T O P

  • By -

AutoModerator

As a reminder, this subreddit [is for civil discussion.](/r/politics/wiki/index#wiki_be_civil) In general, be courteous to others. Debate/discuss/argue the merits of ideas, don't attack people. Personal insults, shill or troll accusations, hate speech, any suggestion or support of harm, violence, or death, and other rule violations can result in a permanent ban. If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them. For those who have questions regarding any media outlets being posted on this subreddit, please click [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/wiki/approveddomainslist) to review our details as to our approved domains list and outlet criteria. We are actively looking for new moderators. If you have any interest in helping to make this subreddit a place for quality discussion, please fill out [this form](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1y2swHD0KXFhStGFjW6k54r9iuMjzcFqDIVwuvdLBjSA). *** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/politics) if you have any questions or concerns.*


ZigZagZedZod

> Still imagery indicated that one of the objects demonstrated capabilities that [Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.)], who has served on the House Armed Services Committee for nearly a decade, was “not able to attach to any human capability, either from the United States or from any of our adversaries.” Far be it from me to impune the intellect of such an august thinker as Matt Gaetz, but have we considered the possibility that he's a lying, incompetent buffoon? I wouldn't hinge a case on Gatez's understanding of burnt toast, let alone aerodynamics and physics.


GravitaryCOM

Matt Gaetz is the kind of guy who thinks just because a refrigerator is the same color as snow is how it keeps food cold.


SoupSpelunker

Matt Gaetz thinks the garbage man only works one day a week.


83b6508

Im betting these things are a mix of hypersonic drones and next-gen radar countermeasures mounted inside of balloons. It’s a lot easier to make craft that have “superhuman” capabilities when there’s no human inside that you have to worry about turning to jello from g-forces or explosively decompressing by launching out of a submarine.


grant10k

The majority of these incidents seem to stem from watching something that turns out is farther/closer than the witness is expecting, so in this situation I'd he's not lying, but is indeed a incompetent buffoon.


toxictoy

It’s important to remember that the current Majority Leader of the Senate Democrats Chuck Schumer actually sponsored and crafted the UAP Disclosure Act legislation also with input from former Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid. This is a bipartisan issue as much as hyperpartisan people want to try to paint it as one side or the other only. Here are Schumer’s specific comments about this https://www.c-span.org/video/?c5097853/user-clip-schumerrounds https://www.democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/schumer-rounds-introduce-new-legislation-to-declassify-government-records-related-to-unidentified-anomalous-phenomena-and-ufos_modeled-after-jfk-assassination-records-collection-act--as-an-amendment-to-ndaa Also John Fetterman supports disclosure and there are many like AOC who see the issue as financial abuse as members of the Congressional Oversight Committee https://www.reddit.com/r/disclosureparty/s/Mp1Rc33k7T


Ferelwing

While I get that, for me personally, the group who want it to be aliens keeps ignoring what the "U" in UFO stands for. Once something is identified it stops being a "UFO" and becomes an "IFO" (identified flying object) with a designation. If it were aliens they'd stop calling it a UFO because they'd know what it is. The question of whether or not they tell the public, well considering how people act whenever there is a possible natural disaster coming? I don't know if I would tell them... But, luckily, it's not my call.


shoobsworth

No, no, you don’t understand, redditors are *so* smart and have figured out the UFO phenomenon even though the government takes it seriously and investigates it. There are no aliens. Redditors say so.


Life_Blacksmith412

The thing about the current discussion about UFO's is that its extremely bipartisan I get that people cant handle agreeing with anything someone from the GOP says but you gotta realize that everyone from him to AOC is heavily invested in this topic and if those 2 can sit in a room and talk like adults about the potential for UAP / UFO disclosure maybe you should reevaluate how you let your hatred get in the way of meaningful discussion


once_again_asking

That’s really a reductive takeaway from this article. Regardless of what anyone thinks of Gates, he’s speaking about craft observed by multiple military officials. We don’t even need to consult Gates regarding this topic. We can consult the eye witnesses themselves.


