Article/Document:

The Problem with "Disclosure"

Michael Brownlee, May 7, 2001, Awakenings

original source |  fair use notice

Summary: Beginning May 9, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Dr. Steven Greer’s long-held dream of bringing about public disclosure of the reality of extraterrestrial visitors to earth will reach its zenith. On that day, Greer – founder and international director of the non-profit Center for the Study of Extraterrestrial Intelligence (http://www.cseti.org/) – will host a major press conference featuring presentations by twenty-some “first-hand military and government witnesses to UFO events.”

“In no other area of human experience has so much evidence existed for so long, and yet been attended by such a paucity of serious research and analysis…" -- Dr. Steven Greer

“The secrecy has two origins: us, and the entity we face." -- Whitley Strieber

“The other Disclosure that needs to happen is the revelation of who the extraterrestrial visitors are and why they are here." -- Marshall Vian Summers


The Main Event

Beginning May 9, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Dr. Steven Greer’s long-held dream of bringing about public disclosure of the reality of extraterrestrial visitors to earth will reach its zenith. On that day, Greer – founder and international director of the non-profit Center for the Study of Extraterrestrial Intelligence (http://www.cseti.org/) – will host a major press conference featuring presentations by twenty-some “first-hand military and government witnesses to UFO events.” [Click here to view an archived webcast of this event.]

The following day, Greer has invited all members of the U.S. Congress to a special closed-door VIP briefing, where these witnesses – all with impressive military, intelligence, government, corporate or scientific credentials – will relate “what they know and what they have personally seen and witnessed” about UFOs, extraterrestrial visitation, and important technology derived from the study of ET vehicles.

This parade of witnesses represents but a fraction of the more than 400 people Greer claims he has identified throughout the world who have been witness to “UFO and extraterrestrial events, internal UFO-related government projects and covert activities, space-based weapons programs, extraterrestrial intelligence, and covert reverse-engineered energy and propulsion system projects.” In recent months, Greer has gathered videotaped “unimpeachable” testimony from more than 100 of these high-level whistle-blowers, but the rest are apparently reluctant to go on record until they are granted Congressional immunity releasing them from security oaths.

Simultaneously, Greer plans to release a four-hour videotape summary of the witness testimony, plus a 500-page briefing document containing transcribed excerpts of the larger body of recorded testimony. (A copy can be ordered at http://www.disclosureproject.org/ for $25.)

“We have simply run out of time to delay the truth any longer,” Greer recently told a cheering crowd of more than 1,000 people at the UFO Congress in Laughlin, Nevada, as he announced the upcoming event (which he says is being sponsored “by a long-standing member of the White House press corps”).

Bold Conclusions

Just what will these high-level witnesses reveal to the world? According to Greer’s 57-page executive summary of the disclosure document to be released this week, their testimony – along with supporting government documents and other evidence – will establish “beyond any doubt the reality of extraterrestrial life forms, UFOs or extraterrestrial vehicles,” and will prove that such vehicles have frequently been tracked on radar, have “landed and/or crashed on terra firma,” and have been subsequently retrieved and studied by “specialized and compartmentalized projects.”

“These testimonies establish once and for all that we are not alone,” says Dr. Greer. What is more, he claims that technologies reverse-engineered from downed ET craft “are capable of providing solutions to the global energy crisis, and other environmental and security problems,” and “will enable the earth to attain a sustainable civilization without pollution, energy shortages, or global warming.”

According to CSETI press announcements, the testimony and evidence presented this week will unequivocally establish the following as fact:

The earth is indeed being visited by advanced extraterrestrial civilizations.

Advanced spacecraft of extraterrestrial origin have been downed, retrieved and studied since the 1940s, possibly earlier.

Study of these retrieved objects (along with “related human innovations”) has resulted in technological breakthroughs in energy generation and propulsion that obviate the burning of fossil fuels and ionizing radiation.

Classified above-top-secret projects – which have managed to escape legal oversight and control – currently possess “fully operational anti-gravity propulsion devices and new energy generation systems.”

If these systems were declassified and put to peaceful use, they would “empower a new human civilization without want, poverty or environmental damage.”

In a passionate manifesto posted on Art Bell’s website, CSETI declares: “Given the vast and profound implications of these statements, whether one accepts or seriously doubts these assertions, all must demand that Congressional hearings be convened to get to the truth of this matter – for nothing less than the human future hangs in the balance.”

