Fwd: D'Amato, Belgian Wave And MJ-12
Stig Agermose
http://www.finart.be/UfocomHq/usdamato.htm
Staff member Thierry Wathelet wrote the article.
C. Richard D'Amato's main "boss" is Democratic Senator Robert C. Byrd,
who is a member of several important Senate comittees and
sub-committees and thus one of the top US Politicians. Extensive
information on him can be found on the page which is linked at the
bottom of this one.
Stig
*******
The Belgian UFO wave: "backstage"
Part 1/2
Monsieur D'Amato's travels
© Thierry (UFOCOM) 1998 - translation from French by Yves (UFOCOM)
***
By the end of October 97, a French friend slipped the following
information in an E. mail addressed to me: "Did you know that a Mister
Richard D'Amato, official envoy of the US Congress, came to Belgium a
few month after the Belgian UFO wave to meet privately General De
Brouwer (Belgian Air Force, Operations Section Commander) and the
persons in charge of SOBEPS (Société Belge d'Etudes des Phénomènes
Spaciaux)?" Well, no, I didn't know that...
I must add that my French correspondent, whom identity must remain
secret, had always been a reliable source of information. Besides, he
is not a "ufologist".
From this day, I tempted to obtain more data on this Mister Richard
D'Amato. Once again, Internet proved to be a key tool and a very
powerful one.
First, I decided to interrogate an Internet search engine by typing in
the following keywords: "Richard C. D'Amato". I was quite surprised to
notice that the search engine only provided me with very few entries.
Four or five, no more.
The only entry dealing with "our man" was a digest of papers which
mostly emanated from the reputable "Washington Post". The summary of
papers is as follows:
[...] A secret Defence Intelligence Agency program that posed tough
military questions to a handful of full-time, salaried psychics was
kept alive for years at the insistence of a few senators and a
congressional staff aide despite opposition from senior military
intelligence officials.
[C. Richard] D'Amato, who was assigned to the committee staff by Sen.
Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), a former Appropriations Committee Chairman,
confirmed in an interview yesterday that he kept the program alive
because four to six senators had expressed unusual and sustained
interest in its potential, and because similar psychic research was
being pursued by the Soviet Union, China and "some of our European
allies."
--Washington Post, Dec. 1, 1995
What can we conclude from this paper? First, it ascertains that Mister
D'Amato worked for the US Congress. One also learns from it that he was
"hired" by Senator Byrd to take part in a Congress Committee in charge
of evaluating and "reconducting" a "psy" program from the Defence
Intelligence Agency (DIA). Briefly, this resembles the so-called
"Stargate Program" which involves psychic spies, in other words persons
with unusual gifts such as "remote viewing"... Unbelievable, indeed!
All of this is quite official, and mostly "sponsored" by the US tax
payer!
Another interesting data is the allegation "...that he kept the program
alive..." : So D'Amato himself admits that he worked to have the
program renewed. Because he was appointed by the DIA or even by another
higher decision "structure". This would explain why he was an official
member of a Congress Commission.
The reference to similar projects being conducted by "some of our
European allies" was also of interest to me. But the "priority" had to
be given to D'Amato. Because there are numerous unanswered questions
about him. For instance, why did this man, officially commissioned by
the higher US Authorities, come to SOBEPS Office and especially visit
General De Brouwer? Who is exactly D'Amato and why did the US Congress
seem to pay so much attention to "the Belgian UFO wave" of 1989-1991.
Why did Sen. Byrd choose D'Amato? Who is really Sen. Byrd? What is the
role of the "psychical spies" in this story. We will know more soon.
Pursuing my administrative investigations, I succeeded in obtaining
several documents of interest: e.g. the following list of the members
of the Sub-Committee on Military Construction, under the authority of
the Senate Committee on Appropriations. The responsible person for the
Democrats is Hon. Robert C. Byrd. Under the 104th Congress, he even was
the "chairman", i.e. the President.
