the contract printer of the Langley Air Force Base's weekly newspaper, seeking airmen's participation in my group. In short order, the printer notified me that the base public information officer had rejected the proposed ad, on the grounds that running it might encourage Langley personnel to violate the USAF regulation on dissemination of UFO-sighting data. Of course, that rejection violated my First Amendment right of freedom-of-speech/press, but my meager experience with bureaucracy, along with nonexistent legal funds, conspired to delay justice in what I now call "Bryant's 'Bleak House'" -- the most protracted series of interrelated First Amendment lawsuits in U. S. history (see the related, ongoing litigation in Larry W. Bryant v. Donald H. Rumsfeld, et al. -- http://www.katzjustice.com/militarycases.htm ). [LWB 2008 note: Unfortunately, on July 15, 2008, the U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied my appeal of the U. S. district court's ruling against me (and, in effect, against anyone else desiring to place "political" advertising in a military-published newspaper), thus bringing to a close this chapter of "Bryant's 'Bleak House.'"]

UFOlogical culture-jamming requires few resources, no membership dues, no group bylaws, minimal organizational skills, little supervision, and not much follow-up to actions planned/taken. Your basic tools include the First Amendment, the U. S. Freedom of Information Act, a keen grasp of irony, a fertile imagination, a decent track record of creativity, and (perhaps) a heightened sense of social outrage. Today's Internet serves as a force multiplier for those tools. For example, whenever one of my UFO-coverup-whistleblower solicitation ads got rejected by a military base newspaper, you could bet that word of that censorship would show up somewhere on the Internet.

The latest episode of UFO-C-J came to my attention via the e-mail bloglist run by Victor G. Martinez in California. One of the list's correspondents -- Bill Ryan of the UK-based UFO research team of Bill Ryan and Kerry Cassidy ( http://www.projectcamelot.org ) -- dispatched a Feb. 8, 2007, e-message titled "Echelon -- proof at last :)." The message wryly announces:

"This dramatic little paragraph was sent out on its own, with no context or explanation. Echelon [a data-mining system managed by the U. S. intelligence community] promptly grabbed it. It was withheld for 3 hours and 40 minutes and has only just arrived. The other mails we were sending back and forth [to each other from England to the States] -- rather more innocuous -- were all delivered straight away.

"Presumably, all the alarms went off and some junior clerk reported it right up the line until someone with some experience identified it for what it was :)."

Ryan explained to his fellow "listers" that he and partner Cassidy were, at that particular time in cyberspace, working on proposed text for a UFO-related video program being edited by Cassidy. They found amusing the (presumed) Echelon-intercepted/delayed transmission of what some researchers will recognize as an excerpt from the so-called Special Operations Manual 1-01 (April 1954) -- part of the various documentation "leaked" during the past 20-some years about the alleged UFO-related findings and conclusions of the supersecret panel of government scientists/military leaders known as Majestic-12 (see: http://www.majesticdocuments.com ):

"Any encounter with entities known to be of extraterrestrial origin is to be considered a matter of national security and therefore classified TOP SECRET. Under no circumstances is the general public or the public press to learn of the existence of these entities. The official government policy is that such creatures do not exist, and that no agency of the government is now engaged in any study of extraterrestrials or their artifacts. Any deviation from this stated policy is absolutely forbidden."

Some observers of this episode in the perennial politics of UFOlogy point out that, at the very time of Ryan's e-transmission of the one-paragraph excerpt, several of the Internet's key servers were undergoing major attack from hackers. But the question remains: why didn't this attack interfere with the more mundane e-mail being exchanged between him and Cassidy?

On a broader scale, some of these same observers may view Project Camelot's exploration of the controversial revelations from "Project Serpo" ( http://serpo.org ) as being, in part, a massive exercise in UFOlogical culture-jamming -- perpetrated by either bona fide whistleblowers or by government disinformation specialists (or via a joint mission of both parties?).

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Larry W. Bryant's latest entry into governmental culture-jamming consists of his e-book "The Bu$ch-Cheezey Impeachment Chronicles," which is being serialized upon the web site of http://www.bushbusiness.com/Bryant_OP.htm .