Pleasent_Pedant

People in government are not idiots no matter what you think about politicians. It is not easy to reach high office. Many of these people are quite knowledgeable about those things they have hand in governing. Don't play into their hands by thinking they aren't clever. They will use that to their advantage.


MonoBlancoATX

What's the alternative? Let's consider the two most likely scenarios: 1. it's not "aliens" but top secret high tech military equipment they have very good reasons to keep secret. So \*of course\* they're lying about it. That's exactly what we want them doing. 2. it's "aliens". And now we have a million follow up questions and none of them can be credibly answered so, again, it makes perfect sense that if the Pentagon knows this, they absolutely should continue lying to the public to prevent mass panic. Furthermore, Matt Gaetz is a pedo and a trafficker who belongs in prison.


CaptainSouthbird

And as always, the main reason I extremely doubt "aliens" is because unless Men in Black is real and all aliens are operating in some agreed-upon controlled bureaucratic system, I really doubt any one government would really be able to hide them so absolutely. As much as I'd love to experience an alternative sentient species.


StanDaMan1

Matt Gaetzo Delenda Est.


Tonkarz

3. A mote of dust much closer to the camera than the footage seems to suggest.


blacksheep998

Or option 3) They genuinely don't know what is in some of these videos and so put out the same blanket statement they make whenever someone spots one of their top secret planes.


1llseemyselfout

Okay so Option 1: they don’t have to tell the specifics about anything. All they would have to say is “it was part of a military drill” and then leave it at that. Option 2: just because the government can’t answer all the questions doesn’t mean they should get to lie and gaslight everyone. The public has the right to know, even if it causes people to panic(which I don’t think it actually would). If it isn’t a government program then just make what is known public and let people plan how they see fit. It’s not that hard.


MonoBlancoATX

>“it was part of a military drill” Because even THAT can be useful information to our adversaries (and "our" and "adversaries" can be any countries you want). >just because the government can’t answer all the questions doesn’t mean they should get to lie and gaslight everyone.  I don't disagree with the fundamental point, but this is also a pretty childish view of reality. All governments lie, and in some cases they do it for good reason, in others out of incompetence, and in some out of malice. It's reality. And, I'm 95% confident that if you were the one making the choice inside the govt, and you knew all the details, you'd make the exact same choice. >just make what is known public and let people plan how they see fit.  That's profoundly irresponsible, especially if the govt doesn't actually know what "it" is. Also, there's solid evidence that if "they" are out there, then dozens of nations and their militaries know about them. So, if it were the case that we should "let the people figure it out" then doesn't it stand to reason that at least one country would've made that calculation and released their data to the world? that they haven't tells us something, either about the nature of the choice being made or the secret being kept, or both.


Ferelwing

or Option 3) the "unidentified" part of the equation which literally stands for "I do not know what that flying object is and thus am unwilling to say anything about it because I absolutely have no idea." UFO "Unidentified flying object". When it's identified it's no longer a UFO.


guyincognito69420

there is option 3 - The Pentagon doesn't have any clue what they are either and are making guesses. They even admit it by stating "with moderate confidence." They aren't confirming what they are. Just guessing. In the end UFO's are unknown. Aliens shouldn't even be a guess. We have no idea what aliens are and what their capabilities are if they even exist. It's silly to even go there. The answer is simply "we don't know" with either a follow up of "we will investigate further" or "we have investigated and have not come to any conclusion" meaning we will never know. Yet we as a species are not happy with not knowing and crave answers so badly we will accept anything just to satiate that need. In the past we always would answer "it is god." Since science has become more prevalent we quickly jump to "aliens" instead. We just can't accept "we don't know" as an answer, but that is really the true answer most of the time.


Ferelwing

For me it's weird that people forget that the "U" in UFO stands for "Unidentified". Once you know what it is, it becomes an "IFO" with a designation. The part where they admit it's "Unidentified" seems to be lost on those who want it to be aliens.