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
SUBCOMMITTEE ON MILITARY CONSTRUCTION
SD-140 Dirksen Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-7204
Clerk: Sid Ashworth
Minority Clerk: C. Richard D'Amato
Republicans (4)
Conrad Burns, Mont. - chairman
Kay Bailey Hutchison, Texas
Lauch Faircloth, N.C.
Larry E. Craig, Idaho
Democrats (3)
Patty Murray, Wash. - ranking member
Harry Reid, Nev.
Daniel K. Inouye, Hawaii
source: CQ NewsAlert
© 1996, Congressional Quarterly Inc. All rights reserved.
One can notice that Mr. D'Amato held a "key" position in one of the
sub-Committees on Appropriations. This was and still is a very special
sub-Committee! Indeed, Mr. D'Amato is a Consultant for the National and
International Security Affairs! Quite normal altogether, since he is
also a member of the staff of Sen. Byrd. All these qualifications make
him a specialist of the US Army Intelligence Service. And this why he
appears in this story.
Just by looking at the list of the members of two committees
(Appropriations and Armed Services) during the 104th Congress, one can
note that Richard C. D'Amato (a.k.a. "Dick" ) always holds very high
positions.
The lists of members are a bit long, but packed with valuable data.
This is the reason why I think that they are worth being shown below.
One name is remarkable: that of Sen. Storm Thurmond. He is the very
same person who wrote the forewords in the first version of Colonel
Philip Corso's book. At this time, Corso was not call "The Day After
Roswell", yet. But here are the lists:
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
Senator Position Ofc. Ph.# Fax#
Principal Staff Contact
Strom Thurmond (R-SC) SASC/Chair,SASC SR217 5972 1300 Tom Moore
Sam Nunn (D-GA) SASC/RMM, SASC SD303 3521 0072 Arnold Punaro
Trent Lott (R-MS) SASC SCST/ST&S SR487 6253 2262 Sam Adcock /
6825~
Kay Hutchinson (R-TX) SASC SCST/ST&S SH703 5922 0776 Ken Johnson
Richard Bryan (D-NV) SASC SCST/ST&S SR364 6244 1867 Tim Hay
John McCain (R-AZ) SASC SCST SR111 2235 8938 Chris Paul
Robert Byrd (D-WV) SASC/RRM,SAC/De SH311 3954 8070 Dick D'Amato
William Cohen (R-ME) SASC SH322 2523 2693 Dale Gerry
Dan Coats (R-IN) SASC SR404 5623 1966 Pam Sellars /
5623~
Bob Smith (R-NH) SASC SD332 2841 1353 Tom Lankford /
Dirk Kempthorne (R-ID) SASC SD367 6142 5893 Glen Tait
John Warner (R-VA) SASC SR225 203 6295 Les
Brownlee / 9356~ / SR228~
James Inhofe (R-OK)* SASC SR453 4721 ---- ---
Rick Santorum (R-PA)* SASC SDB40-2 6324 xxxx ---
Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) SASC SH110 5521 2852 Patrick Von
Bargen
Carl Levin (D-MI) SASC SR459 6221 1388 Mike Thomas /
6587~
Ted Kennedy (D-MA) SASC SR315 4543 2417 Gare Smith /
5112~
Joseph Liebermann(D-CT) SASC SH316 4041 9750 Tom Parker /
8787~
Chuck Robb (D-VA) SASC SR493 4024 8689 J. J. Gertler
/ 8033~
John Glenn (D-OH) SASC SH503 3353 7983 Phil
Upschulte / 3353~
Legends:
* = freshman member of 104th Congress
SCST = Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation
ST&S = Subcommittee on Science, Technology, & Space of SCST
SASC = Senate Armed Services Committee
SAC = Senate Appropriations Committee
De. = Defense Subcommittee of SAC
RMM = Ranking Minority Member
Wednesday 8 February 1995
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Position Ofc.
