<>#8PROJECT MAJESTIC-12 @4The US GOVERNMENT IN 1947 not only covered up the saucer crash at Roswell, but were hiding aliens and UFO's from the Public. Many UFOlogists believe in the conspiracy theory, and after many years of research by Stanton T. Friedman and many other well known and dedicated UFO investigators, the Majestic-12 papers, in my personal view, are genuine. Read on and decide for yourself.... @3In December 1984, Jamie Shandera, a Hollywood movie producer and UFO researcher, received an unusual package through the post. Inside was just one roll of undeveloped 35mm black and white film. There was no accompanying letter or return address. Only the postmark gave a clue to its origins: Albuquerque, New Mexico. @3When processed, the film contained negatives of what appeared to be an eight-page briefing-paper, prepared on 18 November 1952, for President- elect Dwight D. Eisenhower. A warning on the first page read, 'This is a TOP SECRET - EYES only document containing compartmentalized information essential to the national security of the United States.' On page two was a list of 12 influential US scientists, military leaders and intelligence advisors. It was not until page three that the subject of the paper became clear: the recovery of a crashed flying saucer and alien bodies near Roswell, New Mexico. in July 1947. @3The last page of the briefing paper was a memorandum, dated 24 September 1947, from President Harry Truman to his secretary of Defence, James Forrestal. In it, Truman instructs Forrestal to proceed with 'Operation Majestic-12', but gives no hint at what that might be. @3Alone, the Forrestal memo was meaningless. But, when read allong with the 1952 briefing paper, the story behind them became clear: In July 1947, a 'flying disc-shaped aircraft' crashes near Roswell, New Mexico, and 'extra-terrestrial biological entities' (EBEs) are recovered by the military. When President Harry Truman is informed about the crash, he authorizes Defence Secretary Forrestal to set up a committee to deal with the situation. @3In 1952, when Eisenhower becomes President-elect, he is briefed on Operation Majestic-12. The briefing paper lists the 12-man committee and gives details of the saucer crash. The final paragrah stresses the need to 'avoid a public panic at all costs', confirming that the government is covering up the truth about UFOs. The question is, are the documents real? @3In the UFO research community, opinion is split. In the pro-Majestic camp are researchers such as nuclear physicist Stanton T. Friedman, who has dedicated over ten years to finding the truth, and his fellow UFOlogists Bill Moore and Jamie Shandera. Their strongest opponents are researchers such as Kevin Randle, Armen Victorian and Philip Klass, all of whom have reason to believe the papers are clever fakes. @3To add to the mystery surrounding Majestic-12 (also known as MJ-12, or MAJIC), a number of other packages have been pushed through the mailboxes of researchers over the past few years. The first was a postcard delivered to Bill Moore in 1985. Postmarked New Zealand, it suggested he search newly declassified files at the US National Archives. Moore and Shandera did so, and found a memo confirming the existence of MJ-12, written by Eisenhower's Special Assistant for National Security, Robert Cutler, and addressed to Nathan Twining, the US Air Force Chief of Staff. @3Between 1992 and 1996, another UFO researcher, Tim Cooper, received a number of MJ-12 documents, all of which he quietly shared with Friedman. Several were proved hoaxes but, according to Cooper and Friedman, two single-page documents appear to be genuine. The first is a brief instruction to General Nathan Twining (an alleged Mj-12 member) concerning his activities during a July 1947 trip to New Mexico, the site of the crashed saucer. @3The second document is a memo to President Truman, dictated by US Secretary of State George C. Marshall to his Executive Secretary, R.H. Humelsine. While there is no direct mention of MJ-12 in the memo, the reference at the top reads: 'MAJIC EO 092447 MJ-12'. @3The most spectacular new MJ-12 document was posted in 1994 to Don Berliner, a long-time UFO investigator and science writer. The anonymous roll of film contained 23 pages of a 'Majestic-12 Group Special Operations Manual', dated April 1954. It was a detailed instruction manual entitled: 'Extra-terrestrial Entities and Technology, Recovery and Disposal.' @3Because most of the MJ-12 documents are on film, the original paper or ink cannot be analysed. But there are many factual details that can be checked, such as the background of the 12 members of the committee, the dates of meetings, the style and format of similar documents, and the validity of the signatures. @3Clearly, MJ-12 had an all-star cast: as well as Secretary of Defense Forrestal, there were the first three Directors of Central Intelligence, an Air Force General, the Secretary of the Army and five of the US's most influential scientists. This was the cream of the US's military, scientific and intelligence