05-31-2024, 10:47 AM
Some UFO/OVNI/UAP statements from 'politicians'.
• Politicians:
• "As a member of the House Committee on Science and Astronautics, I, of course, have had contact with high Air Force officers and have had opportunity to hear their comments on and off the record on the subject of unidentified flying objects. Despite being confronted with seemingly unimpeachable evidence that such phenomena exist, these officers give little credence to the many reports on the matter. When pressed on specific details the experts refuse to answer on grounds that they are involved in the nation's security and cannot be discussed publicly.. I will continue to seek a definite answer to this most important question."
U.S. Congressman Joseph E. Karth - August 24th, 1960.
Link
• "I have discussed this matter with the effected agencies of the government, and they are of the opinion that is it not wise to publicize this matter at this time."
U.S. Senator Richard B. Russell, Jr., head of the Armed Services Committee, following his sighting of two disc-shaped objects during an official trip to the Soviet Union - also present were Lt. Col. Hathaway and interpreter Ruben Efron (CIA, FBI, and Air Force documents obtained through FOIA , 1985) - Transcaucasus region of Russia, October 4th, 1955.
Link / Document: 1 / 2
• "I feel that the Air Force has not been giving out all the available information on the Unidentified Flying Objects. You cannot disregard so many unimpeachable sources."
John McCormack, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States, January, 1965.
Image: 1 / 2
• "UFOs have never been accurately explained. I think there is as much reason to believe that there is something to them as there is for believing that there is not. There is certainly reason for thinking we don't have all the facts and certainly the Senate committee dealing with space should have all the facts."
U.S. Senator Thomas J. Dodd - March 14th, 1960.
Link
• "I have taken a special interest in these UFO accounts because many of the latest reported sightings have been in my home state of Michigan.. Because I think there may be substance to some of these reports and because I believe the American people are entitled to a more thorough explanation than has been given them by the Air Force to date, I am proposing that either the Science and Astronautics Committee or the Armed Services Committee of the House, schedule hearings on the subject of UFOs and invite testimony from both the executive branch of the Government and some of the persons who claim to have seen UFOs.. In the firm belief that the American public deserves a better explanation than that thus far given by the Air Force, I strongly recommend that there be a committee investigation of the UFO phenomena. I think we owe it to the people to establish credibility regarding UFOs and to produce the greatest possible enlightenment on this subject."
U.S. Senator (future President) Gerald Ford.
PDF / Audio / Video: 38:00
• "The Air Force failed in its responsibility in thoroughly investigating this incident (April 17th, 1966 sighting, Pennsylvania). Once people entrusted with the public welfare no longer think people can handle the truth, then the people, in turn, will no longer trust the government."
U.S. Congressman William Stanton.
CUFOS Link Deleted.
• "As reports of these objects continue to appear from many parts of the world, it is quite understandable that there should be a growing interest in seeing some responsible effort made to seek explanations of these phenomena."
Rt. Hon. Harold Wilson, OBE, UK Prime Minister, July, 1967.
Link
• "I must say that if listeners could see for themselves the mass of reports coming in from the airborne gendarmerie, from the mobile gendarmerie, and from the gendarmerie charged with the job of conducting investigations, all of which reports are forwarded by us to the National Center for Space Studies, then they would see that it is all pretty disturbing."
M. Robert Galley - French Minister of Defense. From a national radio interview by Jean-Claude Bourret, on February 21st, 1974.
Link
• "I believe that the attitude of spirit that we must adopt vis-a-vis this phenomena is an open one, that is to say that it doesn't consist in denying apriori, as our ancestors of previous centuries did deny many things that seem nowadays perfectly elementary."
M. Robert Galley, French Minister of Defense - Bourret, Jean-Claude, La nouvelle vague des soucoups volantes (PDF), Paris: editions france-empire, 1975.
• "I cannot help but feel that there may be some justification behind some of the UFO reports. I also feel that if there is any information available within the Government which has not been released to the American public it should be made known. I have every confidence that the American people would be able to take such information without hysteria. The fear of the unknown is always greater than fear of the known."
U.S. Congressman Walter H. Moeller - May 15th, 1959.
Link
• "UFOs defy worldly logic.. The human mind cannot begin to comprehend UFO characteristics: their propulsion, their sudden appearance, their disappearance, their great speeds, their silence, their manoeuvre, their apparent anti-gravity, their changing shapes."
Earl of Kimberly, former Liberal Party spokesman on aerospace - House of Lords, 'Debate on Unidentified Flying Objects' - HANSARD, Lords, vol. 397, no. 23, January 18th, 1979.