By Larry W. Bryant

"Once a writer is born into a family, that family is doomed." -- Lithuanian poet Czeslaw Milosz (as quoted in David Bouchier's introduction to his book "Writer at Work: Reflections on the Art and Business of Writing")

Of course, we can apply Milosz's hyperbole to the fate of UFO researchers' families -- for writers and UFOlogists do indeed have much in common: they all collect, analyze, digest, and disseminate data; in the process, some become more creative, proficient, and successful than others, but they all crave, and can benefit from, encouragement and cooperation (especially when bestowed by their family members).

Ahhh, encouragement: the backbone of a writer/researcher's will to stay afloat in a roiling sea populated with large and small monsters bent on thwarting our goals. You know the drill: it includes forms of DIScouragement, from tacit ridicule of our efforts to passive/active resistance to them. How can we not only survive but also thrive amidst such a challenge to one's sanity? I grapple with that question more often than I'd like to admit.

Though we may never achieve enough satisfactory answers, let me offer one here. It derives from one of the "servings" in the best-selling series of books called "Chicken Soup for the Soul." In this case, I refer to the one titled "Chicken Soup for the Writer's Soul: Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit of Writers" (published in 2000 by Health Communications, Inc., of Deerfield, Fla.). Since the world has yet to acquire a comparable anthology of inspiration and encouragement aimed precisely at UFOlogists (would YOU like to help compile it?), we'd do well to begin with the one aimed at writers. For example, in reading and re-reading chapter 4 ("Finding Your Voice"), I've gained much comfort from its two-page "Counsel from a Veteran of the Writing Wars" (Irving Wallace) -- e.g., his concluding remark: "The world around you is different from the world Shakespeare wrote about -- your world today has trod on the moon, by God. For every new writer [and for every new UFO researcher -- LWB], every new year remains unexplored until he or she explores it."

If there be a cultural divide called the "UFO Wars" (a subset, perhaps, of today's "infowar" waged by the military-industrial complex?), then, by all means, treat my essay here as a call to arms. Arm yourself with one weapon at a time as you explore and write about current UFOlogical affairs. From here in the trenches, I suggest that your primary weapon consist of the Power of Focus. As with the writing profession, it takes lots of time and effort to develop and hone that power, but it does get stronger and more effective as you exercise it. I recommend that every new UFOlogist apply the Power of Focus in this manner: select a local UFO encounter that ignites and perpetuates your passion for investigation and research, one that would serve you were you asked, "What one case of your personal involvement convinces you that the UFO issue merits serious, sustained attention by scientists, forensic researchers, journalists, and academicians?"

My own answer to that question centers on a case study dating back to the twilight hours of Monday, Oct. 19, 1959. On that date, two teen-aged boys had ventured out into an old bombing range in Poquoson, Va., near Langley Air Force Base. There, armed with 12-gauge shotguns, they witnessed the arrival of a metallic disc about the size of a Volkswagon. The 15-year-old, Mark Muza, proceeded to fire upon the aerial visitor as it descended in a hovering mode. He heard the shot ricochet off the craft. Two more shots later, the visitor apparently decided it had had enough of this "welcome" and proceeded to zoom straight up and out of sight. Twenty-four years later, in an interview with a reporter from a Norfolk newspaper, Muza, then a detective with the Newport News police force, recounted his feelings about the event, adding that he remembers the frightening encounter "as if it happened yesterday."

For some in-depth discussion of the Muza case, I refer you to two sources:

(1) A 2000 monograph in researcher Loren E. Gross's seminal series of The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse -- UFOs: A History (Year 1959 -- October-December), wherein he devotes pages 11--18 to the case (including a discussion of the USAF Project Blue Book's unsupported conclusion that the two witnesses had fabricated the event);

(2) My own retrospective review as posted upon the Internet, circa Jan 6, 2001 (e.g., via http://www.niburu.nl/index.php?showarticle.php?articleID=1707 ), under the title "The UFO Attack of Oct. 19, 1959: Echoes of the Shot UNheard 'round the World."