communities. If there was ever to be a top-secret government group investigating UFOs, this would have been it. @3The only MJ-12 member who seemed out of place was Dr Donald Menzel, a Havard University astronomer. He had written three anti-UFO books and many papers debunking flying saucers. All but Menzel were known to have high- level security clearances, and because he was listed as part of MJ- 12, researchers were inclined to think the document was bogus. @3In April 1986, however, Stanton Friedman made an important discovery. After getting written permission from Menzel's wife and two University officials, he was allowed access to Menzel's papers at the Havard University Archive. From this information, he learned that Menzel had a 30-year association with the National Security Agency. @3By digging further, Friedman also discovered that Menzel had a 'Top Secret Ultra' clearance with the CIA; did highly classified consulting work for many major US corporations; had close connections with the other MJ- 12 scientists; and had advised the government on many classified projects. @3So it seemed that Menzel did have the necessary background to be on MJ-12. Also, it has been proved that Menzel made a number of trips to New Mexico during 1947 and 1948 on government expenses. Could this have been related to the 1947 crash in New Mexico in the MJ-12 documents? @3The other alleged members of the group also checked out. All had worked on top-secret projects and were members of various research and development boards. The last- surviving member of the committee died just three months before Jaime Shandera receieved the film, so, conveniently, none of them could be asked directly about their role. But their comings and goings could be tracked from many sources: telephone logs, correspondance, minutes from meetings, and other papers stored in the presidential libraries and the Library of Congress Manuscript Division. @3The earlist reference to Majestic is in the memo supposedly sent by Truman to his Secretary of Defence, James Forrestal. The memo - which names the President's science advisor Vannevar Bush - was dated 24 September 1047. This happens to be the only day between May and December on which Truman met with Bush. Forrestal also met with Bush that day, a fact only discovered by Stanton Friedman after many months research. @3This date is also significant in that it was the day after Nathan Twining, Commanding General of the Air Materiel Command (AMC), sent a secret memo to the Pentagon relating to 'flying discs'. In it, Twining states that, 'The phenomenon reported is something real and not visionary or fictitious.' @3In addition, a flight log from July 1947 shows that Twining had flown to New Mexico on 7 July 1947. According to the briefing paper, this was the same day that, 'a secret operation was began to assure recovery of the wreckage... for scientific study.' Could this be just coincidence? @3Joe Nickell, a document analyst and writer for Skeptical Enquirer magazine, thinks it is coincidence. He is positive the documents are hoaxes, claiming 'it is not what is correct that matters nearly so much as what is wrong, as even a novice forger can be expected to get some things right'. By concentrating on the format and presentation of the documents, Nickell has highlighted a number of 'serious problems'. @3One of the most obvious problems, Nickell claims, is the Truman signature. By studying known-to-be- authentic Truman documents, he has shown that the signature on the MJ-12 memo is positioned wrongly on the page. Also, the signature appears almost identical to that on an authenticated Truman memo found, ironically by Stanton Friedman. @3Nickell also points to the date formats, the typefaces, and the style of language used in the documents. Again, by studying authenticated papers, he has shown that certain details are different in the MJ-12 papers. @3Nickell's conclusion is that 'the many anomalous and suspicious elements detected in the MJ-12 papers clearly demonstrate the documents are forgeries.' But Friedman disagrees. He has spent ten years investigating Nickell's claims, and still reckons that papers are genuine. 'I have yet to hear a convincing argument against MJ-12,' Friedman states. 'Frankly, I consider this ensemble of documents the most important classified documents ever leaked to the public. @3Genuine or fake, the MJ-12 documents are certainly the most intriguing to have surfaced in the history of UFOlogy. In his 1996 book, TOP SECRET/MAJIC, Friedman llists over 30 details not known by anyone outside the government before the documents were received. So, if they are fakes, it is likely they were written by someone with inside knowledge. If they are genuine, they prove that the government is willfully covering up the truth about UFOs. @3Researchers on both sides of the MJ- 12 fence can produce evidence to support their arguments. But at the end of the day, a hard-core of facts stand irresolute at the heart of the documents - the facts as they relate to the UFO crash in New Mexico, in July 1947. end.