UFOs could threaten US security, pols say after Capitol Hill briefing |
Ahead of the release of a highly anticipated Pentagon report on unidentified
flying objects before month’s end, members of the House Intelligence Committee
received a hush-hush sneak preview inside a SCIF, or "sensitive compartmented information facility."
As for the existence of extraterrestrial
life, the lawmakers largely left the secrets inside the surveillance-proof
room, declining to tell reporters what they learned.
But some did voice concerns that the UFOs
— which may be espionage assets controlled by America’s foreign adversaries, in
a possible explanation just slightly less terrifying than the vanguard of an
alien invasion — could pose a danger to national security.
"We take the issue of unexplained
aerial phenomena seriously to the extent that we’re dealing with the safety and
security of US military personnel or the national security interests of the
United States, so we want to know what we’re dealing with," said Rep.
Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY).
"I think it’s important to understand
that there are legitimate questions involving the safety and security of our
personnel, and in our operations and in our sensitive activities, and we all
know that there’s [a] proliferation of technologies out there," he
continued. "We need to understand the space a little bit better."
Added Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.), "You know it’s always about our
safety and security — our national security is [priority] number one — and so
that’s really the area where we really focused on this morning."
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.),
the committee chairman, implied that the briefing was eye-opening, but also
declined to get into specifics ahead of the release of a public report.
"It was an interesting
briefing," he said. "I did learn things that were certainly new to
me. But I think I’m going to leave it at that."
Rep. Andre Carson (R-Ill.), who has been
heading efforts on the UFO inquiry, said Americans should expect an eventual
public hearing on the report’s findings.
"We’re looking forward to having a public hearing at some point," he said. "I mean, there are some national security concerns that we want to take into consideration."
Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) said that, if
anything, the landmark report shows that UFOs are finally being taken seriously.
"The stigma is gone," he said.
"Now that’s as big a change in policy as I’ve witnessed about this issue
in my lifetime. So the fact that they are taking this sort of thing seriously
for the first time, I think, is important."
Referencing the 1997 sci-fi flick
"Contact" — adapted from a Carl Sagan novel — Quigley admitted that
the report won’t have all the answers and that some things remain
unexplainable.
"What do they say in ‘Contact’? Occam’s razor," he said. "I still think that’s what’s real, and there are things we can’t explain."
But with so many mysteries of the universe
still beyond human understanding, Quigley cautioned Americans against getting
their hopes up for the report.
"If I had to predict how the public
will react to this, one word would be ‘disappointing,'" he said.
Added a clearly unimpressed Rep. Peter
Welch (D-Vt.), "I’m not on the edge of my seat."
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