Ph.# Fax# Staffer
Mark Hatfield (R-OR) SAC/Chair, SAC SH711
3753 0276
Robert Byrd (D-WV) SAC/RMM, SAC/Def SASC SH311
3954 1689
Christopher Bond (R-MO) SAC/Chair,VA-HUD-IA/Def SR293
5721 8149 Brent Franzel
Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) SAC/RMM, VA-HUD-IA S----
4654 8858 Kevin Kelley
Conrad Burns (R-MT) SAC/VA-HUD-IA,SCST/Chair, ST&S SD183 2644
8594 D. McClellan
Robert Bennett (R-UT) SAC/VA-HUD-IA SD241 5444
Robert Kerrey (D-NE) SAC/VA-HUD-IA SH303
6551 7645 Carolyn Fuller
Phil Gramm (R-TX) SAC/VA-HUD-IA/Def SR370
2934 82856 D.Ribbentrop
Richard Shelby (R-AL) SAC/VA-HUD-IA/Def SH509 5744
J. Bennett Johnston (D-LA) SAC/VA-HUD-IA/Def SH136
5824 2952 Jeff Martin/
Patrick Leahy (D-VT) SAC/VA-HUD-IA/Def SR433
4242 3595 J.P. Dowd
Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) SAC/VA-HUD-IA/Def SH506
4744 9707 Bruce King
Ted Stevens (R-AK) SAC/VA-HUD-IA/Chair,Def,SCST/ST&S SH522
3004 2354
Daniel Inouye (D-HI) SAC/RMM, Def SCST SH722
3934 6747
Arlen Specter (R-PA) SAC/Def SH530
4254 9029 Morrie Ruffin
Pete Domenici (R-NM) SAC/Def SD427 6621
7371 Marco Gonzales
Thad Cochran (R-MS) SAC/Def SR326
5054 9450 Jack Hoggard
Mitch McConnell (R-KY) SAC/Def SR120
2541 2499 Robin Cleveland
Connie Mack (R-FL) SAC/Def SH517
5274 9365 Ross Lindholm
Tom Harkin (D-IA) SAC/Def SH531
3254 7431 Sandy Thomas
Dale Bumpers (D-AR) SAC/Def SD229
4843 6435 Bruce McDonald
Slade Gorton (R-WA) SAC/SCST SH730
3441 9393 Terri Claffey
James Jeffords (R-VT) SAC SH513
5141
Judd Gregg (R-NH) SAC SR393
3324
Herb Kohl (D-WI) SAC SH330
5653 9787 Jeanne Bruns
Harry Reid (D-NV) SAC SH324
3542 7327 David Chartier
Patty Murray (D-WA) SAC SH302
2621 0238 Eric Ostrovsky
Legends:
SCST = Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation
ST&S = Subcommittee on Science, Technology, & Space of SCST
SASC = Senate Armed Services Committee
SAC = Senate Appropriations Committee
Def = Defense Subcommittee of SAC
VA-HUD-IA = Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, Housing & Urban
Development, & Independent Agencies of SAC
RMM = Ranking Minority Member
date: Wednesday 8 February 1995
This document can be found on Internet at the following URL:
http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/usr/fj04/homepage.html
All these data strongly support the view that D'Amato works for the
highest US authority. The article published by the Washington Post and
the Senate documents are consistent with the above assertion. However,
the agency for which really worked (and still works?) D'Amato remains
to be identified. CIA, DIA, NSC, FBI, NSA, ONI, OSI, AFI? Your bet is
as good as mine.
At the beginning of my investigations, I was tempted to believe that
D'Amato worked for the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA). This
conviction was based on the facts that: (i) he made noticeable efforts
to maintain and renew a "Psy" budget line at the DIA; and (ii) "Dick"
was a member of two Committees, the activities of which being related
to the Army;. However, the National Security Council (NSC) could also
be a reasonable bet. The NSC controls most, if not all, of the
Intelligence Services of the USA. It is under the direct command of the
President of the United States of America.
