SSR - STAR STREAM RESEARCH
|
spacetime threat assessment reports |
|
Trickster Tales
An Exploration of Boundary Merging Between the UFO Culture,
Parapsychology, and Intelligence Agencies
What started out as
an investigative search for irrefutable proof of extraterrestrials and
alleged crashed alien craft lead to the unearthing of an even more
bizarre tale. Whilst the majority of information alleging
extraterrestrial visitation remains highly speculative, what is apparent
is a weird world of espionage and counter-intelligence (CI), which
bleeds into an even stranger world of paranormal phenomena. There are
many layers to this onion; the ET/crashed-craft tales are only the
outer layer.
The Trickster character has been extensively documented over the years
by anthropologists, social scientists and occult writers, amongst
others. Tricksters are generally associated with de-structuring,
boundary crossing and the blurring of distinctions. Shape-shifting,
unruly and contradictory the Trickster is an adept at paradox. He dwells
in the liminal realms – betwixt and between the conscious and
unconsciousness mind, the rational and irrational, and haunts our dreams
between sleep and waking. In his most exulted form he becomes the
‘messenger’ - Creator's helper, Trickster to Transformer.
Paul Radin writes, in
his book "The Trickster," “Trickster is at one and the same time creator
and destroyer, giver and negator, he who dupes others and who is always
duped himself . . . He possesses no values, moral or social, is at the
mercy of his passions and appetites, yet through his actions all values
come into being.” [a]
Carl Jung, in an
appendix in Radin’s volume, writes, “Trickster is both subhuman and
superhuman, a bestial and divine being, whose most alarming
characteristic is his unconsciousness . . . he is so unconscious of
himself that his body is not a unity, and his two hands fight each
other.”
UFO Tales Part One: "It's Alive!"
It’s the author’s contention that
Intel factions built diverse and highly complex counter-intelligence
strategies around an alleged incident in 1947, which was later to take
on an almost mythological standing. A ‘modern myth’ perhaps, but one
wherein lies at its core a much older story, a story which is
intrinsically ensconced within the human psyche, yet unrealized, in the
early days at least, by the military strategists. I’m certainly not
alone in arguing this point. Did these strategists create a monster, a
monster now out of control and running amuck by its own volition? But
like Frankenstein’s monster, the life giving force which truly brought
him into being was already prevalent. Not electricity in our modern
monster’s case, but a cosmic narrative communicated by the Trickster /
Transformer, out of which myths are born, legends created and cultures
shaped.
The birth of the UFO
culture:
On July 8th, 1947, the USA Army Air Forces* base located near Roswell,
New Mexico, released a statement to the press saying that it had
captured a crashed flying disk. The story was published in a number of
local and national papers, and then was suddenly retracted.
Claims that the flying
disk was actually a weather balloon were subsequently issued by the
military. The story died and was mainly forgotten about, except for a
group of fringe UFO enthusiasts. In 1978, an article appeared in the
National Inquirer which reported a former intelligence officer, Major
Jesse Marcel, claimed that he had recovered UFO debris near Roswell in
1947. UFO researcher, Stanton Friedman, met with Marcel and began
investigating Marcel’s claims. In 1980 Charles Berlitz and William Moore
further rekindled public interest when they published The Roswell
Incident.
In an online article,
written by Kal Korff promoting his 1997 book The Roswell UFO Crash:
What They Don't Want You to Know, Korff discusses Marcel:
| |
From
"Major
Jesse Marcel: The Hidden Truth," by Kal Korff
"In my book I
publish for the first time excerpts from the military file of
Jesse Marcel, excerpts which prove that although Marcel served
his country honorably, he was not a credible witness and should
not be considered as such. (Despite this fact, Stanton Friedman
and other pro-UFO Roswell authors consider his every word to be
gospel truth.)
The file is
extremely incriminating, for it clearly demonstrates that Marcel
had a penchant for exaggerating things while repeatedly trying
to "write himself" into the history books. Ironically, Marcel's
tendency to exaggerate was specifically noted in his military
file by none other than the commander of the base at Roswell at
that time, in a review of his performance that was signed just
after the incident occurred.