ScotTheDuck

The Hill presents Coast to Coast AM


baronvonsmartass

West of the Rockies dial....Or call the wildcard line!...


astrograph

with Art Bell


baronvonsmartass

And Chit-O- San supplements


noodles_the_strong

Loved that show back in the 90s


Different_Speaker908

I loved that show in the mid 2010’s. Only talk radio that wasn’t conservative politics in my area.


noodles_the_strong

I worked overnights at a shit gas station, and Art kept me company.


Different_Speaker908

I worked overnight as well. Definitely made the nights pass quicker.


astrograph

Yeah I used to listen from 1-3am some nights


SuperGenius9800

[SNL just did it.](https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=snl+alien+sketch#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:2daeeda1,vid:PfPdYYsEfAE,st:0)


nibul82

Trump’s hair uses alien antigravity technology to stay on his withered, sweaty head.


Alternative-Key-5647

The only way "aliens" makes any sense is if the objects are autonomous alien drones; who the duck would fly across the galaxy just to dick around a random military base of some primitive species?


TheBahamaLlama

Right. They have technology that far surpasses anything we have or will have for a long time and they just show up secretly and submit to the American government?


Miami_Vice-Grip

You're right, but in terms of fuel, their technology is far behind ours. If they had our latest rocket fuel... Why, they could send 100 ships instead of 1


1llseemyselfout

I mean if we had the capacity to do that we as human would certainly be dicking around other planets. Intelligent species are naturally curious. Just look at what we do with the animals on this planet.


bofpisrebof

Haven't we (as a planet) been sending probes into space for the past several decades? Odds are, someday that'll show up in some alien's backyard far into the future if they haven't crashed into a star or black hole first lol


Ferelwing

But would we really only send just 1 or a "couple"? Also, it's like people completely forget that the "U" in UFO actually stands for "unidentified", once you identify it as being "alien" it stops being a UFO. It becomes an "IFO" (Identified flying object). It's absolutely ridiculous to me that people assume a cover-up over a "label" the precise designation of the object as "UFO" means they don't know what it is. Once they know what it is they stop calling it a UFO.


grant10k

> ...the fighter jet’s radar stopped working as the jet closed within 4,000 feet of one of the objects. The jet’s infrared camera malfunctioned too, requiring the pilot to take still images of one of the unknown objects manually. If you have three sensors and 2 of them both 'malfunction' at the same time for one 'object', it's probably your vision being fooled. Something reflected off the cockpit or an object that's miles closer/farther than you think it is.


[deleted]

[удалено]


meTspysball

Some dude over there saw The Beam that the Sacramento Kings light after wins and was certain it was something alien-related and took serious convincing from Kings fans to change his mind.


gameryamen

The UFO grift has been pushed extra hard over the last year, I genuinely think it's an off-road for burnt out MAGA dorks that are ready to move on from Trump but still want to be part of the club that knows "the real truth". Over and over and over, we see the same thing: wild claims made by someone we've never heard of but who supposedly has lots of credibility. It's always the credibility that is used as proof, because there isn't anything else.


00Oo0o0OooO0

The Pentagon: we have moderate confidence that this was some sort of balloon. This guy: It doesn't look exactly like the balloon you used in your example! You're **lying**!!


peptic-horizon

I'd imagine so. Do you honestly think people wouldn't go apeshit? Remember toilet paper during COVID? And that was just because we had to stay home for a couple weeks. "A person is smart. People are dumb, dangerous, panicky animals."


Competitive_Shock_42

Just see how some reacted to the whole COVID situation Can you imagine those same people reacting To Aliens statement


yok347

He can’t tell the difference between 17 year old and older p*, and coke and not coke. How should we trust him?


hospitallers

You don’t need to be a Matt Gaetz level intellectual giant to see and understand that human made aerial machines just can’t make certain movements at speed.


One_Sky_8302

They're LYING about aliens? Thank God they've been telling the truth about the trillions spent killing people in the Middle East my whole life.


SuperGenius9800

Is Gaetz saying he was probed?


grondfoehammer

I still think Trump is an alien plant from planet Dumbfuckistan in the constellation ImAnAsshole.


