Real X-files hidden as trade secrets

Obama signs Executive Order -Jan 31- Photo:AP

On Jan 21, President Barack Obama issued his Memoranda on Open Government and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). FOIA has been used to find UFO information hidden in the archives of various Federal government agencies and military departments. Many thousands of FOIA requests have been sent to the CIA, FBI, USAF and other government entities requesting specific information about their X-Files. The X-Files contain answers to questions about UFOs, their possible extraterrestrial origins, and the use of highly advanced technologies.

Common responses by government agencies to FOIA requests is that “no responsive material has been located” or that “no records exist” as exemplified on the National Security Agency’s UFO webpage. In rare cases where UFO files are released under FOIA, these offer no conclusive proof about their alleged extraterrestrial origins and technology used. Most researches using FOIA view the standard official responses as stonewalling at best, or outright duplicity. Researchers typically dig deeper to discover the ‘real’ X-Files – files with conclusive answers about UFOs and extraterrestrial life - allegedly hidden in some Federal government archive or classified military vault.  Researchers are looking in the wrong place. It’s in the archives of transnational corporations that the real X-Files are found.

The real X-Files have been increasingly taken out of government hands and placed in the control of transnational corporations as trade secrets. A trade secret is defined as "any information not commonly known in the relevant industry that is used in connection with a business to obtain a competitive advantage and the information is secret, is identifiable, and is not readily ascertainable."  What remains in government possession are largely sanitized files with little conclusive information about the origins and capabilities of UFOs.

A number of whistleblowers have come forward to testify to the important role corporations have played in archiving government and military X-Files, and even influencing policy decisions about such information.  Placing the X-Files in corporate hands where they become trade secrets, has been a very effective way for controlling an increasing amount of classified information gathered around the world by governments and militaries.

The strategy of transferring U.S. government X-Files into corporations as trade secrets developed in response to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) passed in 1966. FOIA gave the general public the means to access X-Files in any government agency, and hence a powerful rationale for why an additional layer of secrecy was needed. According to Ben Rich, former CEO of Lockheed’s Skunk Works, it was only three years later, in 1969, that control of information concerning extraterrestrial life and technology passed from the hands of the U.S. military into the hands of an international Board of Directors.

Trade secrecy laws form a very effective barrier against private or government efforts to probe into corporate archives. As mentioned in my earlier article, there is testimonial evidence from witnesses including former astronaut Edgar Mitchell that the Head of Intelligence for the Joint Chiefs of Staff tried in 1997 to gain access to X-Files pertaining to a classified project, but was denied access by corporate lawyers.

Video: Edgar Mitchell on need-to-know access denied to Vice Admiral in charge of Intelligence at Joint Chiefs of Staff

Significantly, trade secrecy is one of the exemptions to FOIA that can be cited to deny a request. The U.S. has a number of Free Trade agreements with different nations where specific provisions exist towards the protection of trade secrets. Also, the U.S. has lobbied strongly for increased international protection of intellectual property rights at the World Trade Organization. The intent is to protect trade secrets at a global level.

There is currently no way in which U.S. citizens or government entities can gain access to a company’s trade secrets. The strategy of relocating X-Files gathered by government entities into corporations where they become protected as trade secrets is used to deny private and official requests for access to X-Files. Such a strategy needs to be exposed and rejected. The X-Files should be restored to the control of legitimate government authorities whereby the general public can gain access through lawful processes such as FOIA.

President Obama’s first Memoranda are steps in the right direction of more open and accountable government. As far as X-Files relocated into corporations as trade secrets are concerned, his Memoranda will have no effect. What is necessary is a Presidential Executive Order requiring all government and military files transferred into corporate hands be fully accounted for and returned back into government hands. Principles of Open Government and Transparency can then be used in tandem with legitimate national security concerns for the release of the ‘real’ X-Files into the public arena.