Ambitious Goals

Greer’s goals for his disclosure process are far from modest. First, he is calling for witness immunity, which will likely require Congressional, U.N. and White House action, along with an Executive Order from President Bush to declassify relevant documents and secret projects “for the benefit of all world citizens.”

This then will pave the way for open Congressional hearings, both about the extraterrestrial presence and the ET-originated energy and propulsion systems which Greer claims “will provide solutions to global environmental challenges.”

Through these hearings, Greer urgently hopes to garner support for legislation to ban space-based weapons and to prohibit acts of aggression against extraterrestrial civilizations. With that accomplished, the world can then begin to “research, develop and explore space peacefully and cooperatively with all cultures on Earth and in Space.”

Finally, Greer hopes to stimulate the beginning of a vast diplomatic program to prepare the world for contact with extraterrestrial civilizations[1]. “The world community needs to research and develop diplomatic programs and protocols, laws and treaties to address this issue,” he says, “and to interface with these civilizations in a manner that is peaceful, non-violent and mutually beneficial.”

A Strategy Unveiled

With careful examination of CSETI’s goals, a strategy begins to emerge. The executive summary lays out the fundamental argument: “Advanced technologies which have been identified from the study of these [ET] vehicles, once disclosed, will replace currently used forms of energy generation and propulsion.” Greer claims that these technologies are already fully operational. “I have seen them,” he says glibly. “Anti-gravity is a reality, and so is free energy generation,” he continues. “This is not a fantasy or a hoax… Every single person who is concerned about the environment and the human future should call for urgent hearings to allow these technologies to be disclosed, declassified and safely applied.”

When they are made accessible, says Greer, such technologies will not only enable human civilization to achieve sustainability, but will also eliminate all poverty on the planet. “Even the deserts will bloom,” he says. And here we can begin to glimpse the essence of his stark ambition: “In the near term, we are talking about the greatest social, economic and technological revolution in human history – bar none.” This reveals the overarching cause that Greer hopes to spearhead. A powerful charismatic speaker, formidably articulate writer, and nimble strategist, Greer seems to be positioning himself to play a pivotal role in what he sees as the salvation of the world and in “diplomatic relations” between the human species and extraterrestrial civilizations.

In a speech on the campus of Arizona State University in Phoenix, April 2000, Greer complained that we humans have “neither the political will nor the media acuity” to deal with the extraterrestrial issue and its implications. The problem is “as complicated as hell,” he said. From his perspective, the powers that be could never take responsibility for revealing the truth, as disclosure would “terminate the industrial infrastructure of the world,” sounding the death-knell for “markets driven by fear and greed.”

In this presentation, Greer dramatically recounted the story of Col. Philip Corso’s[2] alleged 1964 encounter with an ET in the deserts of White Sands, New Mexico. “The Earth is dying,” said the visitor, warning of the coming collapse of the ecosphere due to the abuses of our technologically-based civilization. To drive his point home, Greer told his small but spellbound audience that the U.S. Federal Reserve Board possessed information which demonstrated that only 20 to 40 years remain until the irreversible onset of complete biosphere collapse.

For Greer, the necessary course had become clear: “Without disclosure, we will terminate.” He explained that the only viable solution was “unilateral citizen disclosure,” which he himself would lead, an effort that would “totally alter the course of human history.”

In his 1999 essay, “When Disclosure Serves Secrecy,” Greer laid out his precise vision for the future, the very ambitious scenario he is now attempting to implement:

“…The UFO and extraterrestrial subject is acknowledged in a way which is scientific and hopeful. Excessive secrecy which lacks executive branch and congressional oversight is ended. Humanity begins to entertain open contact with other civilizations, with peaceful engagement as the goal. Technologies which are currently suppressed are allowed to be disseminated: Pollution ends. An economy of abundance and social justice is firmly established. Global environmental destruction and mind-numbing world poverty become a faint memory. Zero-point based energy devices transform the world. Electro-gravitic devices permit above ground travel without paving over the world's precious fertile farm land. As an ET once told Colonel Philip Corso, ‘It’s a new world, if you can take it.’ This is the disclosure which we are working for."

The promise in this vision is powerfully seductive: An infusion of ET-inspired technology will kindle a human renaissance and an accompanying economic explosion of universal prosperity. Thus, the aim of Greer’s disclosure process is nothing less than to bring about utopia – all due to the technological legacy of the extraterrestrials. And as a bonus, this will end the domination of the world by the military-industrial complex – which Greer repeatedly characterizes as perniciously evil and hopelessly corrupt.