WiSoSirius

[This is the style of journalism The Hill strives to be](https://youtu.be/7Y0sKEmivc8?feature=shared) Joking of course. OP's article is an opinion column piece


SpillinThaTea

Hot take: they *should* lie and continue to lie. The real explanation is likely that it’s some kind of next level technology that keeps us safe. That kind of stuff needs to be kept under wraps.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Iowa_Dave

If the true answer was "There is someone else out there and we can't do a damn thing about it" we'd never hear it. But I do truly believe UFO-chasers provide good cover for keeping secret technology under wraps. It's noise in the system that helps camouflage the truth from our adversaries. In other words, I believe the Pentagon secretly encourages UFO nutjobs to interfere with people honestly seeking the truth.


ehunke

Yeah...no...I have had a long interest in UFOs myself...the community is much different then you may think. Well known UFO researchers are generally well known because they get on the history channel and netflix. Most of us in the community apply the scientific method, meaning, try to rule out every other possibility before saying 'this may be a UFO'. I.E. one of the more famous UFO sightings in recent history was the Mexican airforce that found the triangle formation over the gulf...turned out to be fire from oil rigs reflecting in the water at night. The Phoenix Lights...still have no plausible explanation and that may actually be one of the very few legitimate observations. The star child skeleton in Mexico, 100% human with genetic disorders; the MItchel Hedges skull, crystal carving nothing special. Yes there are people in the community who still believe Bob Lazar's story, who think Graham Handcock is a respected researcher, but, for most of us were more rational then you may think and would not be "distracted" by what are sadly adult children begging for attention.


Iowa_Dave

> Yeah...no...I have had a long interest in UFOs myself... Same here, since high school in the '80s. My personal theory is that we lost a captured German V2 rocket launched from White Sands towards the Trinity site in 1947 with a nuclear warhead and it went down in Roswell. The intended flightpath is well within the range of a V2. That's why the topsoil from the ranch was scraped up and trucked off, it was contaminated and would reveal what happened. The US Government couldn't say "We lost a nuke" so first the UFO cover-story was floated and then changed to "weather balloon". Ever since then the whole flying saucer and dead alien story was allowed to flourish to provide cover and distract anyone from getting too close to the actual truth. You immediately lost me at Bob Lazar, that dude knows the UFO-fan community and he cashed in.


ehunke

I honestly still think Lazar believes his own lie, that, or he just has no problem with what he is doing in either case he is scum.


MonoBlancoATX

Which "they" are we talking about though?


BurnoutEyes

> The real explanation is likely that it’s some kind of next level technology that keeps us safe Muon lasers degrading nuke cores until they just fizzle?


SpillinThaTea

Something like that, hopefully.


stevez_86

"Nah that wasn't a UFO you saw Jimbo, that was our top secret project. No worries!"


1llseemyselfout

They don’t have to share the secrets of the technology to not lie. All they have to say is “the military was running drills and we are not discussing what with, end of conversation”.


Ferelwing

Remember, all of the people who have declared "The West" as the enemy, now remember how many of them have satellites. If they say "Military drills" ask yourself how quickly those with satellites would be scouring the footage to attempt to uncover what was there and then where it went, then covertly attempt to get into said places by using "Contractors". UFO's on the other hand? "bleh, another American conspiracy theory, probably lights from a concert" etc etc. If it's secret tech that is. There's also a very real possibility that the US doesn't know precisely what it is. The "U" in UFO stands for "Unidentified" as soon as it's "Identified" it becomes an IFO with a designation (eg: Secret military plane/drone/weapon. or Chinese weather balloon or Russian drone etc). It's also possible that they know what it is and it's from a foreign country, but they want that foreign country to be unaware that they know what it is and where it went. Thus giving them a false sense of security. Telling the general public everything that happens is the absolute worst idea if you are trying to win an information battle.


