A vote by the Senate Intelligence Committee will require the Defense Department and U.S. intelligence agencies to put together in-depth analysis for public consumption based on the data they have on "unidentfied aerial phenomenon," according to POLITICO. Put in a way that's easier to understand, those reports should include all the weird shit that Navy pilots have been seeing lately.
The next hurdle (for those of us who wish to view such a thing) is whether or not this provision to a yearly intelligence authorization bill will be adopted by the rest of the senate. Nevertheless, even if that doesn't happen, a debate will be held that could give the public an idea of just how closely the government has been monitoring UFOs.
In the report, the Committee makes it clear that they're concerned about how seriously the government is (or, more accurately, is not) taking the "potential threat" of aerial phenomena of unknown origins. Whether it's aliens, or another country, you can see why that would be of some interest to the government, oh, and also us citizens.
"The Committee understands that the relevant intelligence may be sensitive; nevertheless, the Committee finds that the information sharing and coordination across the Intelligence Community has been inconsistent, and this issue has lacked attention from senior leaders," they write in their report on the bill.
POLITICO adds that "[t]he unclassified analysis, which can include a classified annex, is to be completed by the director of national intelligence and the secretary of defense within 180 days of passage."
A year ago, senators on the panel were told about a run of incidents in which navy pilots were followed by unidentified aircrafts off the nation's coasts. Included in these briefings were a set of videos that were made public earlier in 2020.
These briefings came after it was learned that the Pentagon had looked into these sightings a few years earlier, in late 2017. It was also learned that a new set of guidelines had been given to military members on the subject of how to report such incidents in the future.
The Senate panel is now directing relevant information on that subject to be collected from the various agencies/organizations that have data on the subject for the purpose of centralizing that information.
Obviously this is a win for our nation's Fox Mulders, Dale Gribbles, and whatever third fictional character you can name that I'm unaware of.
"It further legitimizes the issue," said ex-Pentagon intelligence official and Senate staffer Christopher Mellon, himself a longtime proponent of getting the info out. "That in itself is extremely important. People can talk about it without fear of embarrassment."
He also elaborated on the significance of a report done correctly.
"Assuming the report is properly prepared and delivered, there is no telling what the impacts could be," Mellon added. "That could range from revealing an unknown threat or military vulnerability to there have been probes visiting our planet, or anything in between."
