by Michael E. Salla, PhD

 

 

President George Bush appeared in a nationally televised press conference on Wednesday March 5, and again made out his case for a preemptive war against Iraq. He emphasized that the US was prepared to act with or without major allies thereby opening up the possibility that the US would launch an attack without the support of major UN Security Council members. Anticipating a negative international response to his Iraq policy, President Bush's address was an effort to prime US public opinion in order to generate domestic support for his policy.

 

There is, however, evidence that the Bush administration has deliberately suppressed information concerning a significant celestial event in order to keep US public opinion firmly focused on the need for a preemptive war. There is satellite imagery suggesting that a celestial warning against such an attack has occurred, and that the Bush administration has deliberately kept this from the general public and from being taken up by the national media.

 

There has been much controversy over NASA's handling of SOHO satellite images depicting the passage of the comet NEAT (C/2002 V1) by the sun over the period February 18-22 (click for article). For most of the evidence cited, NASA has provided plausible technical explanations which fail to dismiss the controversy when closely examined. For example, NASA describes a controversial February 20 image as result of debris, yet this fails to explain the 12 hour delay before the next SOHO image was uploaded.

 

Overall, the volume of the evidence, NASA's unpersuasive responses, and subsequent events form a pattern that supports the conclusion that NASA has conducted an elaborate campaign of suppression and manipulation of satellite information. The question that then arises is: 'why would NASA do it?'. Coming on the heels of the demise of the Space Shuttle Columbia and the damaging public feud between engineers and management over responsibility, faking the passage of an 'insignificant' comet might appear to be the last thing that NASA would attempt to do at such a time. There are two explanations which cast light on NASA's motives in undertaking such a risky venture .

 

The most cited explanation for NASA faking the passage of comet NEAT is that the comet interacted with the sun in a way that changed the comet's projected orbit and dispersed its tail of cometary debris. Given that such a change in orbit meant that either the comet or the long comet's tail could possibly pose a threat when they eventually crossed the Earth's orbit, many have identified this as NASA's prime motivation. Essentially, NASA was putting the lid on an unanticipated celestial event that transformed the whole issue of Comet NEAT's passage away from a purely astronomical event within the scientific and technical competencies of NASA, into an event that had important public policy implications.

 

This required NASA officials withholding critical information, while the public policy implications were worked out by senior NASA officials who may have been caught off guard by the whole event. This may explain why some of the evidence cited against NASA indicated hasty tampering. Senior officials subsequently decided on a policy of non-disclosure of the true nature of the comet's interaction with the sun, and adoption of an unanticipated orbit away from the sun. Subsequent 'leaks' of further satellite imagery supported the view that disgruntled NASA insiders did not approve of the non-disclosure policy by senior officials.

 

The justification for this non-disclosure policy is the unpredictable public response to news that a comet has been disrupted in its flight path and some of its debris could possibly impact with the Earth. In a strange irony, at the very time when the controversy over NEAT was occurring, a Rand Corporation researcher, Dr. Geoffrey Sommer, argued that non-disclosure would be the best policy if it were discovered that an asteroid was about to hit the earth. While Sommer's was strongly criticized by his peers, his view was seen by many to be a clue to how senior NASA officials had reacted in the case of the possible deflection of comet NEAT. Fringe astronomy website forums were instantly filled with doom and gloom warnings by participants who had begun hearing of the NASA 'cover up' and believed that Sommer's comments were a justification for such a policy.

 

While controversial, Sommer's view would certainly appeal to policy makers who might view it as the most rational policy to adopt in a situation where the public's response was unpredictable. Subsequent efforts of NASA to play down the significance of comet NEAT and maintain non-disclosure may therefore be seen in the context of this being the most 'rational' thing to do over a profoundly difficult public policy issue. Such an explanation is certainly plausible, however, another explanation is that rather than setting off a public panic if the truth were revealed, perhaps full disclosure might have led to a domestic public response that would have threatened the political agenda of the Bush administration in terms of some of its key policy goals.