In retrospect, I wish I'd kept a better focus on the passage of time-and-place as to the fate of the case's two principals -- Muza and his neighbor down-the-street Harold Moore, Jr. No-one seems to know the latter's current status [LWB 2008 note: since this publication, I've located Moore, who's granted me an interview]. As for Muza, I'd wanted to re-interview him for my update piece cited above, but I soon learned that, according to his nephew, he had died in the late 1990's. Unseasoned UFOlogists can learn from my lapse: strive to keep up to date on the comings and goings of the principals in your pet case. Wouldn't you just hate being a victim of such missed opportunities in this dynamic field of inquiry? It's akin to a writer's lament over a colleague's phenomenal success with a book recounting, say, her career as a dental-assistant-cum-concubine . . . "Wow, I could've written that one, darn it!"

Now that time and toil have taken their toll on most of my family members, and now that my No. 1 cheerleader happens still to be my daughter, I have little anxiety or frustration in my dual role as writer-UFOlogist. From now on, Mr. Milosz, my family shall remain undoomed by that role.

Meantime, some readers might wish to honor me by visualizing this essay as my Introduction to the yet-to-be-written book "Chicken Soup for the UFO Researcher's Soul."

By Larry W. Bryant

If you can judge by the various letters written to him by citizens
during his terms in office, President Harry S. Truman truly was "The
People's President." And nowhere is this judgment more apropos than
when you consider the letters sent his way by persons convinced that
the subject of "flying saucers" deserved his direct, serious attention.

The collected letters -- or at least that portion that somehow escaped
referral to the Department of Defense for reply -- now reside at the
Truman Library in Independence, Mo. There, they share the shelves with
such missives as (1) citizens' requests that Truman lift the embargo on
arms shipments to Palestine; (2) a women's group's telegram seeking a
personal interview with Truman to discuss the status of proposed
legislation aimed at setting up a U.S. Customs Border Patrol so as to
improve the enforcement of anti-smuggling laws in relation to narcotics;
and (3) parents' pleas that their sons be released from military prison
so they can rejoin their families.

Amidst that potpourri of issues and concerns major and minor to a
president who united the nation during wartime transition, what's so
special about the correspondence on things that go swish in the night?
For one thing, Truman might have been the only president ever to have
received a formal briefing on the "UFO problem" from Air Force
intelligence experts -- if you can accept that revelation as voiced in
a l956 book by former USAF "Project Blue Book" chief Edward J. Ruppelt.
For another thing, Truman resided in the White House during the famous
UFO-sighting "flap" near Washington, D.C., back in 1952. Third, it was
Truman who was instrumental in establishing the U.S. Central
Intelligence Agency, which to this day insists on denying public access
to some 57 of the UFO-related documents that surfaced some years ago
via litigation under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.

Then there are the letters themselves -- a cross-section of views,
concerns, suggestions, and explanations about a problem so touchy (and
sometimes zany) that only a few citizens dared confide in their
president. Lucky for them (and him), in retrospect, that this man
Truman was so attuned to the American psyche that he was able to weather the
growth of UFO interest with just the right mix of detachment and
solicitude. (Maybe his approach has served ever since as the model for
presidential response to the UFO problem.)

Although most of the letters wound up being referred to the Defense
Department (Air Force) for direct reply to the writer, a few did remain
in the White House files. Apparently, each of them underwent indexing
upon arrival -- under the writer's name, address, and date. A White
House staffer synopsized each letter in a cross-reference log. Here
are some excerpts quoted from the log; for most entries, I've added a
commentary from my perspective as an historian of the "politics of
UFOlogy":

Pioneers Petition the President

Kenneth Arnold of Boise, Idaho (4/6/48): In a telegram, the man whose
UFO encounter of June 24, 1947, sparked the coinage of "flying saucers"
as a household word had this advice for Truman: "Your Honor, I
understand there is enough evidence on hand by our intelligence and the
people of your great country to announce that flying disks, flying
saucers and other reported strange missiles that are being seen by
reliable people throughout the world daily are aircraft from outer
space. You know we are not making or flying these aircraft and the
United States is the most scientific nation on earth. Why should not
America be at least the first to announce this great discovery?"

Although the White House never acknowledged the telegram, Arnold felt
obliged to communicate once more: on Dec. 13, 1951, he sent a copy of
his booklet "The Flying Saucer as I Saw It." At the time of the
telegram, he was 31 years old. He died in January 1984 -- never to see
the resolution of a public issue that rages on throughout the world.