Link
• "If one human being out of tens of thousands who allege to have seen these phenomena is telling the truth, then there is a dire need for us to look into the matter."
Lord Davies of Leek - Member of the House of Lords, Debate on Unidentified Flying Objects, January 18th, 1979.
Link
• "Many men have seen them (UFOs) and have not been mistaken. Who are we to doubt their word?.. Only a few weeks ago a Palermo policeman photographed one, and four Italian Navy officers saw a 300-foot long fiery craft rising from the sea and disappearing into the sky.. Why should these men of law enforcement and defense lie?"
Lord Rankeillour, Member of the House of Lords - Debate on Unidentified Flying Objects, January 18th, 1979.
Link
• “Having spent a great deal of my life in the air, as a pilot I know that many pilots have seen phenomena that they could not explain. These men, most of whom have talked to me, have been very reticent to talk about this publicly, because of the ridicule that they were afraid would be heaped upon them.. However, there is a phenomena here that isn't explained.”
U.S. Congressman Jerry L. Pettis - House Committee on Science and Astronautics hearing on UFOs, Ninetieth Congress, Second Sesson, July 29th, 1968.
CUFOS Link Deleted.
• "There are undoubtedly some objects observed directly or on radar scopes which are not subject to positive analysis. However, the public should be given all information which would not adversely affect our national security."
U.S. Senator Stuart Symington - April 17th, 1959.
Link
• “I was in a plane last week when I looked out the window and saw this white light, it was zigzagging around. I went up to the pilot and said ‘Have you seen anything like that before?’ He was shocked and said, ‘Nope.’ And I said to him: ‘Let’s follow it!’ We followed it for several minutes.. to Bakersfield, and all of a sudden to our utter amazement it went straight up into the heavens.”
U.S. President Ronald Reagan describes 1974 UFO encounter with pilot Bill Paynter to veteran newsman Norman C. Miller (then Washington bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal).
Link
• "The increased sightings nationally could lead to a state of panic and hysteria and we ought to be concerned about it."
U.S. Rep. J. Edward Roush (D-Ind.)
Columbus Citizen Journal October 18th, 1973 - discussing the 1973 UFO wave.
Audio
• "I am not one of those who arbitrarily dismiss 'flying saucers' as figments of the imagination. I take them seriously, and I certainly would have no objections to a careful and reasonable investigation of this phenomenon. Too many intelligent and thoroughly responsible people, who have been in positions to observe such unidentified foreign objects, have testified to their conviction that such objects exist for me or anyone else to deny the validity of their observations. Under careful supervision, and with the proper safeguards, I would think that a Congressional investigation would be a worthwhile undertaking."
U.S. Congresswoman Florence P. Dwyer - April 26th, 1960.
Link
• "Congressional investigations.. are still being held on the problem of unidentified flying objects and the problem is one in which there is quite a bit of interest. Since most of the material presented to the committee is classified, the hearings are never printed."
U.S. Congressman William H. Ayres, 1958.
Link
• "I am an Air Force Reserve Officer and have been one for the past 27 years and, consequently, I am, indeed, interested in unidentified flying objects. I, frankly, feel that there is a great deal to this and I have discussed it often with many Air Force Officers."
U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater - August 31st, 1957.
Link
• "I share the concern of my colleagues in Congress about the gravity of the UFO problem.. my genuine desire to see positive action taken to lessen the danger caused by UFOs to air travel and our national security."
U.S. Congressman John F. Shelley - January 28th, 1963.
Link
• "Around Szolnok many UFO reports have been received from the Ministry of Defense, which obviously and logically means that they know very well where they have to land and what they have to do. It is remarkable indeed that the Hungarian newspapers, in general newspapers everywhere, reject the reports of the authorities."
Gyorgy Keleti, Minister of Defense, Hungary - article by Attila Lenart entitled 'Ask a Question to the Minister of Defense: George Keleti, Are You Afraid of a UFO Invasion?', Nepszava, Budapest, August 18th, 1994.
Link
• “Adjuntas is a little town in the Central Range of Puerto Rico, and at this moment, we are very intrigued by some unusual events that are affecting our daily lives.
Some years ago, we noticed the presence of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO) in our skies. At first, we did not give great importance to this matter, but lately these things have appeared again and our citizens are distressed over this. Many, many persons have witnessed the presence of these objects in our surrounding space (evidence of these apparitions is included).
Our purpose in writing you is to ask for your help to clarify what is really happening by ordering an investigation so that the people in our community can keep calm.”