Marcel claimed that he personally flew the UFO wreckage to
Carswell AFB. He could not have done so, for he was never a
pilot. Despite this, Marcel claimed in numerous interviews with
Friedman and former National Enquirer reporter Bob Pratt that he
was not only a pilot but had managed to shoot down five enemy
aircraft! If so, this would have made Marcel an "ace," a
distinction that certainly would have been noted in his military
file. Instead, there's no record of this or even anything close,
and in fact it was General Ramey who specifically noted in
Marcel's file that because he was not a pilot, he would be
severely limited in his career opportunities in the Air Force.
It's no wonder, then, that Marcel would later "blame" Ramey for
the "UFO cover-up" at Roswell.
Marcel claimed he had a bachelor's degree in physics and even
named the universities he attended. However, when I checked with
those institutions, I discovered that one of them he never
attended, and he never finished his education at the other.
Curiously, while Marcel blatantly lied to UFO researchers such
as Friedman about his mythical educational background, he never
dared make such false claims to the military. Indeed, in signed
statements contained in Marcel's military file, he replies
"none" when asked under oath if he had a college degree.
Does this tell us that Marcel knew his gullible UFO peers would
never check on him anyway? Or did he even care? We don't know.”
[1] |
|
In 1984, the heat was
turned up when Jamie Shandera, a close friend of William Moore,
mysteriously received a roll of undeveloped film. On processing, the
photos revealed classified documents which were to become known as the
‘MJ-12’ documents. The ‘12’ of the MJ-12 referred to twelve highly
placed individuals, allegedly charged with managing an alien retrieval
cover-up. The documents contain information relating to alien crashed
craft, wreckage storage, military installations and scientific
facilities and laboratories. The Majestic Twelve operation was allegedly
created under an executive order on September 24th, 1947. The MJ panel
was empowered to sequestrate all available evidence and data collected
by the government, military and intelligence agencies pertaining to
alien contact and technology.
Projects which have
been dubiously linked to MJ-12 include: Project Sign, Project Grudge and
Project Blue Book.
Public USAF [United
States Air Forces] UFO studies were first initiated under Project Sign
at the end of 1947, following widely-publicized UFO reports. Project
Sign was initiated specifically at the request of General Nathan
Twining, chief of the Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air
Force Base.
Sign was officially
inconclusive regarding the cause of the sightings. It has been reported
that according to Captain Edward J. Ruppelt, the first director of
Project Blue Book, Sign's initial intelligence estimate, written in the
late summer of 1948, concluded that the flying saucers were real craft,
were not made by either the Russians or the United States, and were
likely extraterrestrial in origin. This estimate was forwarded to the
Pentagon, but subsequently ordered destroyed by General Hoyt Vandenberg,
USAF Chief of Staff, due to a lack of physical proof. Vandenberg
subsequently dismantled Sign.
Project Sign was
succeeded at the end of 1948 by Project Grudge. Ruppelt evidently
referred to the era of Project Grudge as the "dark ages" of early USAF
UFO investigation. As might be expected, Grudge concluded that all UFOs
were natural phenomena or other misinterpretations, although it also
stated that 23 percent of the reports could not be explained. According
to Ruppelt, by the end of 1951, several high-ranking, very influential
USAF generals were so dissatisfied with the state of Air Force UFO
investigations that they dismantled Project Grudge and replaced it with
Project Blue Book in 1952.
The goal of Project
Blue Book was to determine if UFOs were a potential threat to national
security. Thousands of UFO reports were collected, analyzed and filed.
As the result of the Condon Report, Project Blue Book was shut down in
1969. This project was the last publicly known UFO research project led
by the USAF. By the time Project Blue Book ended in 1969, it had amassed
some 12,618 UFO reports, and concluded that most were misidentifications
of natural phenomena or conventional aircraft. A few were considered
hoaxes. 701 of the reports were classified as unknown. The reports were
archived and are available under the Freedom of Information Act, but
names and other personal information of all witnesses have been
redacted. A number of researchers postulate that only the mundane data
contained within the files was handed over and released for the FOIA,
and further suggest that the remaining, still highly classified
documents are in the custody of one of the US Air Force's top military
personnel.