* * *

Meade Layne of San Diego, Calif. (4/7/50): Writing as the founding
director of Borderland Sciences Research Associates, this True Believer
in extraterrestrialism announces: "It is our earnest hope that, as a
matter of public interest and policy, you will find time to examine the
enclosed booklet. It is not necessary to point out to your Excellency
that an extremely difficult situation may develop at any hour, in
connection with the phenomena referred to in this booklet.

"Allow us to assure you that we serve no selfish interests in this
matter, and stand ready to comply with any request for information or
service which may be in our power to give."

The 38-page booklet, which remains part of the Truman papers, is titled
"Flying Discs -- The Ether Ship Mystery and Its Solution." This
hodgepodge of metaphysical discussion and interpretation on the
origin, purpose, and scope of the reported flying saucers ended up being
referred to the National Academy of Sciences. On May 1, 1950, the
Academy's executive secretary wrote back to Truman's secretary, stating
that Layne's organization apparently deals with phenomena outside the
field of the Academy, and suggesting that if Layne's communication "is
to be given serious consideration it be referred to some philosophical
organization." With that, Truman's secretary, then William D. Hassett,
sent this reply to Layne: "Your interest in making available to him
[Truman] the enclosures which accompanied your letter is very much
appreciated and you may be sure they will be given careful attention."

* * *

Leon Davidson of Arlington, Va. (9/7/52): This tenacious,
indefatigable prober-polemicist requested, as described by the
correspondence log, "a list of the official statements or press
releases made by the President, or the White House, on the subject of Flying
Saucers since 1947. States if the statements are long, a mere
reference to the date of issue would be sufficient." In later years, Davidson
won fame for his persistence in prying loose from the Air Force a copy of
its Project Blue Book Special Report No. 14, which he reprinted for
wider distribution in a never-ending campaign to prove that most of the
"saucers" were man-made, experimental devices. His persistence in
going after CIA UFO documentation gave that agency heartburn long before its
current headaches over the power of the Freedom of Information Act.

* * *

Robert Spencer Carr of Clearwater, Fla. (7/31/52): From the log:
"Writer encloses miscellaneous material relative to 'flying saucers' --
suggestions for contact. Respectfully referred to the Department of
the Air Force for appropriate handling."

It was Carr who, back in the early seventies, traveled the lecture
circuit and radio talk-show route in a short-lived effort to convince
the public that the government has all the information it needs about
the saucers -- based on the USAF retrieval of crash-landed discs and
some of their crew members. That contention thrives in some
UFO-research circles today, of course.

The Roots of Official UFO Secrecy

Carr's fixation with retrieved saucers might have got its impetus from
the notorious 1950 book by Hollywood columnist Frank Scully, "Behind
the Flying Saucers," which was cited by a man in New Orleans (11/19/51).
From the log: "Requests President's comment re this. Threatens to
publicize his letter if he does not receive an answer. Critical of the
Pentagon. (consideration and appropriate handling.)"

* * *

Then there's a fellow from Cleveland (8/9/52): "The writer relates a
personal experience which happened in October, 1947, near Reno, Nevada,
at which time he saw a formation of shining globular objects from which
something, perhaps a parachutist, catapulted to the earth. He
disapproves the theory of interterrestial [sic] bodies and advances his
theory that the source of these objects is Eurasia and suggests that
they are being used as a means of enemy infiltration. Whatever the
source, the writer feels that as full a disclosure as possible should
be made by official Washington since these saucers may present a serious
military threat about which the American public deserves to know."

* * *

Someone (gender unknown) from Waurika, Okla. (8/26/52), enclosed
clippings: "One article [was] by a Navy officer who said he knew the
location of a saucer but was not permitted to tell where it is as the
United States and Mexico hid it. Also refers to article about a man in
Florida who claims his hair was singed by a flying saucer. Would like
an explanation regarding these articles."

* * *

A man from Chicago (10/29/52) "refers to the Air Force report re flying
saucers as well as article by Robert S. Allen on this subject dated
Sept. 26. States he does not believe that such matters should have to
be investigated by private citizens. He hopes the secrecy of the Air
Force will be lifted, etc."

* * *

From Dinuba, Calif. (7/30/52), a man "urges that the Air Force inform
the public as to the results of the investigation."

* * *

Then, a woman from Tucson (7/28/52) "opposes the secrecy in re to the
Flying Saucers. Believes the public should be given a complete
report."