Adjuntas Politician Rigoberto Ramos, letter to U.S. President George W. Bush - Puerto Rico, 1991.
Link
• "First of all, I told a magazine this past January that, as an underdeveloped country with regards to the UFO problem, Japan had to take into account what should be done about the UFO question, and that we had to spend more time on these matters. In addition, I said that someone had to solve the UFO problem with far reaching vision at the same time. Secondly, I believe it is a reasonable time to take the UFO problem seriously as a reality.. I hope that this Symposium will contribute to peace on earth from the point of view of outer space, and take the first step toward the international cooperation in the field of UFOs."
Japanese Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu - letter to Mayor Shiotani of Hakui City, June 24th, 1990.
Link
• “In the particular field of UFOs, not to mention the people who see a flying saucer landing in a field, there are fighter pilots, astronauts, people who are anything but funny and report very precise observations. We must not say that they are nonsense but just recognize that there are things that escape us.”
Alain Juillet, French DGSE director, Senior Economic Intelligence Officer to the Prime Minister.
Link
• Statements from U.S. Congress on UFOs and Congressional investigations (1968).
• Politicians:
• "As a member of the House Committee on Science and Astronautics, I, of course, have had contact with high Air Force officers and have had opportunity to hear their comments on and off the record on the subject of unidentified flying objects. Despite being confronted with seemingly unimpeachable evidence that such phenomena exist, these officers give little credence to the many reports on the matter. When pressed on specific details the experts refuse to answer on grounds that they are involved in the nation's security and cannot be discussed publicly.. I will continue to seek a definite answer to this most important question."
U.S. Congressman Joseph E. Karth - August 24th, 1960.
Link
• "I have discussed this matter with the effected agencies of the government, and they are of the opinion that is it not wise to publicize this matter at this time."
U.S. Senator Richard B. Russell, Jr., head of the Armed Services Committee, following his sighting of two disc-shaped objects during an official trip to the Soviet Union - also present were Lt. Col. Hathaway and interpreter Ruben Efron (CIA, FBI, and Air Force documents obtained through FOIA , 1985) - Transcaucasus region of Russia, October 4th, 1955.
Link / Document: 1 / 2
• "I feel that the Air Force has not been giving out all the available information on the Unidentified Flying Objects. You cannot disregard so many unimpeachable sources."
John McCormack, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States, January, 1965.
Image: 1 / 2
• "UFOs have never been accurately explained. I think there is as much reason to believe that there is something to them as there is for believing that there is not. There is certainly reason for thinking we don't have all the facts and certainly the Senate committee dealing with space should have all the facts."
U.S. Senator Thomas J. Dodd - March 14th, 1960.
Link
• "I have taken a special interest in these UFO accounts because many of the latest reported sightings have been in my home state of Michigan.. Because I think there may be substance to some of these reports and because I believe the American people are entitled to a more thorough explanation than has been given them by the Air Force to date, I am proposing that either the Science and Astronautics Committee or the Armed Services Committee of the House, schedule hearings on the subject of UFOs and invite testimony from both the executive branch of the Government and some of the persons who claim to have seen UFOs.. In the firm belief that the American public deserves a better explanation than that thus far given by the Air Force, I strongly recommend that there be a committee investigation of the UFO phenomena. I think we owe it to the people to establish credibility regarding UFOs and to produce the greatest possible enlightenment on this subject."
U.S. Senator (future President) Gerald Ford.
PDF / Audio / Video: 38:00
• "The Air Force failed in its responsibility in thoroughly investigating this incident (April 17th, 1966 sighting, Pennsylvania). Once people entrusted with the public welfare no longer think people can handle the truth, then the people, in turn, will no longer trust the government."
U.S. Congressman William Stanton.
CUFOS Link Deleted.
• "As reports of these objects continue to appear from many parts of the world, it is quite understandable that there should be a growing interest in seeing some responsible effort made to seek explanations of these phenomena."
Rt. Hon. Harold Wilson, OBE, UK Prime Minister, July, 1967.
Link
• "I must say that if listeners could see for themselves the mass of reports coming in from the airborne gendarmerie, from the mobile gendarmerie, and from the gendarmerie charged with the job of conducting investigations, all of which reports are forwarded by us to the National Center for Space Studies, then they would see that it is all pretty disturbing."
M. Robert Galley - French Minister of Defense. From a national radio interview by Jean-Claude Bourret, on February 21st, 1974.
Link
• "I believe that the attitude of spirit that we must adopt vis-a-vis this phenomena is an open one, that is to say that it doesn't consist in denying apriori, as our ancestors of previous centuries did deny many things that seem nowadays perfectly elementary."