Project Blue Book, at
the very least, was certainly authentic. The FBI had this to say:
| |
“Project Blue Book: This small file relates to an Air Force
program for the investigation of Unidentified Flying Objects.
The Secretary of the Air Force discontinued this program in
1969.”
In their UFO
Fact Sheet they state that on December 17, 1969, the Secretary
of the Air Force announced the termination of Project Blue Book,
the Air Force program for the investigation of UFOs.
“The decision
to discontinue UFO investigations was based on an evaluation of
a report prepared by the University of Colorado entitled,
“Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects;” a review of
the University of Colorado’s report by the National Academy of
Sciences; past UFO studies; and Air Force experience
investigating UFO reports during the past two decades.
As a result of
these investigations and studies, and experience gained from
investigating UFO reports since 1948, the conclusions of Project
Blue Book are: (1) no UFO reported, investigated, and evaluated
by the Air Force has ever given any indication of threat to our
national security; (2) there has been no evidence submitted to
or discovered by the Air Force that sightings categorized as
“unidentified” represent technological developments or
principals beyond the range of present day scientific knowledge;
and (3) there has been no evidence indicating that sightings
categorized as “unidentified” are extraterrestrial vehicles.”
[2]
|
|
The FBI also commented
on an investigation into the MJ-12 documents:
“Subject concerns an
FBI inquiry into a possible unauthorized disclosure of classified
information when a document marked "Top Secret" was made public. The
investigation was closed after it was learned that the document was
completely bogus.” [3]
The JASON's
A somewhat shadowy group known collectively as The JASON Group have been
implicated with MJ-12. Although I’ve yet to find supporting evidence to
link the JASONs with MJ-12, they are certainly worth a mention here.
The JASONs are a select
group of world class scientists who conduct studies for different parts
of the U.S. government. The group is referred to as the "JASON Defense
Advisory Group," or simply the "JASON Group." The group was established
in the 1960’s to encourage a younger generation of scientists to get
involved in advising the government.
For administrative purposes, JASON activities are run through the
non-profit MITRE Corporation in McLean, Virginia that contracts with the
defense department. Its sponsors include the Department of Defence
(frequently DARPA and the U.S. Navy), the Department of Energy, and the
U.S. intelligence community. [4]
The JASON page on
Wikipedia explains the origins of the name:
| |
From Wikipedia:
“The name
"JASON" is sometimes explained as an acronym, standing either
for "July-August-September-October-November", the months in
which the group would typically meet; or, tongue-in-cheek, for
"Junior Achiever, Somewhat Older Now." But neither explanation
is right and in fact, the name is not an acronym at all. It's
simply a reference to the Greek myth, Jason. The wife of one of
the founders thought the name given by the defense department,
Project Sunrise, was unimaginative and suggested the group be
named for a hero and his search.” [5]
|
|
JASON
members are selected for their scientific brilliance. The members
include: physicists, computer scientists, chemists, biologists,
mathematicians; and all have security clearances. The JASONs also boast
eleven Nobel Prize laureates.
MAJESTIC MJ-12
Returning to the MJ-12 documents: In 1989, William Moore publicly
admitted that he might not have told the complete truth about his
previous UFO activities, and is currently widely suspected of being
complicit in hoaxing the now infamous MJ-12 documents. Recently an SSR
contact informed us that his ‘insider source’ had suggested that the
MJ-12 documents did in fact contain some top secret information. He
writes:
“Part of the problem is
that [redacted] has determined that the fake MJ-12 documents circulated
by Rick [Doty] did actually contain some classified material. This
classified material had previously been passed to the Russians.”
Richard C. Doty is a former agent for the U.S. Air Force Office of
Special Investigations (AFOSI). In 1985, Doty was transferred to an
AFOSI post in West Germany and assigned to counter-intelligence work. On
returning to the States, he spent the last couple of years before his
retirement, at Kirtland AFB.
