UFO theorists search NSA documents

The Associated Press

FORT MEADE, Md. (August 8, 2000 1:31 p.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - UFO theorists are searching through declassified National Security Agency files on the spy agency's Web site, hoping to find evidence that proves there is life beyond Earth.

The NSA hoped the documents released two years ago would quell suspicions that it harbored information about unidentified flying objects. Instead, thousands are looking at the documents, which include a National Enquirer article with the headline, "Take UFOs Seriously or Be Prepared for Sneak Invasion by Space Aliens."

"The fact that they're releasing this stuff and it's so blacked out, the theories just flurry," said John Greenwald, who has collected UFO documents from government agencies for more than five years and posts them on his Web site.

NSA staffers receive hundreds of written requests under the Freedom of Information Act and the UFO queries are slowing everything, said Pamela Philips, chief of FOIA/Privacy Act Services for the agency.

"More people than ever are interested in this stuff," said Peter Gersten, an Arizona attorney and director of Citizens Against UFO Secrecy. "Each year you get more and more people, especially young people. With 'X-Files' and 'Star Wars,' it's exotic. It's entertaining. It's the greatest mystery of all time."