Background The Condon Committee, officially known as the University of Colorado UFO Project, was an investigative group funded by the United States Air Force from 1966 to 1968. The group was led by physicist Edward U. Condon, hence the committee’s popular name. The objective of this committee was to examine the phenomenon of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) to determine if they presented any scientific interest. The Condon Committee Report, also known as “Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects,” was the result of this two-year investigation. The report, nearly 1,500 pages long, was published in 1968. It included detailed analysis and…
Author: John Greenewald
Background The National Near-Earth Object Preparedness Strategy and Action Plan (Strategy and Action Plan) will improve our Nation’s preparedness to address the hazard of near-Earth object (NEO) impacts over the next 10 years. Its primary role is to help organize and coordinate NEO-related efforts within Federal Departments and Agencies (agencies), with a particular focus on efforts that are already existing and resourced. It seeks to leverage and enhance existing assets and capabilities—National and international, public and private—to effectively manage the risks associated with NEOs. The Strategy and Action Plan builds on efforts by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),…
Background According to this document: “This study, undertaken by the Foreign Denial and Deception Analysis Committee (DDAC) at the direction of the Director of Central Intelligence, is one of two assessments of damage undertaken as a result of Jonathan Pollard’s espionage on behalf of Israel during 1984-1985, which are being issued almost simultaneously.” Back in 2007, the CIA released the below document, heavily redacted. Since nearly a decade had passed, in June of 2017, I requested a Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) of the record, believing that since so much time had passed, and there had been significant changes in politics…
Background The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) is a self-sustaining U.S. Government agency that helps American businesses invest in emerging markets. Established in 1971, OPIC provides businesses with the tools to manage the risks associated with foreign direct investment, fosters economic development in emerging market countries, and advances U.S. foreign policy and national security priorities. OPIC helps American businesses gain footholds in new markets, catalyzes new revenues and contributes to jobs and growth opportunities both at home and abroad. OPIC fulfills its mission by providing businesses with financing, political risk insurance, advocacy and by partnering with private equity investment fund…
Background The following document was published in the Cryptologic Quarterly, Summer 1994, Volume 13, Issue No. 2. When it was first released, it was heavily redacted, and has remained released in that form since 2010. So, in October of 2016, I requested a Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) of the record. It took until the end of May of 2018 for the record to be released, however, it was a huge win since a lot of the information that was previously redacted, was released to the general public. Upon this record’s release to The Black Vault, it had never been seen by…