Knowledge

From: JONIFERRIS <jferris@mindspring.com>
Stunnng High Level French Government Report On UFOs And Defense
From CNI News, Vol 5 No 11, 8-1-99
Note - Our thanks to Michael Lindemann for permission to bring this report to you

The second part, entitled "the present state of knowledge" ("Le point des connaissances"), surveys the organization of official UFO research in France, from the first introductions given to the "gendarmerie" in 1974 for the reaction of reports, to the creation of GEPAN in 1977, its organization and its results: collection of more than 3,000 reports from the gendarmerie, case studies and statistical analyses. It then surveys agreements passed by GEPAN and, later, SEPRA, with the air force and the army, civilian aviation and other organs, such as civilian and military laboratories for the analysis of samples and photographs.

Regarding the methods and results, we are reminded of some famous cases (Trans-en-Provence, l'Amarante), and emphasis is directed to the catalogues of cases, notably of pilots (Weinstein catalogue), and "radar/visual", world wide. A historical note appears here with a quotation of the famous letter of General Twining, of September 1947, asserting the reality of UFOs. [The reference is to a then-secret memorandum sent by U.S. General Nathan Twining to General George Schulgen, in which Twining states: "The phenomenon reported is something real and not visionary or fictitious... There are objects probably approximating the shape of a disk, of such appreciable size as to appear to be as large as man-made aircraft..." Twining notes the impressive aerial performance of these objects, their apparent metallic structure, and other characteristics often associated with UFO reports - ed.]

The following chapter, called "hypotheses and attempts at modeling" ("OVNI: hypotheses, essais de modelisation"), discusses some models and hypotheses which are under study in several countries. Partial simulations have already been made for UFO propulsion, based on observations of aspects such as speed, movement and accelerations, engine failure of nearby vehicles, paralysis of witnesses, etc. One model is MHD [magneto-hydrodynamic] propulsion, already tested successfully in water, and which might be achieved in the atmosphere with superconducting circuits in a few decades. Other studies are briefly mentioned, regarding both atmospheric and space propulsion, such as particle beams, antigravity, reliance on planetary and stellar impulsion. The failure of land vehicle engines may be explained by microwave radiations. In fact, high power hyperfrequency generators are under study in France and other countries. One application is microwave weapons. Particle beams, for instance proton beams, which ionize the air and become therefore visible, might explain the observation of luminous beams. Microwaves might explain body paralysis.

In the same chapter are next studied "global hypotheses." The authors regard hoaxes as rare and easily detected. Some non-scientific hypotheses are put aside, such as conspiracies and manipulations by powerful secret groups, parapsychic phenomena and collective hallucinations. The hypothesis of secret [human] weapons is also regarded as very improbable. We are then left with various extraterrestrial hypotheses. One version has been developed in France by astronomers Jean-Claude Ribes and Guy Monnet, based on the concept of "space islands" of American physicist O'Neill, and it is compatible with present day physics.

The organization of UFO research in the United States, Great Britain and Russia is surveyed rapidly. In the United States, the media and the polls show a marked interest and concern of the public, but the official position, especially of the Air Force, is still one of denial, more precisely that there is no threat to national security. Actually, declassified documents, released under FOIA, show another story, one of surveillance of nuclear installations by UFOs [this has occurred repeatedly in both the US and Russia - ed.] and the continued study of UFOs by the military and intelligence agencies.

The report stresses the importance in the United States of private, independant associations. It mentions the "UFO Briefing Document" [subtitled "Best Available Evidence" - ed.] sent in 1995 to a thousand personalities worldwide, and the Sturrock workshop in 1997, both sponsored by Laurance Rockefeller. The "Briefing Document" has obviously been welcomed by the authors of the COMETA report. The committee also notes the public emergence of alleged insiders such as Colonel Philip Corso, and considers that his testimony may be partly significant as to the real situation in that country, in spite of many critics.

The report describes briefly the situation in Great Britain, with a special mention of Nick Pope [civilian employee at Ministry of Defence, author of two books on UFOs - ed.], and poses the question of the possible existence of secret studies pursued jointly with American services. It mentions as well research in Russia, and the release of some information, notably by the KGB in 1991.