These are the reasons why I got in touch directly with Major Ed Dames,
an ex-"psy-spy" now at the Stanford Institute. In the meantime, and
without any arrangement, Jeff, the person responsible for the
"Sciences" team at the UFOCOM, made a similar approach. He contacted
Ingo Swan, one of the "big cheeses" of the "Stargate Program". As an
anecdote, during tests run jointly by the CIA and DIA, Ingo Swan
succeeded in describing very precisely a "top-secret" military
installation given only its geographical coordinates. Jeff and I are
very sceptical about this kind of stories and experiments. However, The
Ingo Swan trail could have been helpful to channel our way towards
D'Amato. But we never heard from Swan.
The person who provided us with a decisive argument to relate D'Amato
with the NSC was Jesse Marcel Jr... Yes, indeed! Jesse Marcel Jr, the
son of Captain Jesse Marcel. This latter was an senior officer at
Roswell, and he directly eye-witnessed the recovery of a machine which
would have "crashed" close to the city of Roswell in 1947. We are
living on a small planet, aren't we? And may be, our planet is even
smaller than this...
On April 13, 1995, Dr. Jess Marcel Jr, made the following statement at
a Conference held at Helena, Montana.
He claimed that he was invited in Washington, D.C., by a "Dick"
D'Amato, who introduced himself (showing him official accreditation) as
a staff member of Sen. Robert C. Byrd, a specialist of National
Security and an "agent de liaison" at the NSC. This "very private"
meeting took place on a day of July 1991.
Later on, Jess Marcel told Michaël Lindemann, a US investigator and the
editor of the ISCNI*Flash, that D'Amato asked him to describe the
objects, scraps and remains taken at Roswell by his father, exactly
fifty years ago. He also wanted to know what did this event change in
his life.
Dr. Jess Marcel also stated that, at one time during the meeting,
D'Amato moved towards a table and took a book laying there. It was
"Majestic" by Whitley Streiber. Showing him this book, he said: "This
is not a invention"... And yet, it was supposed to be a fiction.
Dr. Marcel then asked a question to D'Amato, inquiring where now were
the remains of the machine recovered in '47. D'Amato answered: "We, at
the NSC, don't have any clue to answer this question".
Monsieur D'Amato concluded the interview by kindly requesting Dr.
Marcel to keep him informed if some new elements came to his mind, or
if he received - again - some unpleasant phone calls, or he felt
harassed anyhow.
The truth is that one has been putting this sort of "pressure" on Dr.
Jesse Marcel for years.
Regarding this story, an investigator named James Easton wrote: "[On 30
July], I was speaking with Graham Birdsall of Quest International and
editor of UFO Magazine (UK) and I asked if he had ever heard of this
claim. Like myself, it was news to him. As he was due to telephone
Stanton Friedman the following day concerning the "Santilli affair" I
suggested that Stanton may be interested to hear of this.The following
evening, Graham confirmed he had mentioned this to Stanton and was
somewhat taken aback to hear Stanton confirm that not only had he heard
of this meeting, he was there! There was one other unnamed person also
present.
Stanton was very surprised that Dr. Marcel had released the name of Mr.
D'Amato and said that D'Amato had indicated that he would not confirm
this meeting had taken place.
The following day, Graham told me that he had just been speaking to
Timothy Good and had mentioned this meeting to him. Tim was also very
surprised to hear of this. For the last few years, both in Washington
and in London, Tim had met with Dick D'Amato in confidence. Tim was
introduced to D'Amato by Whitley Strieber and confirmed that these
events are relevant to Strieber's latest book, "Breakthrough." Again,
Tim did not expect to hear D'Amato publicly identified and said that
some of the content of his next book refers to these meetings and their
implications, but that he had not identified D'Amato. As this
information was now in the public domain, he would consequently be
doing so."
This meting is also mentioned in a paper written by Dr. Richard J.
