While not all of the former Congress members at the Citizen Hearing on Disclosure last week were convinced that we are being visited by aliens, they all did say they were impressed by the high level of credibility of some of the witnesses they heard from.
Critics have pointed out that the committee members received $20,000 for their participation, so they would have been impressed by anything they had seen. However, their only requirement was to show up and participate. I think it would have been much easier for them to collect their checks and agree with reporters that it was a silly event. Instead, they are expressing their surprise that the credibility of witnesses is much higher than expected, and some are going so far as to say they are convinced that ET is visiting earth and the United Nations needs to investigate it.
Among the witnesses were 10 retired U.S. Air Force servicemen, including pilots and officers. Most of them testified to being personally involved with UFO encounters. Two of the witnesses that riled the committee members to action were John Burroughs and Jim Penniston. In 1980, these two men were sent out into the forest surrounding an air base in the UK that was on lease by the USAF from the British government to investigate mysterious lights. They say they came upon a strange triangular craft. Penniston took notes on the details of the object, and even touched it, before the mysterious craft lifted up above the tree tops and took off at a tremendous speed.
These men have requested their service and medical records from this time period, and have been denied. Nick Pope, a former official with the British Ministry of Defence who was in charge of their UFO investigations, also testified. He says that in their investigation, the British MoD did find high levels of radiation in the area after Penniston and Burroughs had their encounter, and feels this may be the root of some of their medical problems. He is very concerned with the problems they are having retrieving their records.
The former Congress members agreed with Pope and vowed to aid the men in receiving their records. They even volunteered to draft and sign a letter to the White House demanding their records be released.
Other credible witnesses included a Peruvian Air Force pilot, a colonel from the Uruguayan Air Force, and a professor from China, all discussing UFO events that have taken place in their respective countries. A UFO researcher from Brazil discussed his group's cooperation with the Brazilian government in investigating the phenomenon. They were even recently invited to the Brazilian Ministry of Defense to meet with military heads.
It was not only the former Congress members who were impressed. Among the attendees was Edgar Cahn, a professor at the University of the District of Columbia School of Law, founder and co-chairperson of TimeBanks USA, a former special counsel and speechwriter for Attorney General Robert Kennedy under President John Kennedy's administration, and the author of a number of books including No More Throwaway People.
Cahn told me that he found the testimony "very compelling and very exciting." He went so far as to say he is concerned that if the military has recovered a crashed flying saucer that they are not sharing this information and the technology they may have obtained. Cahn seems to have been convinced by testimony given regarding the famous alleged UFO crash in Roswell, New Mexico. One of the witnesses that spoke to this event is Dr. Edgar Mitchell, a former Apollo astronaut. He grew up in the town of Roswell, and says some of the townsfolk who were around at the time have told him it really happened, and he believes them.
Former senator Mike Gravel has been the most out spoken about his feelings on what he heard at the hearing. He says, "There is no doubt in my mind that there is an extraterrestrial presence that is affecting the planet."
He told the ABC News program Top Line that the conspiracy to keep this information secret, "goes right to the White House, and of course, once the White House takes a position, 'well, there's nothing going on'... it just goes down the chain of command, everyone stands toe."
Four of the six former Congress members have pledged support for a proposal that has been drafted to the United Nations suggesting that they hold "a world conference addressing the possible evidence for an extraterrestrial presence engaging this planet."
Stephen Bassett, the organizer of the event, says that they were not able to get this information while they were in Congress because they are told there is nothing to it, so they don't spend the time to get to know more. It would be interesting to find out if current Congress members would find this testimony as compelling, and what actions they may be prompted to take.
You can find more coverage of the Citizen Hearing on Disclosure at OpenmInds.tv.