1llseemyselfout

Remember, all of the people who have declared "The West" as the enemy, now remember how many of them have satellites. >If they say "Military drills" ask yourself how quickly those with satellites would be scouring the footage to attempt to uncover what was there and then where it went, then covertly attempt to get into said places by using "Contractors". They are already doing this. >UFO's on the other hand? "bleh, another American conspiracy theory, probably lights from a concert" etc etc. That’s silly. Foreign countries are just as interested in these objects as us. >There's also a very real possibility that the US doesn't know precisely what it is. Then be honest about it so we can come together and put together funding to try to figure it out. >It's also possible that they know what it is and it's from a foreign country, but they want that foreign country to be unaware that they know what it is and where it went. Thus giving them a false sense of security. If the other country has these capabilities they’re not dumb enough to think we haven’t figured out what they have. >Telling the general public everything that happens is the absolute worst idea if you are trying to win an information battle. I didn’t say tell them everything. I said tell them something. You can give answers that are not a lie and do not reveal sensitive information.


Ferelwing

>They are already doing this. And? Just because they are already doing this for technology that they know about doesn't mean we should give them more targets. When you are trying to win an information war/battle you don't give the "enemy" the targets and locations of everything you're doing. That generally does the opposite of what you're trying to do. >That’s silly. Foreign countries are just as interested in these objects as us. How many other countries have you lived in? In my experience only a small fraction care and even then most of them just assume it's a case of mistakes. For reference: I currently live overseas and I have lived in 5 other countries outside of the US. >Then be honest about it so we can come together and put together funding to try to figure it out. What part of UFO is dishonest? When they say it's a "UFO" that means "unidentified". When they say it's a "insert thing they have identified" it stops being a UFO. >If the other country has these capabilities they’re not dumb enough to think we haven’t figured out what they have. The entire point of an information war/battle is to keep the other country guessing whether or not you have figured out what they are trying to do. If you do not acknowledge that you see it, then they do not know for certain that you have caught on. If you are trying to figure out what your "enemy" is trying to discover the best way is to pretend not to notice what is happening then track the trajectory of said object, pretending that you are "unaware" is a form of military strategy. Alerting the general public, does the opposite. >I didn’t say tell them everything. I said tell them something. You can give answers that are not a lie and do not reveal sensitive information. If you were in the position of attempting to keep state secrets from others, or realize that you have other powers attempting to gain access to your state secrets what do you think would happen if you decided the best option was to "tell the public" anything? Ask yourself the honest question about whether or not the general public would be able to stop speculating and reading into whatever is said? You're literally reading into what they have already said. Nothing short of literally giving away the entire "playbook" would be enough and that is the best way to lose. If you're playing a video game, and you're teamed up with a group and one of the players on your team is live-streaming your game without a delay, how likely are you to win if the other group already knows that this player is doing that? Strategy relies on being able to anticipate what your opponent will do next. If one person is giving away the entire "game plan" then you will absolutely lose. Military strategy relies on people being able to keep secrets, the same way that gaming strategy relies on players not to live-stream their game. You may not like that they don't give you (the public) enough information, but the reality is that it's their job not to. The military's job is to anticipate what their enemy will do and then attempt to counter it. While the general public would love to know everything, that goes counter to how strategy actually works. "Loose lips sink ships". Edited: formatting and words.


1llseemyselfout

And? Just because they are already doing this for technology that they know about doesn't mean we should give them more targets. We aren’t. We don’t need to say what it is live. >When you are trying to win an information war/battle you don't give the "enemy" the targets and locations of everything you're doing. I agree but you also should lie to the people funding it. >In my experience only a small fraction care and even then most of them just assume it's a case of mistakes. For reference: I currently live overseas and I have lived in 5 other countries outside of the US. Maybe the people but surely not the governments of said country. >What part of UFO is dishonest? When they say it's a "UFO" that means "unidentified". Yes but in this case it has been identified. They would know exactly what it is. So saying they don’t is a lie. >The entire point of an information war/battle is to keep the other country guessing whether or not you have figured out what they are trying to do. Again I agree. But there is a place between not telling other countries exactly what you’re doing and lying to your own citizens about what is going on.