* * *

Finally, from Baltimore (9/13/50): a man "refers to article entitled
'Flying Saucers' appearing in the October 1950 issue of Pageant
Magazine, and feels the American people should be told the truth about
the saucer reports. He asks if a cover-up attempt is being made on the
part of the Air Force and Department of Defense."

Echoes of "The Roswell Incident"

One White House file-record sheet identifies letters from eight
separate persons -- all written during the time frame July 5 -- 9, 1947, which
coincides with the reported crash-landing of a disc(s) near Roswell,
N.M. (as recounted in the 1980 book "The Roswell Incident," by William
L. Moore -- Grosset & Dunlap, New York; and thereafter in several other
Roswell-focused books/articles/docudramas). Each of these letters was
"respectfully referred to the War Department for consideration."

To Kill or Not to Kill

A woman (with others not named) from Los Angeles (7/29/52) requests
"that the Air Force not fire on the 'flying saucers,' as they have not
attempted any harm upon any persons or properties."

* * *

Likewise, another woman, from Ocean Park, Calif. (8/1/52), "opposes the
recent order from the War Department to fire upon the 'flying saucers.'
Gives her views re the 'saucers' and offers suggestions re same."

* * *

From Albany, Ga. (7/28/52), a man "urges the Air Force to refrain from
attacking the so-called 'flying saucers.'"

* * *

In her letter from Hollywood, Calif. (7/29/52), a woman "comments on
reports of the so-called Flying Saucers and suggests they may contain
highly intelligent humans and that an effort should be made to contact
them in a friendly manner."

* * *

Echoing that sentiment was a man from Indio, Calif. (7/30/52):
"Referring to the report that our armed planes have been ordered to
shoot down a flying saucer for investigation, the writer suggests that
we had better cultivate the friendship of the space visitors and
perhaps save ourselves from annihilation. Says that a friendly gesture would
be supplied if the President were to issue a proclamation ordering our
military and all private citizens to welcome space visitors and treat
them with the utmost consideration should they choose to land among
us."

* * *

For his part, an irate New Yorker (7/29/52) "requests by what
authority,orders to shoot down the so-called 'flying saucers' were given --
states that the makers and operators of these devices are vastly more powerful
than the United States -- such orders would be equivalent to a
declaration of war. Requests and urges President to immediately
countermand these orders. States further, that unless he is informed
promptly, that such orders have been countermanded, his letter will be
given to the Press."

* * *

A telegram from a man in Glen Ellyn, Ill. (7/29/52), "suggests that no
offensive action be taken against the objects reported as unidentified,
which have been sighted over the nation -- (Flying Saucers) --
offensive action might result in grave consequences -- alieniating [sic] US from
beings of far superior powers -- suggests friendly contacts."

* * *

But then we have the sentiments of a resident in The Green Killaloe, Co
Clare, Eire, Ireland (6/22/52): "Writer states she read about Flying
Saucers seen over New York. 'Don't be too easy with them, bring them
down, show no mercy.' Comments that to make airplanes noiseless, cover
their engines with felt and rubber."

Miscellany

The draft of this report contains too much material to include with
this printing. Sections omitted here are titled "Inventors Invite
Investigation" (several letters proposing this or that means for
duplicating saucers' construction/propulsion); "UFO Curios" (referring
to some 3-dimensional items sent to Truman); "The Theory File" (letters
showing the wide range of citizens' theories on the origin/purpose of
the saucers); "Words of Wisdom from the Children" (letters that show
the sincerity -- and intensity -- of society's younger seekers of UFO
knowledge).

Wanted: UFO Pen Pals

A male graduate student in journalism at the University of California
(Los Angeles) (4/5/50) wrote this inquiry to Truman's secretary,
Charles G. Ross:

"I am currently engaged in research for a graduate dissertation which
will attempt to analyze the sociological and psychological implications
of the flying saucer phenomenon.

"In the light of the forceful radio commentary by Henry J. Taylor and
the article which appeared in the 'United States News and World
Report,' both of which declared or implied the saucers are aircraft of unusual
design developed in the United States, I was interested to learn the
reactions of Mr. Truman to the reports.

"I understand that the Navy and the Air Force have issued qualified
denials to the reports. Does the White House feel such reports are
baseless?