M. Robert Galley, French Minister of Defense - Bourret, Jean-Claude, La nouvelle vague des soucoups volantes (PDF), Paris: editions france-empire, 1975.
• "I cannot help but feel that there may be some justification behind some of the UFO reports. I also feel that if there is any information available within the Government which has not been released to the American public it should be made known. I have every confidence that the American people would be able to take such information without hysteria. The fear of the unknown is always greater than fear of the known."
U.S. Congressman Walter H. Moeller - May 15th, 1959.
Link
• "UFOs defy worldly logic.. The human mind cannot begin to comprehend UFO characteristics: their propulsion, their sudden appearance, their disappearance, their great speeds, their silence, their manoeuvre, their apparent anti-gravity, their changing shapes."
Earl of Kimberly, former Liberal Party spokesman on aerospace - House of Lords, 'Debate on Unidentified Flying Objects' - HANSARD, Lords, vol. 397, no. 23, January 18th, 1979.
Link
• "If one human being out of tens of thousands who allege to have seen these phenomena is telling the truth, then there is a dire need for us to look into the matter."
Lord Davies of Leek - Member of the House of Lords, Debate on Unidentified Flying Objects, January 18th, 1979.
Link
• "Many men have seen them (UFOs) and have not been mistaken. Who are we to doubt their word?.. Only a few weeks ago a Palermo policeman photographed one, and four Italian Navy officers saw a 300-foot long fiery craft rising from the sea and disappearing into the sky.. Why should these men of law enforcement and defense lie?"
Lord Rankeillour, Member of the House of Lords - Debate on Unidentified Flying Objects, January 18th, 1979.
Link
• “Having spent a great deal of my life in the air, as a pilot I know that many pilots have seen phenomena that they could not explain. These men, most of whom have talked to me, have been very reticent to talk about this publicly, because of the ridicule that they were afraid would be heaped upon them.. However, there is a phenomena here that isn't explained.”
U.S. Congressman Jerry L. Pettis - House Committee on Science and Astronautics hearing on UFOs, Ninetieth Congress, Second Sesson, July 29th, 1968.
CUFOS Link Deleted.
• "There are undoubtedly some objects observed directly or on radar scopes which are not subject to positive analysis. However, the public should be given all information which would not adversely affect our national security."
U.S. Senator Stuart Symington - April 17th, 1959.
Link
• “I was in a plane last week when I looked out the window and saw this white light, it was zigzagging around. I went up to the pilot and said ‘Have you seen anything like that before?’ He was shocked and said, ‘Nope.’ And I said to him: ‘Let’s follow it!’ We followed it for several minutes.. to Bakersfield, and all of a sudden to our utter amazement it went straight up into the heavens.”
U.S. President Ronald Reagan describes 1974 UFO encounter with pilot Bill Paynter to veteran newsman Norman C. Miller (then Washington bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal).
Link
• "The increased sightings nationally could lead to a state of panic and hysteria and we ought to be concerned about it."
U.S. Rep. J. Edward Roush (D-Ind.)
Columbus Citizen Journal October 18th, 1973 - discussing the 1973 UFO wave.
Audio
• "I am not one of those who arbitrarily dismiss 'flying saucers' as figments of the imagination. I take them seriously, and I certainly would have no objections to a careful and reasonable investigation of this phenomenon. Too many intelligent and thoroughly responsible people, who have been in positions to observe such unidentified foreign objects, have testified to their conviction that such objects exist for me or anyone else to deny the validity of their observations. Under careful supervision, and with the proper safeguards, I would think that a Congressional investigation would be a worthwhile undertaking."
U.S. Congresswoman Florence P. Dwyer - April 26th, 1960.
Link
• "Congressional investigations.. are still being held on the problem of unidentified flying objects and the problem is one in which there is quite a bit of interest. Since most of the material presented to the committee is classified, the hearings are never printed."
U.S. Congressman William H. Ayres, 1958.
Link
• "I am an Air Force Reserve Officer and have been one for the past 27 years and, consequently, I am, indeed, interested in unidentified flying objects. I, frankly, feel that there is a great deal to this and I have discussed it often with many Air Force Officers."
U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater - August 31st, 1957.
Link
• "I share the concern of my colleagues in Congress about the gravity of the UFO problem.. my genuine desire to see positive action taken to lessen the danger caused by UFOs to air travel and our national security."
U.S. Congressman John F. Shelley - January 28th, 1963.