Oddly, in calling for widespread adoption of back-engineered ET technology, Greer seems to be now abandoning one of the core principles that he laid down in his treatise, Extraterrestrial Contact: The Evidence and Implications[3]: “Until a permanent world peace and order can be achieved on Earth, the acquisition of ET technology, which most likely would be used for unilateral military application, should be avoided.” Elsewhere he states that the ETs “do not want a divided and war-prone civilization to acquire their technology at this time since this would greatly endanger both ETI and human civilizations.”

We are left to speculate as to why Greer has reversed his position on this matter, as he offers no explanation. But clearly he has determined that the benefits of ET technology are so urgently needed on this planet that such cautions should be abandoned. This is perhaps an indication of the slippery slope upon which Greer invites us to travel.

The Undisclosed Issue

For all his posturing about the importance of revealing the truth and disclosing withheld information, Greer’s disclosure effort is troublingly silent on one very important issue: the identity, nature, motivations, and intentions of the extraterrestrials themselves. This is quite extraordinary, given that the phenomena of UFOs and ET activity has been rising steadily since the 1940s, and given that hundreds of researchers have been unable to come to definitive conclusions about who the extraterrestrials are, why they are involved in human affairs, and what they are actually doing, and that the name of Greer’s organization implies that this is precisely what he has been investigating.

To this writer, it appears that one of the hidden objectives of Greer’s CSETI disclosure effort may be to deflect investigation away from the extraterrestrials themselves. They remain almost completely absent from his disclosure documents. Rather than entertain questions or evidence about the ETs, Greer is quick to deflect such discussion. He consistently responds to any concern about ET motives or intentions with his standard scathing reply: “There is no evidence that any of them are hostile. So therefore there is no objective threat.”

While steadfastly maintaining that the current visiting ETs have only benevolent intentions, Greer does however acknowledge “certain elusive or enigmatic aspects of their behavior” – which presumably include the increase of reported “alien abductions,” animal mutilations, psychological influence and possession documented by many researchers. However, he dismisses concerns about these bizarre and often patently invasive behaviors as paranoid and groundless.

In a 1992 essay, titled “The Case for Non-Hostility,” Greer wrote, “…we must avoid the assumption of negative motives based on the reported actions of ETI. Our perceptions of an action must not be confused with the actual motives of the beings performing the actions, since it is quite possible that frightening or negatively perceived actions are derived from genuinely good motives.”

Ignoring the Questions

While it is true that the intent behind behaviors can sometimes be misinterpreted, Greer simply chooses to reject out of hand what is now a very substantial body of evidence (offered by such researchers as John Mack, David Jacobs, Budd Hopkins, John Carpenter, Bill Baldwin, along with many others) strongly indicating that human encounters with extraterrestrial encounters are in fact often traumatic, terrifying, painful, invasive, manipulative, in violation of basic human freedoms, and possibly part of a larger plan for global occupation – evidence which at the very least raises profound questions about the ETs.

Occasionally, Greer attempts to explain away these seemingly unfriendly behaviors by claiming that the ETs have “security considerations surrounding their advanced technology and planet of origin.” He maintains that testimony from his witness pool will show that the ETs are “very concerned” about nuclear and space-based weapons systems, and human warfare. In fact, Greer is now calling for a complete ban on all military defenses against potential extraterrestrial attack solely on the basis of his unsupportable and irrational claim that all extraterrestrial civilizations who might visit the Earth are uniformly friendly, now and in the future.

Here, we may be justified in employing some healthy skepticism. In Extraterrestrial Contact, Greer states unequivocally, “While these various EBEs (extraterrestrial biological entities) may have values and priorities which are different from those of some 20th century humans, their motives and ultimate intentions are non-hostile and do not include the acquisition or subjugation of the Earth or its peoples.” This is a most extraordinary and outrageous claim. What is particularly odd here is that Greer not only does not offer any evidence to support it, but also implicitly demands that we accept that he knows what he is talking about, that he has special insider information.

But what is the source of his information? Greer will not reveal his sources, thus displaying the very kind of secrecy that he so loudly decries. (Those who have been present as Greer alluded to his own apparent abduction by extraterrestrials may have cause to wonder just what the ETs may have communicated to him, or what level of influence they may be exerting on this ambitious “ambassador.”)

Indeed, Greer adamantly maintains that “most abductions are staged, mobbed up[4],” “manufactured hoaxed events” perpetrated by humans, secret military or black-ops organizations, or even “a subterranean fascist entity,” all to foment an environment of fear and suspicion about the ET visitors (to justify defensive measures). Elsewhere he states, “Abductions, and the ‘abduction syndrome’ as it is commonly referred to, is largely a creation of covert human disinformation projects.”