"I wish to thank you in advance for your interest and help. You may be
assured that I will appreciate any information you may be able to give me."

Ross's reply of April 11th contains what turns out to be form-letter
phraseology from the Truman White House: "The president has expressed
no opinions concerning these reports other than that he has no information
of any kind about flying saucers."

And So It Goes . . .

Many of these UFO-oriented letters, of course, have something in common
with the hundreds of other letters sent to any given president: the
naive expectation that somehow the president himself not only will read
them but also will respond to them. That form of faith in the
paternalistic, omnipotent majesty of the Oval Office has carried over,
for example, from the Truman days to the Jimmy Carter era of UFO
awareness. Incidentally, the content of the Truman letters is echoed
by the scores of UFO-related letters received by the Carter
administration. Would Carter's staff have received far fewer such
letters had Truman chosen to read his UFO-related correspondence and
thus decided to transfer official UFO investigation from military hands
to civilian control -- in an aim reflective of his move to assure
civilian control of nuclear weapons?

By Larry W. Bryant

"Beyond UFO Secrecy: The Story of 'The Black Vault's' Pursuit of the Truth," by John Greenewald, Jr. (Northridge, Calif.; 2002, softcover, 252 pages) [Now available in an expanded edition from Galde Press, Inc. -- http://www.galdepress.com .)

When in the course of cosmic events a new generation of researchers descends upon the UFOlogy scene, it's time for old-timers like me to take formal notice, and to pass along at least part of the baton.

Not a difficult task in the case of California's John Greenewald, Jr., who reached his 23rd birthday during the inaugural X-Conference on the weekend of April 17--18, 2004, near Washington, D. C.

His presence there amidst mostly seasoned researchers, scholars, and UFOtruth-seekers added both some intellectual fresh air and a challenge for me to actually read his book Beyond UFO Secrecy. Had all attenders at this UFO-disclosure conference been given a copy of Greenewald's UFOIA (UFO Freedom of Information and Accountability) handbook upon their registration, they would've brought home a timeless road map to conferring and networking -- as well as to furthering the cause (aka CAUS) of ending the government cover-up of the UFO experience.

So, in preparation for next year's event (X-Con II?), I'm offering this review as a primer for all researchers who've yet to adopt the book as their UFOIA field guide.

Greenewald focuses this self-published tome on his exploits as the founding director -- circa 1996, at age 15 -- of an Internet web site aptly called "The Black Vault" (http://www.blackvault.com). He sprinkles (and comments upon) selected Freedom-of-Information-Act-acquired documents throughout the work to illustrate the endless stream of official UFOana awaiting the uninitiated reader. Once bathed in this teasing light of initiation, the reader cannot but beg for more (have you a sequel in the works, John?).

The preponderance of that info-stream lies in the computer-scanned gigabytes of agency UFOlit archived upon blackvault.com -- some of it remaining truncated, to this day, by agency censors. In my own (overgrown) library of UFOlit, this volume sits right up there with several titles (e.g., "Clear Intent" -- 1984) that help answer the question "What would the government know about UFO reality were it to read its own UFO-related documents?"

Right from his Introduction, the author sets the tone and scope for this instant classic in the annals of anti-UFO-secrecy literature: "As you can see from the table of contents, the book is laid out in two parts. The first part is how The Black Vault came to be. The second part is the research itself. Laid out by the agency, and is in the order of relevance for proving the massive cover-up."

A key stimulant for the Black Vault project occurred on Sept. 19, 1976 (five years before Greenewald's birth) -- in, of all places, Iran. It consists of a FOIA-acquired UFO-sighting report from the U. S. Defense Intelligence Agency, detailing how two Iranian air force jet interceptors were outwitted by a huge UFO in the nighttime skies of Tehran. Greenewald proceeds in Chapter 7 to chronicle the history and aftermath of that seminal, though slightly censored, report.

