Unidentified Flying Objects, The CIA, and Congress, Essay by Source S-1 (443k)

Source S-1 writes a memo entitled Unidentified Flying Objects, the CIA, and Congress. It opens with an interesting story of an interview with President Truman by the FBI and states: “he was asked the embarrassing question did you authorize Operation Majestic 12? To which he replied ‘I never gave any thought about it after leaving office.’ He added, ‘it was not my intention when I set up the CIA would be injected into strange activities of that sort.’ He was upset when the subject was brought up and it was sensed that Mr. Truman was being coy and evasive.”

The paper goes on to discuss congressional surveillance concerning the UFO issue, which came to a head in the Senate in early 1956. “The specific point at issue was whether Congress was to establish a standing Joint Committee on the CIA, similar to the joint Committee on Atomic Energy, to provide a fuller and continuing look at the United States UFO intelligence programs. The CIA’s UFO intelligence budget is concealed within the budgets of various government departments, mainly that of the Defence Department. The average member of Congress has no more knowledge than the average citizen of annual expenditures or of the size and scope CIA UFO operations...

"Ever since CIA was established, the director has been authorized, and in fact, directed to make complete disclosure of CIA UFO activities to special committees in both the Senate and House. The CIA is at times completely responsive to their questions, no matter how sensitive. For example, during the first 12 weeks as DCI Admiral William F. Raborn was called to 17 meetings with these congressional committees. The legislative log for the year 1965 shows that the DCI or his senior (sic) aides met a total of 34 times with four special subcommittees.” Additionally, there are three tabs attached to the paper that discuss arguments in favour of a joint UFO committee and arguments against it.