Summarizing the year's events in the world of UFOs.
SKY-HIGH CONTROVERSY:
UFO Debate Rages as Official Study Nears End
BOULDER, Colorado – December 5, 1968 – As 1968 draws to a close, the skies remain a source of mystery, but the debate over Unidentified Flying Objects is being fought more on the ground than in the air. The government's multi-year effort to produce a definitive scientific study on UFOs is nearing a contentious conclusion, sparking a furor among civilian researchers who claim the investigation was flawed from the start.
The center of the storm is the University of Colorado, home to the "Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects," led by renowned physicist Dr. Edward U. Condon. The Condon Committee, funded by a U.S. Air Force grant of half a million dollars, is expected to release its final report in the coming months. However, the study has been plagued by internal disputes and accusations of bias.
The controversy boiled over earlier this year when a leaked internal memo suggested the committee's objective was not to investigate UFOs openly, but to debunk them. The revelation prompted the nation's largest civilian UFO group, the National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), to formally sever its cooperative ties with the project, calling it a "trick."
"We had hoped for an objective, scientific inquiry," a NICAP spokesman stated in a press release. "Instead, it appears the conclusion was written before the investigation ever began."
Blue Book Continues, But For How Long?
Meanwhile, the Air Force's own official investigation, Project Blue Book, continues its work from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. The project diligently collects and analyzes UFO reports from across the country, including a notable series of sightings over Dayton this past March.
However, the future of Blue Book appears tied to the findings of the Condon Committee. Sources suggest that if Dr. Condon's report concludes that UFOs offer nothing of scientific value, the Air Force may finally shutter its two-decade-long investigation into the phenomenon.
A Global Phenomenon
The debate is not confined to the United States. This year, the Canadian government announced a significant policy shift, transferring its UFO files from the Department of National Defence to the civilian National Research Council. The move is seen by many as an acknowledgment that the subject warrants scientific, rather than purely military, scrutiny.
From reports of strange lights in the American heartland to a curious photograph of an alleged disc-shaped object taken over Bariloche, Argentina, public fascination with UFOs remains as high as ever. But as official inquiries appear to be winding down, it seems the task of investigating the unknown will fall increasingly to civilian groups and the determined individuals who keep their eyes on the skies. The central question remains unanswered: are they watching us, and who is watching them?