For me, the most intriguing part of Beyond UFO Secrecy lies in Chapter 10 ("It [the government's UFO-investigation program] Never Stopped"), especially the following passage quoted from the May 14, 2002, edition of USAF Manual 10-206; its Chapter 5 ("Communications Instructions [for] Reporting Vital Intelligence Sightings (CIRVIS)") amplifies/localizes the UFO-encounter reporting requirements/format published in the sporadically revised Army-Navy-Air Publication No. 146 (bearing the same title):

"5.7.4. Make every effort to document sightings with as many photographs as possible. Send undeveloped film or prints and negatives, with a brief written report and other identifying information, to the Director of Naval Intelligence, Department of the Navy, Washington, DC 20305. The Department of the Navy will process the film and return one copy of each print and a roll of new film to the individual."

Well, how about it, Mr. Greenewald: let's make sure someone's regularly FOIA-seeking some of those CIRVIS-generated photos from the Navy's own Deep-Black Vault of UFOlore!

The author's eight-year-long quest for UFOtruth -- and for public acceptance of his labors -- has come at some intellectual expense, as he candidly points out in Chapter 2 ("The Growth and Troubles Ahead"):

"My priorities, my passion and my life have always been in the archive I was building. It was number one in my life; letting other, probably more important things, slide to number two.

"I was a kid with a hobby, and I did not want to let it go. School should have been my number one priority, but instead I found it much more interesting to uncover a government secret than learn the formulas of geometry."

As long-time FATE readers know, the original "UFO mystery" of the fifties has evolved into the political "UFO problem" of the 21st century. Accordingly, Greenewald's paperback companion to, and snapshot of, the Black Vault rightfully takes its place beside another classic -- journalist Mort Young's 1967 tome "UFO: Top Secret."

In the course of his UFOlogical research, Young somehow had gained access to some files generated by the old USAF Project Blue Book (not a mean feat back in the mid-sixties). Of course, he realized, as does Greenewald today, that those files represent only the tip of the official UFOiceberg -- as epitomized by his closing observation: "Because all UFO material is supposedly available to the public, the field of inquiry is open to every citizen of the United States. Yet when the government is contacted and asked about UFO's, the knowledge gained is not about UFO's, but about how the government really operates day to day."

Thus has Greenewald come full circle to Young's "Catch-22"-ish conclusion. (He even provides an appendix listing various federal agencies' FOIA points-of-contact for those who would dare follow in his FOIA-warrior footsteps.) His youthful journey may not match the polished prose of veteran reporter Young, but his continuing passion, stamina, and vision will help us all look into and "Beyond UFO Secrecy" (and any of its sequels) for answers too long denied us by the keepers of the Ultimate Secret.

By Larry W. Bryant

"The Roswell Dig Diaries (A SciFi Channel Book) --
SciFi DECLASSIFIED," edited by Mike McAvennie
(Pocket Books (New York); 2004,
Trade Paperback, 264 pages)

When the news broke that New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson recently had
authored the foreword to this classic of Roswell-ana (in which he asserts
the desirability -- nay, the need -- for reopening a formal, in-depth
investigation of the Roswell Incident (R.I.) of July 1947), I
instinctively recalled a prescient moment of commentary in post-R.I.
time.

It occurred a few years ago in St. Louis, on the weekend of a special
UFO-reality "disclosure conference" at which several seasoned UFO
researchers had gathered to hold forth on their latest projects/findings.

For my part, I'd joined Stanton T. Friedman and Richard Dolan as special
guests of radio talkmeister George Noory in a live broadcast from the
local AM station, KTRS. At one point in the discussion, I turned to the
ever-avuncular Stan and referred to the R.I. case as "the dead horse that
never dies." His wry chuckle revealed a hint, as if to say, "There's
more to come of Roswell, fella!"

And, indeed, if you can judge from this liberally illustrated chronicle
of the archeological "testing" conducted near Roswell, N. M., during a
1-month period by experts from the University of New Mexico at the behest
of cable TV's SciFi Channel, then Stan's tacit promise of "more to come"
has been far from empty. The tie-in brainchild of a documentary series
called "SciFi DECLASSIFIED," The Roswell Dig Diaries rounds out my
collection of several books, videotapes, and numerous articles about R.I.
events, controversies, and personalities -- an instant collector's item
as well as a launch pad for further research.

In particular, I find the book's Introduction ("Digging up the Truth" --
by Roswellian researchers Thomas J. Carey and Donald R. Schmitt) to be
especially useful -- to both the R.I. aficionado and the tyro amongst us
-- as an insightful tone-setter and field guide for the detail-laden
content to follow. In Carey-Schmitt's words: "[The UNM archeologists et
al.] agreed that the dig should be undertaken, given its historical
import to the state of New Mexico as well as its potential payoff -- the
definitive answer to one of the great mysteries of all time, and the
possibility of proof that we are not alone in the universe."