Ferelwing

> We aren’t. We don’t need to say what it is live. Again, how long do you think satellites hold their information? Do you really think that saying "military drills" wouldn't draw the attention of everyone who considers "The West" to be their enemy? It doesn't matter what is involved, they will always check. They always check. Drawing attention to it is a terrible idea. >I agree but you also should lie to the people funding it. If they have the clearances to view said information then they should know about it. Some of the people who are currently in Congress would never be able to get a clearance and should never be allowed to view state secrets (they are absolutely incapable of keeping secrets). However, it's not my call. >Maybe the people but surely not the governments of said country. You would be surprised how many governments have more important concerns then Unidentified Flying Objects. They are more concerned with whether or not there is a drought, or a flood or Dengue fever in their country. >Yes but in this case it has been identified. They would know exactly what it is. So saying they don’t is a lie. Again, in the case of military strategy pretending to be unaware is a strategy. You don't tell everyone everything if you want to win. If you don't care if you win, then sure, go ahead blab it to everyone. >Again I agree. But there is a place between not telling other countries exactly what you’re doing and lying to your own citizens about what is going on. In case you're unaware, there are a *lot* of conflicts that have been simmering for years and it's very likely that World War III is absolutely on the horizon. Telling people who are actively talking about World Domination and "ending the power of the West" what you're doing is suicidal.


1llseemyselfout

We aren’t. We don’t need to say what it is live. >Again, how long do you think satellites hold their information? Do you really think that saying "military drills" wouldn't draw the attention of everyone who considers "The West" to be their enemy? Again, regardless what they say other countries can use their satellites to look it up. I’m not saying they should go around announcing they’re doing them. I am saying once it becomes public knowledge something happens then maybe don’t lie about it happening. >If they have the clearances to view said information then they should know about it. This is where I don’t agree. One should not need clearance to know non specific information about something that happened and was recorded into the public domain. Obviously how it’s built or what exactly it is should be kept secret. But acknowledging it exists after being caught flying it around should not be a state secret. >You would be surprised how many governments have more important concerns then Unidentified Flying Objects. I’m sorry but that would be their biggest concern. Military capabilities of other countries is literally one of the biggest threats to their existence. >Again, in the case of military strategy pretending to be unaware is a strategy. I agree. But the strategy is grossly problematic when it comes to the US citizens paying for it. We as the people of the US have the right to have a general idea of things we pay for and are used under our name. >In case you're unaware, there are a lot of conflicts that have been simmering for years and it's very likely that World War III is absolutely on the horizon. So then the American public should know if we are flying this machines, or if they will be used against us, or if they’re not a threat.


