Article written by Luis Elizondo.
The U.S. Air Force began their investigations into UFOs with Project Sign, Project Grudge and then Project Blue Book. With wave after wave of sightings and reports from credible observers, the UFO phenomenon was too big to ignore.
At the request of President Truman, the CIA convened the Robertson Panel, a CIA-led panel of scientists to address the issue.
The Panel concluded that the reporting of UFOs and public interest in the phenomenon were a threat to National Security, the rationale being that the Soviet Union could manipulate "flying saucer" interest into a weapon of attack during the Cold War.
As a result, national security agencies were to take immediate steps to strip the aura of mystery from the UFO phenomenon, and suppress interest and reporting of UFOs. Lax policies were also adopted that gave hoaxers free reign, as well as other measures that further helped to obfuscate the phenomenon and control the UFO narrative.
UFOs were downplayed and notably, the Air Force backed by the CIA, relied on deceit and stigma to minimize UFO reports, and conveyed what could even be perceived as a threat to anyone that might choose to speak up about their experiences.