Also especially useful for any reader trying to gain (and retain) an
overall picture of the what/why/where/when/who/how aspects of the Roswell
story and its ongoing aftermath will be the post-Intro section called
"The Story So Far . . . a Time Line" -- which occupies the next 17 pages
of the book.

Then ensues a chronology from the SciFi DECLASSIFIED staff, tracing the
dig project's progress from its inception in the spring of 2002 to its
conclusion that fall. For me, the most interesting part of this section
consists of background correspondence (including various
behind-the-scenes e-mail messages) from the project's planners,
executors, and documentalists. Along the way, the chronology highlights
relevant official UNM documentation and key federal paperwork generated
during the planning/execution stages. (Some of this material, by the
way, remains quite familiar to me, since I'd acquired it via
freedom-of-information requests sent to UNM records officials and to
their counterparts at the U. S. Bureau of Land Management (which has
oversight authority on anything occurring at the reputed UFO-crash debris
field on what used to be called the Foster Ranch, in Lincoln County).)

Those who revel in vicariously reliving historical events -- and the R.I.
scratching-around certainly will add to New Mexico's history -- will find
especially appealing the series of first-person accounts that spawned the
book's very title: the dig's selected participants' diaries. Here's an
excerpt from volunteer Chuck Zukowski's notes:

"Today starts as usual -- in front of Wal-Mart by 6:30 a.m. This time,
however, the SciFi crew stays in town to tape interviews. After a cup of
Joe and gas for the vehicles, we make pretty good time getting to the
dig; Dr. Bill [Doleman, UNM-based project chief] likes to drive fast."

Even for the most casual reader, the R.I. dig saga offers other levels of
interest, such as --

-- The reported results of a SciFi-commissioned Roper national poll
conducted in August 2002 to ascertain "Americans' Beliefs and Personal
Experiences" as regards "UFOs and Extraterrestrial Life." The percentage
of those "who believe government does not tell everything it knows about
UFOs" came in at 72.

-- The SciFi Channel's commissioning of a public-service initiative to
use the U. S. Freedom of Information Act for ferreting out suppressed UFO
data from such USAF operations as Project Moon Dust and Operation Blue
Fly. Included in the initiative was a high-profile statement of the case
against official UFO secrecy, delivered at the National Press Club in
Washington on Oct. 22, 2002, by Pres. Clinton's former White House chief
of staff, John Podesta.

-- The TV-broadcast milestone of the Nov. 22, 2002, SciFi Channel's
"original special," titled "The Roswell Crash: Startling New Evidence"
(as based on the R.I. dig project).

-- Dr. Doleman's "Final Report" on the R.I. "archeological testing"
project, as submitted, in July 2003, to the SciFi Channel. For some (as
yet-to-be explained) reason, BLM FOIA officials have yet to send me a
copy of the report in response to my months-old request for it.

Of course, for me the most compelling level of neo-R.I. interest happens
to be that anti-secrecy initiative supported by Podesta with input from
his brother's public-relations firm in Washington. In that regard, I've
taken a cue from Gov. Richardson's comment quoted on page 169: "I don't
think the U. S. government has fully disclosed everything they know
[about the Roswell Incident]."

Indeed, governor -- and that's why, on Aug. 18, 2004, I sent to you an
"open letter" reminding you of New Mexico's constitutional provision for
the empaneling of a state grand jury upon a given county district court's
receipt of the requisite several hundred citizens' signatures on a
petition calling for that empanelment. In the case of Roswell, this
specially empaneled grand jury in Chaves (or Lincoln) County would
exercise its investigatory-and-reporting function as a sort of Truth
Commission focusing on various R.I.-related questions (not the least of
which would be: "What harm has come to any New Mexico citizen via any
acts of commission and/or omission on the part of any official associated
with the crash-retrieval operation?").

As the SciFi Channel continues to promote every tie-in, spin-off, and
rehash available from its initial $25k investment in the Roswell Dig,
how can we not conclude that the dead horse of Roswell remains no mere
gelding?