 

The Bush administration's powerful diplomatic struggle for a preemptive war in Iraq intensified in January 2003. This set off a series of demonstrations that culminated in millions participating in demonstrations in the US and internationally over the weekend of February 15/16. This indicated that strong domestic and international public opposition had emerged as a powerful force that the Bush administration needed to overcome. Mainstream news media was saturated with coverage of arguments either for or against the war. In sum, the dominant political issue for the global community was whether there should be a preemptive war against Iraq.

 

Into this global political environment dominated by debate over a US led preemptive war against Iraq, enters comet NEAT on February 18. Not satisfied to perform the anticipated flyby of the sun, the comet and the sun interact in an unpredicted way, possibly throwing NASA into a panic where it allegedly tried to cover up what actually happened. Aside from the controversy over possible tampering with satellite images time-dated from 18 February, 09:54 (Greenwich Mean Time), there are nevertheless a series of remarkable SOHO satellite images that show the sun and comet interacting before the emergence of those controversial images.

 

One of these 'pre-controversy' images even became NASA's picture of the day, though appearing six days later on February 24, well after the actual event thereby attracting only nominal press coverage. The accompanying explanation by a NASA astronomer describes the whole encounter between the sun and comet as an interesting event without any great significance. However, what was overlooked in this NASA 'picture of the day', was that the SOHO satellite images did capture something significant.

 

What begins to emerge in this picture, and becomes more prominent in the two subsequent satellite images was the outline of an eye (to see sequence go HERE). The question that may be asked is how significant is this celestial outline of an eye, and what does it have to do with a preemptive war against Iraq that was the dominant global issue at the time of the comet's passage?

 

The outline of an eye appearing just above what looks to be a lightening bolt about to strike the comet, might represent the 'Eye of Horus' which for thousands of years has been a symbol of wisdom and divine benediction. The 'Eye of Horus' is featured on the Great Seal of the US and signifies the benevolent guidance of Providence in human affairs (see HERE). The 'lightening bolt' itself is a symbol of divine power that has been historically associated with the chief gods of ancient cultures such as the Greek god Zeus.

 

Significantly, the actual staging of a preemptive war in Iraq was likened by some US generals to a 'blitzkreig' (German for lightning bolt). Was a non-human intelligence associated with Providence or similar entity, attempting to communicate with humanity the importance of wisdom in using power in the sense of military force at a time of great international debate over a US led preemptive war? Was this celestial event a 'sign' by a non-human intelligence signifying the importance of a broad diplomatic consensus (representing 'wisdom') in how the planet would best deal with the regime of Saddam Hussein? Was the Eye of Horus warning humanity about some unforeseen danger in conducting a war that divided humanity?

 

If the proposed 'Eye of Horus' was a sign from a non-human intelligence, then the significance of comet NEAT would have been much greater than the official version given by NASA. More troubling for the Bush administration, the symbolism of the 'Eye of Horus' that appeared in the SOHO images, combined with what actually happened between comet NEAT and the sun, could have become a powerful focus of international attention as a 'celestial sign' to tread carefully on the path of war. Such a celestial event had the potential to shift public attention away from the administration's case for a preemptive war, to a more prudent course based on the inherent symbolism contained in the apparent 'communication' by a non-human intelligence. Yet the mainstream media remained silent over comet NEAT with only a few alternative news sources giving it coverage.

 

Rather than setting off a public panic if the truth about comet NEAT was disclosed, perhaps NASA's goal was to downplay its significance which could have a transformative effect on public opinion at a time when the Bush administration was focusing public attention on the need for a war. If comet NEAT was the catalyst for a form of communication by a non-human intelligence associated with Providence or similar entity, then the comet's flyby of the sun had the potential to transfix human attention on a powerful celestial event. This event may have been a 'sign' of the importance of a wise diplomatic course in conducting a preemptive war against Iraq.

 

It may be some time yet before the full significance of comet NEAT is known, and whether its passage was disrupted to the extent that some of its debris may interact with Earth. Nevertheless the Eye of Horus indicates an important celestial event has occurred. There is satellite evidence that a celestial warning has been sent over the danger of a preemptive war against Iraq that is conducted without the full support of major nations. Is humanity sufficiently mature to recognize the significance of such a celestial sign?