Are UFOs The Forbidden Frontier Of American Democracy?
Written by Christopher Sharp - 14 January 2022
Initial concerns raised by the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2020 remain unaddressed.
Elected representatives face internal resistance to UAP investigative, oversight, and transparency efforts.
Unelected officials seem intent on undermining Congress’s UAP efforts, despite national security implications.
Unelected officials challenging elected representatives to this extent could pose problems for democracy.
Despite best efforts, those wishing to thwart Congress do have huge obstacles to overcome.
"Democracy Dies in Darkness"
So reads the Washington Post’s slogan, a phrase made famous by legendary journalist Bob Woodward.
Today, there is no darker place within the U.S. government than the Office of the Secretary of Defence (OSD), in the context of its handling of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP).
Although some progress has been made to address incursions of unknown craft around U.S. sensitive military assets, there remains one big obstacle: the unelected bureaucrats.
Every day, we face a situation where U.S. service members may be encountering exotic craft, that pose a threat to both their safety and global security.
Yes, the provision by Congress for a new office investigating UAP marked a monumental occasion. Yes, it will lead to multiplication in staff, dollars, and capability when compared to previous efforts.
However, there is a long way to go in satisfying the initial concerns of Congress raised in 2020.
That’s because elected representatives face internal resistance to investigative UAP.
Such resistance can even frustrate the implementation of Congress’s intent as legislated within the NDAA 2022.
Have Bureaucrats Misled Congress And The Executive Branch?
It is unclear how much influence bureaucrats have over Deputy Secretary of Defense, Kathleen Hicks, and Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines.
But so far, Hicks, Haines, and perhaps even Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have followed the agenda of those that are actively undermining citizens and Congress.
In November, Hicks and Haines tried to relegate the UAP Task Force’s (UAPTF) successor, the much-slated AOIMSG, to the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security (OUSD(I&S)).
In other words, they avoided responsibility.
The move was in conflict with Congress’ own draft legislation within the NDAA, which had assigned responsibility to the highest levels of power, the Secretary of Defense and Director of National Intelligence.
Following June’s UAPTF report, such a move was tone-deaf and out of step with Congress, which was sufficiently alarmed, causing representatives like André Carson to call for public hearings.
Aside from relegating the issue, there are other signs that Congress is being undermined.
Why else would AOIMSG be given such narrow scope and placed within the very office responsible for Congress’s UAP concerns?
Note to first-time readers, Lue Elizondo’s Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) was placed within (OUSD(I&S)), whose behavior led Elizondo to resign, unable to communicate alarming events to then-Secretary of Defence, Jim Mattis.
The Hicks June memo and the subsequent AOIMSG (announced by Haines) and its timing (on the eve of Thanksgiving whilst new UAP legislation was being drawn up) have undermined democratic efforts to address an urgent global security concern.
If Hicks’ memo and subsequent AOIMSG were sufficient, Congress wouldn’t need to establish its own UAP Office or call for hearings.
Why bureaucrats are jeopardizing global security and battling Congress is unclear.
Reacting to the establishment of AOIMSG in December 2021, Representative Tim Burchett stated:
“The Pentagon of course has valiantly decided they're going to take over all the research on the UAP phenomena - it's totally bogus. They're just going to require more money from us, and they're going to keep it quiet.”
And if statements provided by Gough are true, the new UAP Office is being swallowed up by OUSDI& and there is no commitment for it to be wholly removed from (OUSD(I&S)).
Although we must note that those trying to thwart Congress have problems and face huge obstacles to overcome elected members.
They are now mandated by law to meet the NDAA’s requirements, if they don’t, they face the wrath of elected members, including those sitting on key committees, including those controlling purse strings
They are being watched carefully by the Inspector General, who can decide to take action if any wrongdoing is detected
They face the threat of public Congressional Hearings
Many Americans do not trust the Pentagon and will increase pressure on elected members to take decisive action.
Yes, this is all true.
But we should not underestimate their determination and the damage they can cause.
A Precarious Position
The USA is in a precarious position. Yes, this topic has rare bipartisan support in Congress.
But democracy is fragile.
Unelected officials appear to be challenging elected representatives - which begs the question, who is really in charge?
Voters can only fully consent to be governed if they are informed by those they elect. And those who are elected can only inform voters and make national security decisions if they are made aware.
If, as suggested by the NDAA language, UAP are interfering with nuclear assets, causing health problems, and displaying exotic technology - then that is a significant security issue which Congress and the public have a right to know about.
Without any transparency or willingness to address the issue, those determined to disrupt efforts put both global security and the nation’s democratic values in peril.
This situation represents one of democrat deficit, as does any situation in which there is believed to be a lack of democratic oversight and control over the decision-making process.
For years, it appears that citizens and their elected representatives have been unaware of exotic craft that act with impunity over the U.S’s most sensitive air space, and harass warships.
This reflects perhaps the biggest defense issue of our time.
Whenever Chinese jets enter Taiwanese airspace, Congress and the media are informed.
But when unknown craft (which could be Chinese) enter U.S. military ranges, not even Congress seems aware.
Let’s revisit the concerns of the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2020 to measure progress.
1: Despite its potential threat, there is no unified, comprehensive process within the Federal Government for collecting and analyzing intelligence on UAP
There still exists no unified process to collect and analyze UAP
If UAP does reflect adversarial technology, then this is a major issue and the DoD has been very slow to respond and coordinate efforts between various offices
The (OUSD(I&S)) had previously gone out of its way to prevent facts about UAP from being reported up the chain of command, but despite this, has been entrusted to lead efforts via AOIMSG.
2: The information sharing and coordination across the Intelligence Community has been inconsistent
There appears to be little coordination - and Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Avril Haines, looked to downgrade the UAP issue in November 2021, by relegating it to (OUSD(I&S))
3: This issue has lacked attention from senior leaders
Both Director of National Security Avril Haines and Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks tried relegating the issue to OUSD(I&S)
(OUSD(I&S)) is the very Office which thwarted Lue Elizondo’s attempts to voice his concerns to former Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattis.
There appears to be little public interest from President Joe Biden nor his Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who despite being responsible for establishing the new UAP Office, has allowed it to be swallowed by the widely criticised AOIMSG.
With UAP seemingly encountered regularly by U.S. forces, change must be delivered faster than in previous years.
There is hope - during Donald Trump’s Presidency, it is rumored that many of those DoD and intelligence officials against transparency are no longer present within the halls of power. As a consequence, many will hope the many issues associated with UAP can be addressed sooner than previously thought.
But be under no illusion, the remaining resistance (if allowed) will fight tooth and nail. They will hope Congress loses interest or simply gives up. That would not bode well.
As Robert Hutchins once said:
“The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment.”
The topic of UAP appears to be forbidden territory for democracy.
Congress cannot fight this alone though; the Executive Branch must take action and get a handle on the OSD, which has so far mishandled the situation.
Change cannot come quick enough.
The alternative? Growing public suspicion and conspiracies further eroding trust in government.
Liberation Times Opinion
This article was inspired by Project Titan’s Creator and Manager Paolo Guizzardi, who provided the initial concept.
Love our content and wish to support the website?
You can now become a Patron: Liberation Times is creating UAP Content | Patreon