We Need to Talk About National Security

For over 70 years, the federal government has withheld information from the public regarding UFOs and extraterrestrials, citing national security concerns. I understand the rationale—at least in the beginning. 

Tensions were high as the United States and the Soviet Union faced off during the Cold War—aliens would have been a new factor in the global power struggle. Revealing the existence of extraterrestrial technology could have resulted in an arms race over who could reverse-engineer alien craft first. The U.S. government would have wanted to work in secret to study and weaponize alien technology to obtain and maintain a technological edge. 

Another reason for UFO secrecy was that the government feared the public’s reaction. Would there be mass panic similar to the 1938 War of the Worlds radio broadcast? Or maybe the population would fall into despair when faced with the reality that humanity was not, as touted in religious texts, the apex of life in the universe. In either case, severe psychological trauma would result.

But that was 70 years ago, and the USG still keeps its secrets, still citing “national security” reasons. I disagree. History has shown us that “national security” is often just a proxy for “financial interests.”

Protecting corporate interests has always been part and parcel of national security. The 1954 military coup in Guatemala, which was supported (and encouraged) by the CIA and the U.S. military, ensured that United Fruit Company maintained control of 40-50% of the country’s arable land. The national security rationale for the 2003 Iraq War was to eliminate weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) - a claim that was ultimately proven false. The likely real reason was to gain control over Iraq’s vast oil reserves and secure lucrative defense contracts for companies like Halliburton and Lockheed Martin. 

We could go on, but you get the picture.

What financial interests would be protected by keeping information about UFOs and extraterrestrials secret? I’m just speculating, but I can think of a few:

• Considerable evidence exists that alien technology is parceled out to carefully vetted defense contractors to reverse-engineer and develop as they could. Should this no longer be secret, these corporations would need to compete with other companies for the opportunity to work on and profit from this technology.

• If new energy sources (free energy!) were introduced, the oil, gas, and coal industries would collapse.

• Breakthrough technologies could make our current tech sector—intellectual property, software, semiconductors, and electronics—obsolete.

• If alien technology included revolutionary medical advancements (longevity treatments, advanced cures, etc), pharmaceutical companies and healthcare providers would be out of business.

• Traditional financial systems would definitely be disrupted. 

Beyond commercial interests, let’s not forget about the self-interest of government officials. With the arrival of extraterrestrials, national governments would lose much of their authority—and, frankly, a lot of their reason for existing. Would people still be willing to go to war to protect United Fruit Company? Or to create markets for Halliburton? I can envision national governments fading into irrelevance as humanity redirects its attention to the cosmos.

My conclusion is that the national security concerns cited for keeping UFO and advanced technology issues secret are less about defense and more about preserving the status quo. I wish it wasn’t so. Financial interests are a much more difficult obstacle to overcome.