The Office of the Director of National Intelligence finally released its long-awaited report on the numerous leaked recordings of unidentified flying objects — or unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) — which have gone viral on social media in recent months.
The Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee described the report as “inconclusive.”
“I was first briefed on these unidentified aerial phenomena nearly three years ago,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) said. “Since then, the frequency of these incidents only appears to be increasing. The United States must be able to understand and mitigate threats to our pilots, whether they’re from drones or weather balloons, or adversary intelligence capabilities. Today’s rather inconclusive report only marks the beginning of efforts to understand and illuminate what is causing these risks to aviation in many areas around the country and the world.”
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), the ranking member of the intelligence committee cheered the report as an “important step.”
“For years, the men and women we trust to defend our country reported encounters with unidentified aircraft that had superior capabilities, and for years their concerns were often ignored and ridiculed,” Sen. Rubio said. “This report is an important first step in cataloging these incidents, but it is just a first step. The Defense Department and Intelligence Community have a lot of work to do before we can actually understand whether these aerial threats present a serious national security concern.”
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, released a statement following the report’s release.
“Through the Intelligence Authorization Act, the Congress and the Intelligence Committee required the preparation and release of today’s report, as it has become increasingly clear that unidentified aerial phenomena are not a rare occurrence and our government needs a unified way to gather, analyze, and contextualize these reports,” Schiff said. “We should approach these questions without preconceptions to encourage a thorough, systematized analysis of the potential national security and flight safety risks posed by unidentified aerial phenomena, whether they are the result of a foreign adversary, atmospheric or other aerial phenomena, space debris, or something else entirely.”
“We look forward to reviewing the report and will host a classified briefing for the Members of the House Intelligence Committee later this year based on its findings and to build on the Member briefing held last week. As we continue to receive updates, we will share what we can with the American people as excessive secrecy will only spur more speculation,” he concluded.
Mike Cernovich argued that this release was a distraction, tweeting, “After lying to us for 18 months, the government comes out with this UFO stuff. Don’t play into that narrative. If you want to meet aliens, that’s simple enough. They are found in plants. The aircraft claims are a distraction.”
After lying to us for 18 months, the government comes out with this UFO stuff. Don’t play into that narrative. If you want to meet aliens, that’s simple enough. They are found in plants. The aircraft claims are a distraction.
— Cernovich (@Cernovich) June 25, 2021
Politico’s Congressional reporter, Andrew Desiderio, announced that the report “says UFOs are real – literally.”
“Of 144 unexplained sightings since 2004, the U.S. government can only identify *one* of them,” he added.
Meanwhile, Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson focused on the report’s acknowledgment of national security threats posed by the UFOs.
“UFO report says they ‘clearly pose a safety of flight issue and may pose a challenge to U.S. national security,’” Tomlinson tweeted.
UFO report says they "clearly pose a safety of flight issue and may pose a challenge to U.S. national security."
— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) June 25, 2021