It has been noted by several sources that William Moore was a friend and
co-worker of Doty’s during the 80’s. The term ‘MJ Twelve’ allegedly
first appeared on a one-page teletype message dated Nov. 17, 1980,
pertaining to UFOs which Doty allegedly provided to Moore in early 1981,
four years before Shandera mysteriously received the MJ-12 roll of film.
As previously mentioned, there are a number of keen observers who
propose that Moore and Doty were both complicit in a hoax. However,
neither Moore nor Doty have admitted that they worked together to
manufacture the original group of MJ-12 documents. Doty claims that his
interest in Bill Moore was simply because Moore was in correspondence
with certain Soviet scientists, in regard to UFOs and possibly other
matters. It has been suggested that Doty instructed Moore as to what
subjects he should bring up in his letters to these scientists. If they
were both complicit in a hoax, it’s highly unlikely that they were
working on their own. There is enough circumstantial evidence to
conclude that Doty’s activities, at least, were officially sanctioned.
In 1988, CIA personnel met with Col. Richard Weaver and Col. Barry
Hennessey, who Doty has claimed was once his superior officer. The CIA
enquired about Doty’s activities.
Author George Hansen
writes:
“…when I called Colonel
Hennessey and inquired whether he had attended such a meeting, after a
long, long, long pause, he responded with something like: "There wasn’t any
reason to have such a meeting.” I did not press him and
let the matter drop. I can only conclude that Hennessey was being
intentionally misleading. Colonel Weaver later admitted to me that he
had attended the meeting and was asked about Doty.” [b]
Starstream Research
received an email on 3rd of July, 2006, from one of participants of the
1988 meeting. This was in response to an exchange between several people
discussing an article published on the SSR website. The email was sent
to correct speculative and sensitive material contained within that
article. The article was later withdrawn from the website:
“The meeting you
referenced with Col. Hennessey and Col. Weaver was unofficial in
response to a personal request of an ex-CIA officer who had recently met
with Doty and was startled by some of Doty's claims. I participated only
as a friend of that ex-CIA
officer………the meeting ended amicably.”
In 1994, the USAF
commissioned a full report on the Roswell incident, hoping to put the
matter to bed once and for all. Col. Richard Weaver was placed in charge
of collating the materiel and writing the report. The official USAF
tasking was directed by the March 1, 1994, memorandum from SAF/AA:
| |
“DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE
WASHlNGTON D.C. 10330.1ooc
OiC,CL OF 7-e SEC’E7’P”
MEMORANDUM FOR DISTRIBUTION
1 March 1994
SUBJECT: GAO
Review on Records Management Procedures Dealing with Weather
Balloons, Unknown Aircraft, and Similar Crash Incidents
(GAO Code
701034) - ACTION MEMORANDUM
References: (a)
23 Feb 94 DoDAG Memorandum, Subj. same as above
(b) 15 Feb 94 GAO Memorandum of Review Notification
The Department
of Defense and other executive branch agencies are undergoing a
review by the GAO concerning whether the US government has “met
its responsibility in the handling, retention, and subsequent
disposition of official records concerning the investigation and
reporting of air vehicle and other crash incidents similar to
the reported crash of a weather balloon near Roswell, New Mexico
in July 1947.” To fulfill the Air Force portion of this review,
addressees, as applicable, are requested to:
(a) identify
pertinent directives concerning records retention and
disposition;
(b) identify
pertinent directives concerning reporting air vehicle crashes,
investigations, and wreckage/debris retention and disposition;
(c) identify
rvly records (unclassified or classified) related to air vehicle
(aircraft, lighter-than-aircraft, rocket/missile, or other)
impacts or crashes in New Mexico from 20 June to 31 July 1947;
identify record groups and/or other indexes associated with
these records for further review; and
(d) Provide
copies of pertinent directives (including any changes of
policies on retention and disposition) and records (i.e., item c
above) to SAF/AAZ. 1720 Air Force Pentagon, Washington DC
20330-1720.