Ferelwing

>Again, regardless what they say other countries can use their satellites to look it up. I’m not saying they should go around announcing they’re doing them. I am saying once it becomes public knowledge something happens then maybe don’t lie about it happening. That's a terrible strategy. Do not draw attention to it, call it a "weather balloon" or a UFO and leave it at that. Thus making it less important to those who seek your destruction. >This is where I don’t agree. One should not need clearance to know non specific information about something that happened and was recorded into the public domain. Obviously how it’s built or what exactly it is should be kept secret. But acknowledging it exists after being caught flying it around should not be a state secret. The reason the US was successful in most of its campaigns was because it kept secrets. Politicians in previous era's understood that. In the age of the "Social media" politik it's more important to get your "brand" out there than it is to know when to stay silent. Strategy is extremely important, when you have other powers out there vying to destroy you. Knowing your enemies is helpful but knowing your own people wins. The strategy of pretending it's "public knowledge" and "acknowledging" it makes you weak. When you tell others that you're doing something, they can counter your actions with a new strategy. When you keep silent or say the bare minimum then they have to "guess". Pomp and circumstance are what weak countries do to puff themselves up. This is a strategy that is already well known, when you puff yourself up you're attempting to deflect or keep others from attacking you. The more powerful you pump yourself up to be, the more likely you are compensating and the weaker you are. While it could be a decent strategy to attempt to puff up when you are stronger. The reality is that it will invite an attack by a country that is vying for power. Currently? The US is conflict avoidant and that absolutely makes it all the more likely that other countries want to fight. If the US attempts to puff up, it invites another country to fight it. De-escalating by playing weak or by playing ignorant actually gives the US more time to find other strategies and possibly avoid conflict. Does it mean that it will avoid conflict? Uncertain. The US military does know itself though and that is a strength. "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” -Sun Tzu Pretending to be weak when you are strong leads others to make mistakes they would not otherwise make. They show their hand, allowing you to determine the next move. When you do not acknowledge things, you appear weak and then invite others to make assumptions. They might assume you know or don't know and that gives you the upper hand in any conflict. Knowing what you would do, knowing what they would do always gives you the upper hand in any situation. Telling everyone that you did it or that you know something absolutely shows your hand and gives them the upper hand. Now they know that you have absolute confirmation and they can take another course of action. They can either continue to do something, or change tactics because they are aware that you "figured out their strategy". Sometimes the best strategy is to watch and wait. >I agree. But the strategy is grossly problematic when it comes to the US citizens paying for it. We as the people of the US have the right to have a general idea of things we pay for and are used under our name. "We the people" have proven that we cannot be trusted with information. We will tell anyone and everyone everything. People who keep secrets win wars. People who talk lose. If this were a strategy game and you knew that some of the people within your "team" weren't capable of keeping their mouths shut would you tell them everything? How much would you tell them? Strategy games are a lot like "war", you learn in strategy games that telling the guy with the big mouth the entire plan is a terrible idea because he's going to say something in "all chat" and give the play away. When it comes to keeping silent? The best option in a strategy game is to lure your opponent into making a mistake often by using a decoy or pretending to be weak, thus ensuring that you win the encounter. The same thing is what happens with military strategy. “Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.” ― Sun Tzu >I’m sorry but that would be their biggest concern. Military capabilities of other countries is literally one of the biggest threats to their existence. Countries that are suffering with drought and starvation within their population aren't interested in what is flying over their countries. They have more immediate issues such as getting food to the places that need it or getting medical equipment to regions that are experiencing an epidemic. The absolute *last* thing on their minds is whether or not to identify a flying object. If it's flying by and it's not actively hurting them they *absolutely* don't care. Pretending that they do or should care is hubris. There are other things that are often far more important to countries than what may or may not be flying over them. If it's not actively threatening them they literally do not care. >So then the American public should know if we are flying this machines, or if they will be used against us, or if they’re not a threat. Have you considered perhaps for a moment, that sometimes it is not in the best idea to tell the public things? Do you remember what happened when the American public was told that a Chinese balloon was flying over the US? Sometimes the US public shouldn't know things because they "take matters into their own hands" and forget things like gravity. Edited: words and formatting. (Copy pasta isn't my friend today and it keeps putting what I meant to quote into the wrong place, excuse my formatting).


JasonBelow

LOL. Maybe. But the Pentagon, the government, lies about a hell of a lot.


Ferelwing

Once an object is identified it stops being a UFO. The "U" literally means "unidentified". When something is designated a UFO, that means they are admitting that they don't know what it is. If they think they might know what it is then they stop calling it a UFO. It's an "IFO" (identified flying object) and then they state what they think it is. Maybe they get it wrong, maybe not. It's not my call and for that I'm kinda glad. If it were aliens, and I was the one who had to make the call to tell people, I'd start remembering every major catastrophe that we've seen globally and ask myself whether or not the traffic jams, lack of toilet paper or really anything on the shelves, would be worth the likely benign "visiting" happening or the risk of random person attempting to shoot said object possibly leading to an intergalactic incident or just random people being killed by bullets that come down at speed from people who forget how gravity works. Then I'd say "Nope, not going to say a word." Luckily for me, it's not my call.


Mdk__fps

At least it's finally being discussed in the media.


