Leslie Kean - UFOs

Ever since the Globe story solidified my interest and increased my confidence, I have been focused on investigating and coming to terms with this subject—a process that never ends. Fundamentally, after many years of research and in-depth interviews with key players, I have learned that UFOs are a genuine scientific mystery. There have been extraordinary UFO sightings occurring in America for more than sixty years, many by pilots and military personnel, and many yielding physical evidence. Volumes of case studies have been published [5] 5 Volumes of case studies have been published There are too many to mention, including many white papers, transcripts, magazine stories, journal articles, and books about a specific case or one particular aspect of UFO research. Much outstanding work is also published on a number of credible websites, and other books have been written more recently. The following works cover the UFO topic in general and were of particular importance to me personally during my first few years of study, from 1999 to 2001: Edward J. Ruppelt, The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects (Doubleday, 1956; revised edition 1959); Richard H. Hall, editor, The UFO Evidence (NICAP, 1964); Edward U. Condon, Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects (Bantam Books, 1969); J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience: A Scientific Inquiry (Marlowe & Company, 1972); David Jacobs, The UFO Controversy in America (Indiana University Press, 1975); Lawrence Fawcett and Barry J. Greenwood, Clear Intent (Prentice-Hall, 1984); Timothy Good, Above Top Secret (William Morrow, 1988); Don Berliner, UFO Briefing Document (Dell, 1995); Budd Hopkins, Witnessed (Pocket Books, Simon & Schuster, 1996); Stanton T. Friedman, Top Secret/Majic (Marlowe & Co., 1996); Clifford E. Stone, UFOs Are Real (SPI Books, 1997); Jerome Clark, The UFO Encyclopedia , 2nd edition, vols. 1 and 2 (Omnigraphics, Inc, 1998); Peter A. Sturrock, The UFO Enigma: A New Review of the Physical Evidence (Warner Books, 1999); Richard M. Doland, UFOs and the National Security State (Keyhole Publishing Company, 2000); Terry Hansen, The Missing Times (Xlibris, 2000); Bruce Maccabee, UFO/FBI Connection (Llewellyn Publications, 2000); Richard H. Hall, The UFO Evidence: A Thirty-Year Report , vol. 2 (The Scarecrow Press, 2001). More comprehensive reading lists can be found at http://www.cufon.org/cufon/rlist/a-n.htm and http://www.cufos.org/books.html . by qualified researchers and scientists since the 1950s, documenting UFO incidents all over the globe and leaving a solid record begging for further analysis by contemporary scientists.

The most credible sources clearly recognized, and stated repeatedly, that we don’t yet know what the objects are—contrary to public assumptions that UFOs, by definition, are extraterrestrial spaceships. But I had to come to terms, over and over again, with the fact that these amazing, high-performance unidentified objects do exist, without question—just as the COMETA authors had unequivocally stated. There is enough data available to make this clear to anyone who decides to take the time to study it. Because that alone was so potentially explosive, I couldn’t quite understand the indifference it generated among those who took it seriously enough to rise above ridicule but who nonetheless remained blasé and disinterested.

Eventually I came to realize—repeatedly, through the research and publication of my subsequent stories, each of which seemed like earth-shattering news to me then but was never enough to stimulate change—that the UFO story could not be properly told, nor could the taboo be overcome, through any one short news piece, [6] 6 through any one short news piece Some examples of my additional stories are: “Pilot Encounters with UFOs: New Study Challenges Secrecy and Denial,” Providence Journal and Knight Ridder wire service, May 3, 2001; “Open UFO Files to Rest of Us Earthlings,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Knight Ridder/Tribune wire service, December 13, 2002; “Forty Years of Secrecy: NASA, the Military and the 1965 Kecksburg Crash,” International UFO Reporter (IUR), the journal of the J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies, vol. 30, no 1, October 2005; “Just What Was That Object Hovering Overhead at O’Hare?” Scripps-Howard News Service, February 26, 2007; “Former Arizona Governor Now Admits Seeing UFO,” Arizona Daily Courier , March 18, 2007. See www.freedomofinfo.org for more about my work. no matter how many there were. I now believe that the only way to adequately convey the full story—to really break the news about the existence of UFOs and convey the impact of the material for the person so far unexposed to it—is through a book such as this one, which includes some of the world’s best sources speaking in detail for themselves. Sound bites and short quotes cannot carry a story of this magnitude.

The chapters you are about to read will address the fundamental questions about UFOs that concern so many people. What do we really know about them? Is it actually possible that some of these objects are from outer space? Do pilots ever see them? How do governments and militaries handle sightings? Why is there so much ridicule and denial about UFOs in America? The answers, on all counts, are nothing short of astonishing.

As any journalist would, I have relied on official sources, documents released through the Freedom of Information Act, corroborated case reports, physical evidence, and numerous interviews with military and aviation witnesses and government investigators from around the world. I’ve come to know many of these official witnesses personally, and have no doubt as to the credibility of their accounts, which are almost always corroborated by others. Some have conveyed information, and showed me documents, that must remain off the record because of their sensitivity, and other such documents, provided by very trustworthy sources, cannot be verified or corroborated but are still valuable as background. I have also met, interviewed, and come to know numerous civilian witnesses over the years, regular people from all walks of life, who have impressed me with their sincere and clear accounts of amazing UFO incidents. They, too, have made essential contributions to the search for understanding about the phenomenon.

My role here is to write as an objective observer, and as a guide. At the same time, I take a position in support of an effort to solve the many unresolved questions about UFOs, rather than ignoring them, and in support of the witnesses and experts who have come forward. In so doing, I’m directly and openly confronting irrational attitudes and misinformation. This means I’m practicing a form of “advocacy journalism,” something that I’ve never objected to and that is the modus operandi for many investigative reporters who dig into a story to serve a greater cause. I’m not a “believer” in anything except respect for the facts, even when they don’t conform to our established worldview. The UFO issue is so unorthodox that even a straightforward, rational approach can seem as though it’s crossed a line into questionable territory. I’ve done my best to keep all this information clear, logical, and well-documented.

That is why much of this book consists of personal accounts from expert investigators and witnesses who will address the UFO issue directly, some for the first time. Through their words, readers will be given firsthand access to the material, and can arrive at their own informed conclusions.

These individuals from nine countries are highly trained men who were assigned the daunting job of confronting this phenomenon through intimate investigation, or who directly witnessed it, not by any choice of their own. Some of them have been given access to secret files, insider witnesses, and unfolding case investigations way beyond the reach of any journalist or anyone outside of their closed, privileged world. They are coming forward collectively here, to give all of us access, and to explain what they know about UFOs, in their professional capacity as pilots, government officials, and high-ranking military officers.