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   PID: Synchronet 3.19b-Win32 master/a2a9dc027 Jan  2 2022 MSC 1928   
   TID: SBBSecho 3.14-Win32 master/a2a9dc027 Jan  2 2022 MSC 1928   
   BBSID: RICKSBBS   
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   SUBJECT: ED. FROM VICKI COOPER OF UFO MAGAZINE               FILE: UFO1181   
      
      
   Feb. 7, 1989   
      
   In a manner like no other civilian field of endeavor with heavy geopolitical   
   overtones, UFO research is a mine field of covert operations by agencies   
   connected with the government and military powers.  In the 40-plus years   
   Americans have been aware of the phenomenon, "Big Brother's" hand has   
   effectively stymied the free flow of dependable, factual information on   
   UFOs and has managed to keep whatever evidence it has deeply hidden.   
      
   Shielded by the worn-out canard of "national security," members of an   
   "invisible government" maneuver undetected throughout the UFO community. In   
   that sense, ufology reflects the wider use of secrecy measures which are   
   usually inappropriate, often illegal and always antithetical to what most of   
   us would consider an open, principled democracy.  But the distinction of   
   Ufology--which is already an offbeat underground of sorts--is its readymade   
   cushion of myth and propaganda, backed by an atmosphere of debunkery and   
   ridicule, which makes the so-called "cover-up" a more-or-less natural   
   extension of prevailing cultural attitudes about the phenomena.   
      
   Legitimate interest and research in UFO/alien _facts_ remain the purview of   
   a hardy and courageous and very tiny minority.  The lack of legitimizing   
   efforts by mainstream science and media leaves ufology endlessly "out in the   
   cold," where decent investigators find themselves in a sea polluted with   
   manipulators, hoaxsters and charlatans, and no directional guide on how to   
   detect the "agents among us."  Since the days of NICAP's overwhelming   
   infiltration by CIA elements, the discovery of Blue Book as little more than   
   hype, and the official stonewalling that still greets any sincere   
   questioning of government agencies by citizenry, the dangers of covert world   
   have only increased.   
      
   That danger is bolstered by the forth estate, when it comes to UFOs, not   
   minimized or exposed: UFO is still a subject which few journalists can   
   report on with a straight face and in a serious tone of voice.  Without   
   grounded facts, the UFO phenomenon in general inspires false hopes and a   
   range of fanciful speculations, but little real reflection and fact   
   gathering. Why?   
      
            1. The phenomenon itself operates on the principle of deception and   
            secrecy.   
      
            2. Those who study the phenomenon tend to gravitate toward   
            information that supports their pet theories and will shut out most   
            anything else.   
      
            3. Ufology tends to be a petty "in-crowd" prone to fragmentation   
            and dissent.   
      
            4. The covert forces ensure that ufology remains in a state of   
            fragmentation and dissent.   
      
            5. The covert forces infiltrate the field, manipulate its members   
            and exploit valuable research and case material to suit their own   
            purposes.   
      
   And finally, the covert forces overlay the UFO community with less-   
   than-honorable counterintelligence "games" designed to fulfill several   
   purposes at once, not the least of which appears to be the implementation of   
   psychological warfare against vulnerable UFO researchers and witnesses.   
      
   I believe that the Billy Meier case, the Gulf Breeze events, the "Lear   
   material" and the entire MJ-12 imbroglio have to some degree or another been   
   examples of covert action by factions in the intelligence community with an   
   accent on counterintelligence.  With MJ-12 in particular, the scent of "red   
   herring" and expert manipulation and diversion is POWERFUL.   
      
            I have very little to prove the above allegations.  Let's just say   
            my intuitive self refuses to let go of this semi-paranoid   
            scenario.   
      
            Paranoia is justified in today's world.   
      
            One last note: the "covert forces" just may be BOTH alien and   
            human!   
      
      
      
   - Vicki Cooper, UFO Magazine   
      
                    
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