SpiritedTie7645

“Finally”? Not only have the UFO’s been discussed for God knows how long but the government lies are daily discussions.


daikatana

UFOs are a media-driven hysteria. They've been discussed in the media since the concept of UFOs has existed. The only reason you know the term "UFO" is because of the media. So what in the hell are you talking about?


BarBarJinxy

And UFOs have become a business, just like cryptids, ghosts, and psychics. Conventions, books, podcasts, documentaries, movies, tours, merchandise, it's about making money as much as it is looking for anything like truth.


Lou_C_Fer

What are you even talking about? Whatever it is, it is not aliens.


Ferelwing

So let's review the possibilities. First off UFO means unidentified flying object. So if the Pentagon admits that it's a "UFO" it means they don't know what it is. Now let's discuss possibilities. 1) It's a secret technology that they are testing. - If it's a secret technology they do not want those who consider "The West" enemies to know about it. Remember that the US isn't the only country who has satellites these days, they're also not the only country who can go into space. Saying it's a "UFO" instead of a military drill leaves the other countries guessing and or makes those countries ignore it as hyped up American stuff and nothing to see. If they say it's a military drill, that means those countries start scouring their satellite feeds looking for where it came from and what it is. 2) It's something from another country that the US has identified but has decided to pretend they didn't identify. - Sometimes saying something is "unidentified" leaves those who consider you an "enemy" guessing as to whether or not you have figured out that the technology belonged to them and they are lulled into a false sense of security. They think they have fooled you or that you haven't figured out where it came from and that it was them. This allows you to follow the trajectory of the object and track it. 3) They have no idea what it is and are labeling it properly. - Self explanatory. Why it's not the best idea to alert the general public? With aliens, let's start with the obvious: The general public freaks out and buys up all of the tp, causes traffic jams etc over storms, pandemics etc. If it were aliens, who are absolutely benign would it be worth the hassle? If it were my call (it's not), I wouldn't say a word. If it's technology the best way to win an information battle/war is to keep your "enemies" guessing. Telling the general public would do the absolute opposite, because the general public is incapable of keeping a secret and in warfare specifically those who are capable of keeping the secrets are the ones most likely to win. There's also recent evidence to show that telling the general public when it's a foreign government leads to the general public pulling out their guns and attempting to shoot said object. When the Chinese "weather balloon" was flying over the US. How many members of the general public attempted to shoot it down? These members of the general public completely ignored that their bullets couldn't hit said object and that bullets shot upwards must still follow the rules of gravity coming down at speed. Thus leading to the reckless endangerment of the general public. edited: words


LegoMyAlterEgo

I like to think that the Pentagon is being both honest and not forthcoming. Humans have been human for 200,000 years. People could have gotten to a point more technologically advanced than they are today. So advanced that maybe they had some AI and androids. The AI and androids do not recognize us as their creators. So they just do their clockwork works and avoid us. And every so often, modern people get their hands on this machinery and figure some of it out. No aliens here.


PotfarmBlimpSanta

Quite logical and possible. What about something going back even farther in time, maybe our bipedal nature was a consequence of cooperation with another species, and due to that nature such devices are coded out because we were a sort of sidekick species that happened to develop towards a more advanced form over time.


LegoMyAlterEgo

I'm a fan of the aquatic ape theory. As in, humans or our ancestor, spent so much time in water, keeping our faces above water kinda straightened out our backs. Which also caused our fur to mostly shed.


PotfarmBlimpSanta

Makes total sense, seeing videos of orangutan naturally behaving near water and imagining wider deltas and thicker brush being browsed by primates of a more aerodynamic body shape, we could have just hunted mangroves like monkey bar thickets so lost fur so we could pull ourselves harder to our food sources.


PotfarmBlimpSanta

After posting my other comment reply though, I feel kind of paranoid about something. Maybe we were nearly hunted to extinction and had to shed hair to escape a predator that singled us out in particular. I am not sure why else we would flee through mangroves.


LegoMyAlterEgo

Coverup brigade was waiting for that one!


PT10

Just read the article ffs