US Report Central Intelligence Agency, Scientific Advisory Panel
The Robertson Panel reports: the sightings are no direct threat, and public interest should be reduced
The Scientific Advisory Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects, convened by the Central Intelligence Agency's Office of Scientific Intelligence, met from 14 to 18 January 1953 and reported to the Assistant Director for Scientific Intelligence. Its formal report, signed by H. P. Robertson as chairman with Lloyd V. Berkner, S. A. Goudsmit, Luis W. Alvarez and Thornton Page, concluded that the evidence showed no indication of a direct physical threat to national security and no need to revise scientific concepts. It found that continued emphasis on reporting could clog communication channels and foster a morbid national psychology, and recommended that national security agencies strip the subject of its special status and institute training and public education. A memorandum of 16 February 1953 recorded the meetings and the members' further comments.
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- The Panel concluded that the evidence presented "shows no indication that these phenomena constitute a direct physical threat to national security".
- It recommended that national security agencies "take immediate steps to strip the Unidentified Flying Objects of the special status they have been given and the aura of mystery they have unfortunately acquired".
- The Panel did not accept the USN Photo Interpretation Laboratory's conclusion that the Tremonton, Utah objects were "self-luminous", considering their motions and brightness strongly suggestive of birds (pp. 11 to 13).
- It proposed an educational programme of "training and debunking" lasting one and a half to two years, and suggested consultants including Hadley Cantril and Walt Disney, Inc. (pp. 20 to 22).
- It advised that civilian groups such as the "Civilian Flying Saucer Investigators" and the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization "should be watched" (p. 23).
Documents
- Report Robertson Panel Report The Black Vault· 1953· 29 pp.
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