Please provide
your responses (interim or final) by 14 Mar 94. Contact Col
Weaver or Lt Col Butler at DSN 223-2013/1 or commercial (703)
693-201311 if there are any questions.” [6] |
|
The conclusion: The Air
Force research found no indication that the incident near Roswell in
1947, involved any type of extraterrestrial craft.
| |
James McAndrew,
1ST LT, USAFR writes in the Introduction to the report:
“As this study
makes abundantly clear, the Declassification and Review Team
found no evidence of any extraterrestrial craft or alien flight
crew. In fact, what they did find had been declassified for more
than twenty years-a shadowy, formerly Top Secret project,
code-named MOGUL."
Project MOGUL
resulted from two important post-World War II priorities set by
the
Commanding General of the Army Air Forces, Henry H. “Hap”
Arnold. These were to continue the cooperative wartime
relationship between civilian research institutions and the
military, and to maintain America’s technological superiority,
especially with respect to guarding against a bolt from the
blue-in other words, a devastating surprise attack.
MOGUL addressed
both of these concerns. Developed partly under contract with
leading scientific institutions-such as New York University
(NYU), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Columbia
University, and the University of California at Los Angeles -
MOGUL’s objective was to develop a long-range system capable of
detecting Soviet nuclear detonations and ballistic missile
launches.
Army Air Forces officials assembled an expert group of military
and civilian scientists to carry out the project. The group
included Dr. W. Maurice Ewing of Columbia University, a
preeminent geophysicist and oceanographer; Dr. Athelstan F.
Spilhaus, the Director of Research at NYU who later advised five
presidents on scientific and cultural matters; Dr. James
Peoples, the Air Force’s civilian project scientist and later
editor of the Journal of Geophysical Research; Albert P. Crary,
also a civilian Air Force scientist, known for significant
contributions to Antarctic research; and Charles B. Moore,
Project Engineer at NYU and an atmospheric physicist who
pioneered the use of giant plastic research balloons still
widely used today. Col. Marcellus Duffy, a respected Air Force
pilot and scientific administrator, led the project. Capt.
Albert C. Trakowski, a young Massachusetts Institute of
Technology graduate, followed Duffy in the leadership role.
Determining whether the Soviets were testing nuclear devices was
of the highest national priority; it demanded the utmost secrecy
if the information gained was to be useful. When the Soviets
exploded their first atomic device in August 1949, the
experimental Project MOGUL was not in operation. However, the
explosion was detected by a specially equipped Air Force B-29
aircraft. Accordingly, MOGUL was conducted under stringent
security-secluded laboratories, code words, maximum security
clearances, and strictest enforcement of need-to-know rules.
Nevertheless,
while the nature of the project remained shrouded in secrecy,
some of its operations obviously could not. The deployment of
giant trains of balloons-over thirty research balloons and
experimental sensors strung together and stretching more than
600 feet-could be neither disguised nor hidden from the public.
Moreover, operational necessity required that these balloons be
launched during daylight hours. It was therefore not surprising
that these balloons were often mistaken for UFOs. In fact, MOGUL
recovery crews often listened to broadcasts of UFO reports to
assist them in their tracking operations. Additionally, the
balloons were undirected, leading to such amusing events as the
one reported by the New York Times in which a secret M~GIJL
balloon “floated blithely over the rooftops of Flatbush causing
general public excitement before it came to rest on top of a
[Brooklyn] tavern."
In another
episode, MOGUL balloon recovery technicians directed a B-17
bomber, which was tracking one of the tests, to buzz and scare
off a curious oil rig crew that was about to “capture” a balloon
train that had fallen near Roswell. The ruse worked. However,
too much activity was going on for the project to remain
completely hidden. A MOGUL project officer later noted, “It was
like having an elephant in your backyard and hoping no one would
notice."
These
occurrences were typical, leading the recovery crews to describe
themselves as 'Balloonatics,' due to the predicaments in which
the wandering balloons sometimes placed them, but the
information the balloons were attempting to obtain was
vital.” [7] |
|
As speculated within the report, the findings did not go down too well
with the UFO hardliners, most claiming the report was simply more USG
disinformation. It is of interest of course that Colonel Weaver was the
man picked for the job. As already established, Colonel Weaver is a
close work colleague of Colonel Hennessey’s. They both attended the 1988
meeting with the CIA regarding Rick Doty. If the Air Force commissioned
Roswell Report was a direct or even partial result of a CIA enquiry into
Doty’s activities, and the MJ-12 documents, why did it take six years to
initiate the report? One has to wonder why Doty was completely omitted
from the report.
| |
Author George
Hansen writes:
“Rick Doty’s
saga is long and convoluted. Through the 1980s he was briefly
mentioned in the UFO literature, but by 1989 the focus had
intensified. That year several researchers made revelations.