Link
• "Around Szolnok many UFO reports have been received from the Ministry of Defense, which obviously and logically means that they know very well where they have to land and what they have to do. It is remarkable indeed that the Hungarian newspapers, in general newspapers everywhere, reject the reports of the authorities."
Gyorgy Keleti, Minister of Defense, Hungary - article by Attila Lenart entitled 'Ask a Question to the Minister of Defense: George Keleti, Are You Afraid of a UFO Invasion?', Nepszava, Budapest, August 18th, 1994.
Link
• “Adjuntas is a little town in the Central Range of Puerto Rico, and at this moment, we are very intrigued by some unusual events that are affecting our daily lives.
Some years ago, we noticed the presence of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO) in our skies. At first, we did not give great importance to this matter, but lately these things have appeared again and our citizens are distressed over this. Many, many persons have witnessed the presence of these objects in our surrounding space (evidence of these apparitions is included).
Our purpose in writing you is to ask for your help to clarify what is really happening by ordering an investigation so that the people in our community can keep calm.”
Adjuntas Politician Rigoberto Ramos, letter to U.S. President George W. Bush - Puerto Rico, 1991.
Link
• "First of all, I told a magazine this past January that, as an underdeveloped country with regards to the UFO problem, Japan had to take into account what should be done about the UFO question, and that we had to spend more time on these matters. In addition, I said that someone had to solve the UFO problem with far reaching vision at the same time. Secondly, I believe it is a reasonable time to take the UFO problem seriously as a reality.. I hope that this Symposium will contribute to peace on earth from the point of view of outer space, and take the first step toward the international cooperation in the field of UFOs."
Japanese Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu - letter to Mayor Shiotani of Hakui City, June 24th, 1990.
Link
• “In the particular field of UFOs, not to mention the people who see a flying saucer landing in a field, there are fighter pilots, astronauts, people who are anything but funny and report very precise observations. We must not say that they are nonsense but just recognize that there are things that escape us.”
Alain Juillet, French DGSE director, Senior Economic Intelligence Officer to the Prime Minister.
Link
• Statements from U.S. Congress on UFOs and Congressional investigations (1968).
Quote:• "I cannot share the smug complacency of the disbelievers, who automatically assume that every sighting must either be a hoax or hallucination.. A thorough hearing should put the entire problem in some perspective, and perhaps even permit the congressmen to make some qualified judgments about the true nature of these objects."
U.S. Congressman Lionel Van Deerlin.
• "It seems to me that the Congress would be well advised to investigate this subject. Unless there are compelling security reasons to the contrary, I believe the time has come to subject the whole panoply of unidentified flying objects to cross-examination under oath so that we may have a record of reference with more than usual credibility."
U.S. Congressman Louis C. Wyman.
• "I am recommending that we launch a congressional investigation into the matter of UFOs. To these hearings I would urge that we invite all those individuals and organizations in the United States and abroad, which have made serious efforts to study the subject. We need such a scientific review in order to direct our efforts in the future. The American people have the right to expect this from us.. I have written the Comptroller General of the United States asking for an immediate investigation of the incidents involving the use of public moneys at the University of Colorado.. I am convinced that the reasonable approach, the scientific approach is to maintain an open mind on the matter until some real evidence appears, one way or the other. We have not had that as yet. I was hopeful that the Colorado project would provide just this evidence, or leadings for the future. Now I have my doubts."
U.S. Congressman J. Edward Roush.
• "I share your belief that action should be taken. I have written to the Chairmen of both the Science and Astronautics Committee and the House Committee on Armed Services proposing that a thorough investigation be made on the Congressional level."
U.S. Congressman William F. Ryan.
• "This is a subject of increasing interest throughout the world, and I am pleased to see that legitimate efforts are being made to thoroughly investigate the situation."
U.S. Congressman Fred B. Rooney.
• "I may have occasion to resume my explorations of the matter but I note from the number of persons in House and Senate who have made reports on the matter that this rather solid body of opinion may continue to push for a broader investigation."
U.S. Senator Everett M. Dirksen.
• "Mr. Speaker, the Chicago Sun-Times, in an editorial of August 8, has performed a most creditable public service by calling attention to the fact that unidentified flying objects are a serious business. I believe the article should be added to the present dialogue on this very important subject and I am taking the liberty today of including it in the Congressional Record."
U.S. Congressman Roman C. Pucinski.
• "We have checked into the possibility of gaining enough support to initiate Congressional hearings for clarification of the UFO problem. Regretfully, we find there is very little interest in holding such hearings. Should increased interest develop on this subject, you can be assured I will be back in touch with you."
U.S. Congressman Bob Wilson - Armed Services Committee.
Link
