 |
| The unclassified ODNI UAP report. |
[This is a core post in my project to contribute to a "sociology of UFO disclosure." The post is an example of how sociological methods - here, discourse analysis - can apply to the UFO issue. - J. T]
On Friday, June 25, 2021, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) delivered the report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) or UFOs. The title of the unclassified report is "Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena." A classified report or annex was issued as well, as confirmed by the ODNI to the Black Vault.
In the following, I will comment on the parts in the unclassified report that I find most intriguing. Those parts are mainly covered under the headline Specific points in the UAP report. But more importantly, I will highlight parts of the report that, in my view, justify criticism. That criticism is mainly found under the headline The Executive Summary: lies or truths?
But before all that, I will in general terms explain why I think the ODNI UAP report (henceforth "the UAP report") is, despite its shortcomings, historical in a positive sense.
If you are unfamiliar with the "origin" story of the UAP report, you can catch up on my post from June 27, 2020. Furthermore, I highly recommend you to read this detailed analysis of the UAP report by Tim McMillan for the Debrief. For instance, in McMillan's analysis, you can learn more about what method or process the UAP report is based on, namely the "Intelligence Cycle", and how it differs from the traditional scientific method. That is important to keep in mind when studying the language of the UAP report.
Now to the main two reasons as to why the UAP report is historical.
General comments on the UAP report
Why do I claim that the unclassified UAP report is historical? Because for the first time in history, as far as I am aware, the U.S. Government (USG) officially confirms:
- That (some) UAP/UFOs are physical objects — UFOs are real.
- That the USG cannot explain what (some) UAP/UFOs are.