The Robertson Panel saw a reporting problem
CIA, 1952.
The Robertson Panel was skeptical, but it did not simply ignore UFO reports. It worried about public panic, overloaded channels, and warning systems. The panel moved the question from objects in the sky to control of information about objects in the sky.
From the file
The panel concluded unanimously that there was no evidence of a direct threat to national security in the objects sighted.
The concern was not only the objects themselves. The panel also worried that a flood of reports could clog warning channels and create a defense problem during a real crisis.
open the original, on war.gov ↗ Connections
- The Robertson Panel reached Defense strong linksame Robertson Panel conclusions appear in a Defense transmittal
- Blue Book turned sightings into statistics strong linkBlue Book statistics grew out of the same official effort to sort reports