German mainstream media article on AARO report

For this topic let me introduce you how we in germany have to follow the developments since 2017.
In germany mainstream media did not really catch up on the UAP developments. There was one live stream for one hour by german media ZDFneo about the published AATIP New york times article and that was that for quite some time.

Since 2 months now mainstream media has picked up the topic more and more – seeking a more scientific approach, which is more appealing to the german citizens, as Grusch´s claims seem to much of a conspiracy to the german people.
Mainstream media was and is still in some parts not helping seeking what the truth is. (I am not saying that the truth is aliens, but it is definitly not what AARO has presented us either.)
An example is an article from “Spiegel”, a private, yet considered main stream media news publisher. It has reviewed the report of AARO and was not all critical about it at all, they simply agreed with AARO´s report. I was really upset about it, as this was not a journalistic review at all.

Hope came up anyway, as many mainstream media publisher, such as ZDF have published a news video about the development together with a member of ESA (European Space Agency) shedding light on the phenomena´s reality and that it needs to be scientifically picked up.

On wednesday 13.3.24 Focus, another private, yet considered Mainstream media news publisher called “Focus” did what needed to be done and picked AARO´s report apart. Something I did not expect at all to happen, as germans majority really picks upon people who show an interested in this topic.

This is the report.

“
Official UFO Report or Whistleblower Grusch: Who is telling the truth?

In 2023, the US Congress mandated the newly established investigative agency, AARO, to produce a report on US government projects related to the study of unidentified flying objects and anomalous phenomena (UFOs/UAP) from 1945 to the present day. Expert Andreas Müller will brief you on the content and background of the report.

What exactly was the US UFO agency AARO supposed to find out with the “Historical Report”?

As part of the establishment of the US UFO investigation agency “All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office” (AARO), the US Congress subsequently mandated this agency, through the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2023, to compile a historical review of all known and unknown projects of the US government since 1945 that were related to UFOs or UAPs.
For this purpose, the archives and records of US ministries, agencies, and institutions were to be searched for relevant documents, and witnesses were to be directly interviewed. This report has now been published under the title “Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) Volume I.”

Why is the term UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) used instead of UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects)?

The abbreviation “UFO” (for “Unidentified Flying Object”) carries a strong stigma and is often associated by most people with extraterrestrial spacecraft. Additionally, “UFO” narrows the focus of the phenomenon too much because sightings are reported not only in the air but also in Earth’s orbit and underwater. For this reason, US lawmakers have broadened the term to refer to the phenomena as “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena” (UAP). The current term explicitly includes “Transmedium Objects or Devices,” which are observed during transitions between space and the atmosphere or between the atmosphere and bodies of water and are not immediately identifiable.

And what conclusions does the report reach?

In the 69-page report, the AARO authors repeatedly emphasize a key finding that was not explicitly requested by Congress: Like a common thread throughout the report, it is stated that while various UFO projects have existed and that some UFO cases and the unconventional characteristics of these objects (such as shape, speed, maneuverability, or interaction with pursuing fighter jets) remain unexplained, there is no evidence found anywhere to suggest that UFOs are of extraterrestrial origin.

Wouldn’t that clarify the major questions surrounding the UFO myth?

Actually, not really. The question of a possible extraterrestrial origin of UFOs was neither the question posed by the US Congress nor is it a compelling basis for the study of UFO phenomena. While an extraterrestrial origin of unexplained UFO sightings cannot be ruled out and remains one of the common hypotheses, it is still not proven.

The current AARO report itself attests that unexplained UFO sightings have always existed and are reported by credible witnesses such as fighter pilots, radar operators, astronauts, etc. These are cases for which there are sometimes even photo and video evidence as well as records from radar and other sensors. These would have been cases with a scientific basis that could have, and arguably should have, been investigated in the current report. Unfortunately, that did not happen.

In its report, AARO also explains that most UFO sightings can be attributed to misidentifications of known natural or man-made phenomena, or even secret research projects such as stealth aircraft. However, this fact was already known before the report and was typically acknowledged by UFO researchers themselves rather than being denied. In fact, at least 95 percent of all supposed UFO sightings can be conventionally explained.

It’s the remaining 5 to 3 percent of sightings and detections that cannot be explained in this manner, which both AARO and the US Department of Defense themselves acknowledge as real and a potential threat to aviation and national security. These events should be the subject of open-ended scientific investigations.

And did the current AARO report fail to address that?

This report is not the result of scientific inquiry. AARO itself is not a scientific agency like NOAA or NASA. Ultimately, AARO is under the Pentagon, which means it falls under military and intelligence oversight. The former AARO director and author of the report has a deep background in intelligence services. So, in a sense, a part of this apparatus has investigated itself.

At the same time, AARO sometimes lacked the authority to question witnesses under oath. Therefore, it had to suffice that the head of a unit, a project, or a company under Pentagon jurisdiction was simply asked whether they had extraterrestrial technologies, and they answered, “No, we do not.”

A scientific investigation of this question (even though it was not explicitly asked by Congress) would need to be independent, open-ended, and transparent in both its questioning and its answers. After all, there are scientific standards for this purpose.