Particularly important were Linda Moulton Howe’s book An Alien
Harvest, Robert Hastings’ exposé of William L. Moore, Moore’s
subsequent confession, and a one-page report by Philip J. Klass.
Richard C. Doty and William L. Moore (coauthor of The Roswell
Incident) are intimately tied to Roswell and the MJ-12 papers.
Doty’s activities must be considered in conjunction with those
of Moore. In June 1989, researcher Robert Hastings published an
exposé of William L. Moore in the MUFON UFO journal. It
contained some devastating findings. Hastings reported that
Moore had posed as a government agent during his interactions
with Lee Graham, a researcher who has had a long-time interest
in UFOs and in experimental aircraft. Graham is known for his
openness and integrity, and he has voluntarily provided
colleagues of mine with massive amounts of documents to support
his statements.” [c]
|
|
During a recent series
of private emails, which found their way to a larger on-line list, the
question of Doty’s relationship with Col. Hennessey arose.
A colleague at Star
Stream Research wrote to a member of the Intel community on 27th June
2006:
[To name redacted]
I want to give you the opportunity to offer your point of view re:
Mr Smith’s ‘evidence’ that you approved of or otherwise ‘authorized’
the naming of John Barry Hennessey.”**
** Author’s note: In connection to Doty’s past claims that Hennessey
was/is 'Falcon' of the Aviary.
On 27th June 2006 [name redacted] replied:
“It was Doty who claimed Col. Hennessey was the Falcon, and it was
Doty who claimed Col. Hennessey had provided him (Doty) with UFO
documents for release to the public. My opinion is that Doty
personally forged these documents, that he used the Falcon name to
cover his tracks, and that he had absolutely no professional or
personal relationship with Col. Hennessey.”
On 27th June 2006 Mr. Smith responds:
“There is a set of facts as I have laid them out. [name redacted]
is not disputing those facts.
That there may have been some collusion between Rick [Doty] and his
superiors in the Air Force is not an entirely unreasonable
interpretation of those facts.
It is possible that the entire mythos of government involvement with
phenomenology is entirely the work of one deformed mind. I don’t
think that is the most reasonable interpretation of what we know.
Clearly Rick was not the only actor in the Bennewitz affair. All
agree that there was at least one high level Pentagon/CI person
involved. What was perpetrated on Bennewitz has since been
perpetrated on the entire country, with Rick’s continuing
involvement. The Air Force created this monster. The CIA was left
with the task of trying to clean up the mess.”
Indeed. The monster’s
on the loose and the Trickster is riding him!
To be continued.
Copyright 2006 (c)
Caryn Anscomb. All rights reserved.
Layout copyright 2006
(c) Starstream Research. All rights reserved.
*Author’s note: The United States Army Air Forces became United States
Air Force (USAF) in 1947.
REFERENCES:
[a] Radin, Paul. The Trickster: A Study in American Indian Mythology.
1956. New York: Schecken, 1971. p xxiii.
[b] Hansen, George P. The Trickster and the Paranormal. Xlibris
Corporation. 2001.p233.
[c] Hansen, George P. The Trickster and the Paranormal. p226.
LINKS:
[1]http://www.ufomind.com/misc/1997/aug/d14-001.shtml
[2]http://foia.fbi.gov/filelink.html?file=/bluebook/bluebook.pdf
[3]http://foia.fbi.gov/filelink.html?file=/majestic/majestic.pdf
[4]www.mitre.org
[5]http://help.com/wiki/1312362/jason-defense-advisory-group/
[6]http://www.gl.iit.edu/wadc/history/roswell/Report/pt01a.pdf
[7]
http://www.gl.iit.edu/wadc/history/roswell/Report/pt01a.pdf
|