However, Greer ignores the possibility that these faux events may in fact be controlled or inspired by the ETs themselves, utilizing some of the same disinformation techniques he refers to. For instance, Greer says, “…human initiated covert abductions not only serve as decoys in the UFO civilian research community, but serve to avert serious inquiry from the ‘mainstream’ scientific and media communities. It is a master stroke of disinformation, which the civilian community has swallowed hook, line and sinker.”

But what if these “human initiated covert abductions” are actually staged by extraterrestrials, with the appearance of being carried out by humans? Would that not be a master stroke of disinformation on their part, serving to obscure their real activities?

Other Voices

It now appears that in following his formidable ambitions – to be the person responsible for the salvation of the Earth from ecological disaster, to spearhead diplomatic relations between the Earth and the ETs, and to be a major spiritual leader on the planet – Steven Greer has become the world’s leading apologist for clandestine extraterrestrial activity on and around this planet.

Ultimately, his work may be seen as an inadvertent betrayal of humanity. Others are beginning to suggest this very possibility. For instance, John G. Cunningham writes[5], “Dr. Greer does not anywhere…talk about exercising caution. He seems convinced that the ‘aliens’ are peaceful and that only good could come from our contact with them. How can he be sure of this? It should be obvious to anyone that you just cannot blindly trust a stranger to come into your life and completely reorder it. So there are aliens in space and they make promises of a utopia. We should welcome them with open arms and without any check on their credibility. Let them dominate us and tell us how we should order our lives. Throw down our defenses and let them have charge. Can anyone blame me for wanting to be cautious?”

Theoretical physicist Jack Sarfatti (a highly-respected proponent of “The New Physics” and its relationship to consciousness, a self-described “rogue scholar,” and investigator of UFO propulsion systems) adds a wary note: “Let’s put a little balance and sanity into this. It would be as stupid to assume that the ETs are all benevolent as to assume that they are all malevolent. We have to be prepared for whatever comes either way. We have to be fair, decent, noble, moral, responsible, and all those good things. Also we have to be ready to kick alien ass and squash those Bugs, like in Heinlein’s ‘Star Troopers,’ if and only if they put us in harm’s way. It’s a Big Universe Out There; we cannot assume that all ETs come from the same culture with the same objectives.”[6]

The Politics of Nondisclosure

I predict that in all the hubbub over witness testimony, the supposed ending of secrecy, and the possibility of earth-saving technology, there is one issue that will not be adequately discussed: No one will testify to the awesome secrecy that marks the presence and behavior of the extraterrestrial visitors themselves. No one will admit that when Greer’s so-called disclosure process has run its course, the nature, identity, motivations, intentions, and clandestine activities of the ETs will remain undisclosed.

Neither will anyone be talking about the obvious fact that the ETs – either with or without human assistance – have somehow managed to obscure and obfuscate their presence and activities here. Theirs is an incredible achievement, which may demonstrate a level of mastery in information management, propaganda, and disinformation that far outstrips anything even the most manipulative human organizations have ever been able to muster.

What we need now is to move beyond what certain humans believe or want us to believe about the ETs, and demand that the ETs themselves come forward to disclose their intentions, their plans, and their activities here. This is the disclosure that is most urgently needed. What Greer has offered us is a nondisclosure event that is seemingly designed to further obscure the truth about the extraterrestrial presence.

Ironically, Greer himself has said, “Confusion and a lack of clarity serves the larger covert goal of keeping it off the long-range radar of society while power and plans are consolidated quietly. And the one thing more dangerous to society than all this secrecy is a planned, contrived disclosure run by the keepers of the secrets.”

Sadly, it seems that Dr. Greer is now orchestrating precisely the kind of “disclosure” that he has warned us against.


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[1] According to Greer, one of the purposes of CSETI is to “train interplanetary ambassadors in contact protocols.”

[2] In The Day After Roswell, Corso claimed that he was responsible for secretly delivering certain alien artifacts to unknowing corporate entities to seed reverse-engineering research, which quickly led to such developments as miniaturized semiconductors, lasers, and fiber optics.

[3] In an outburst of unbridled hubris, urging his enthusiastic audience at the recent UFO Congress to buy his book, Greer exclaimed, “If you get it, you’ll know everything you need to know, quite frankly.”

[4] Phoenix, April 9, 2000.

[5] http://hometown.aol.com/JCCunn/hoagland.html

[6] http://www.rense.com/politics5/secrecy.htm

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