The AARO report does not meet these standards?

No, it doesn’t. It starts with the hypothesis or theory that the report repeatedly tries to address by stating that “no evidence of extraterrestrial origin of UFOs has been found.” However, this question was not even asked. To answer it scientifically, the origin of UFOs would have had to be framed and justified as a theory before being investigated and then confirmed or refuted with conclusions.

Furthermore, the format of the report also does not meet the standards of a scientific work. This begins with the references, some of which are quite peculiar even for an agency: for example, one reference is from a private fan wiki page. 31 other references are to AARO reports that are not publicly available. Additionally, there are numerous factual errors in the content, such as incorrectly naming already known UFO projects or misstating data on historical key events.

Elsewhere, the report makes statements that may sound plausible at first but do not hold up to simple scrutiny. For example, it is claimed that the “Manhattan Project” could have led to numerous misidentifications with UFOs. However, it is not explained why the development of the US atomic bomb would lead to UFO sightings.

In another instance, it is simply assumed that a military witness who claims to have seen and even touched a hovering UFO in a US military hangar actually saw an unknown secret stealth bomber. While stealth bombers were once classified, if you look at them, they don’t look much different from conventional aircraft.

They may be somewhat more angular or rounded, but they have everything a conventional aircraft needs to fly: wings, propulsion, control surfaces, landing gear, a cockpit, etc. So why would a military employee mistake such an aircraft for a UFO when standing right in front of it? This list of deficiencies could be continued in detail for a long time.

This report apparently was not scientifically peer-reviewed by experts. If it had been, it certainly would not have been accepted for publication by any scientific journal.

What impact does the AARO report still have, and what happens next?

In the media, the report naturally has the effect of solidifying the already discussed key points and will likely dominate the public discourse. One can speculate whether this might have been the intention of this publication?

However, it is interesting to note the statements of the current AARO interim director, Timothy A. Phillips, who expressed being “glad” that work on the “Historical Report” (which was still under his predecessor Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick) is now almost completed, and they can return to “those cases we received this week. I want our staff on the ground actively interviewing witnesses, securing evidence, and collaborating with other agencies and departments to collect real-time event data.”

To this end, AARO is currently developing a mobile detection unit for UFOs/UAPs, which is intended to be deployed at militarily sensitive US locations at home and abroad to detect and analyze unidentified aerial objects and phenomena in real-time.

So, the UFO phenomenon seems to be, for the US government and the Pentagon, still very real and will continue to be earnestly researched. The question of whether the US government and the Pentagon have already recovered and hidden UFOs and whether they were actually flown by extraterrestrials should, in the future, be answered by an independently appointed, scientifically grounded commission set up by the US Congress rather than the Pentagon itself.

Military and intelligence work is undoubtedly important, but it is (for good reason) committed to different principles than science. When it comes to researching elementary particles, drugs, or space, we do not ask for the opinion of a government agency. Therefore, we should also direct the big questions about UFOs and UAPs more towards the sciences.

Does the AARO report thus prove that whistleblower witnesses like David Grusch are lying?

Indeed, high-ranking whistleblowers like Grusch claim precisely the opposite of what the study suggests and report on a highly secretive government program that has been ongoing for decades. This program is said to have recovered and investigated UFOs. Although Grusch speaks of a “non-human” and not necessarily “extraterrestrial” origin of these objects, it seems that this is exactly what is meant. However, the AARO report states either no evidence of such programs has been found or it has been realized that the corresponding witnesses actually mistook earthly classified programs for aliens.

These two statements do not align, and if we were only dealing with a single statement, namely Grusch’s, this stalemate might be left as it is. But Grusch is not alone. Other high-ranking government officials now support his claims and intend to testify publicly themselves. Even the Inspector General of the US intelligence community has deemed Grusch’s statements so credible and serious that further investigations are warranted. Additionally, other official witnesses have told journalists and lawyers that due to profound distrust of the intelligence community and the Pentagon, they did not even approach AARO.

It is quite possible that we will soon see more high-ranking whistleblowers confirming Grusch’s claims and thus increasingly questioning the conclusions of the report. However, it could also be left to play out: after all, Grusch testified under oath and could now be charged with perjury based on the AARO report. In that case, Grusch would have to publicly name his witnesses, who are still secret.

In fact, AARO leaves a loophole open in case “verifiable additional information that could change the conclusions herein” emerges before the publication of the second part of the report. Then, as the historical report concludes, this information would be provided in the second volume (Volume II) with annotations.”

This report is, in my eyes, a huge revelation regarding this topic. Making more people understand what problem underlies this whole cover up will make more and more people suspicious about what reality really is.

Again – me personally wish aliens to be real – I know they are, they must be, its rather a question of them being on earth already or ever will.
Yet UAP´s are real, there is no doubt about that. And they might be the biggest mystery to solve for our generation. From it being the most boring finding to the most exciting one, it is for us people to come forward and pressure science to find out. In my eyes it is much more likely to be breathtaking.