Boylan, a US psychologist and ufologist. The title of the paper is:
"Birds of a Feather No Longer: Policy Split Divides 'Aviary'
UFO-Secrecy Group".
Here is a very interesting excerpt:
"Dick D'Amato, National and International Security Specialist for
Senator Robert Byrd and a member of the National Security Council,
stated in 1991 that an incredibly powerful "black arm" of the
government has been keeping UFO information secret and has also been
illegally spending enormous sums of money in this operation."
To summarize, Richard C. D'Amato is a man "who knows". Interestingly
enough, the whole story started with a short message dealing with the
visit of a Richard D'Amato, commissioned by the US Senate. But after
some dozens of hours of investigation, phone calls, fax and E mail
exchanged, this person was identified as a member of NSC, a specialist
in National and International Security working for Sen. Byrd (Committee
for Appropriations) and a "big cheese" who promoted the renewal of a
DIA budget attributed to a "Psy" program of the Stargate type.
Furthermore D'Amato probably met with Whitley Streiber, Dr Jesse Marcel
Jr., Stanton Friedman, Timothy Good, SOBEPS members and Gen. De Brouwer.
Concerning these two last persons or group of persons, I had nothing in
my hands which confirmed their meeting with D'Amato in Belgium. How
could I verify these data?
If D'Amato had been officially delegated by the US Congress, several
Belgian Senior Officers (Defence Secretary, Senate, SGR, etc...) should
have been kept informed. Furthermore, this kind of visit, the purpose
of which can be termed "exotic", should have left some traces in the
memories if not in official documents. It is reasonable to assume that
the Chief Officer responsible for the section "Opérations" at the
Belgian Air Force (FAe) can only welcome a member of the Senate Staff
(tied with the Intelligence Services) under the approval of the Defence
Ministry and very likely under that of the Defence Minister. At this
time, the Belgian Defence Minister was Mr Guy Coëme and his military
counsellor was Lieutenant- General Michel Mandl.
I have true respect for Mr. Coëme because he suffered from several
misfortunes, related both to his private and public lives, keeping high
morality without showing-off. To him, Belgian people owe the
"transparence" related to the events of 1989-91. To him also, SOBEPS
owes its close collaboration with the Army. To him again, and to Gen.
De Brouwer, we all owe the feeling that we have come closer to
clarification...
With this state of mind, I wrote the following letter (note: translated
from French) to the residence of the Minister Guy Coëme:
"Dear Mister Minister, First of all, please allow me to introduce
myself. My name is Thierry Wathelet, I am 32 and I am currently
preparing a first book dealing with the question of UFOs. I am not a
UFOlogist, but merely a citizen who has been investigating this
phenomenon for some four years now.
[...] At present, I am completing a chapter on the Belgian "UFO wave
1989-1991" and I found myself in front of questions that you may
certainly better answer than I may.
At the end of the Belgian wave, the US Senate supposedly sent a
delegate, a Mister Richard C. D'Amato, with the mission to meet with
Gen. De Brouwer (note: he was a Colonel at this time) and, on the day
before, several responsible people at SOBEPS. Could you tell me, Mister
Minister, if this visit was an official one, and, if it was, what were
the objectives?
Could you, Mister Minister, give me some information on the above
point? I just remember that media mentioned it but you know that
journalists exhibit a clear trend to "adapt" the news to their need...
Your help might prove to be valuable to understand what exactly went on
at this time. Your willingness to open the related files was, at that
time, a world "première". This behavior was also in complete opposition
with that of Mr. Poncelet who just officially closed this file on the
basis of two documents, one of which being erroneous. I am also quite
surprised to notice that there is no official reaction of the US
authorities following the accusation originating from our Defence
Minister. At that time, USA were conducting tests on "top-secret"
aeroplanes above Belgium. He even gave the name of the planes: it was
LoFLYTE. Mister Minister, what do you think of this assertion?
My request is that of an historian, not that of a columnist. I hope you
may help me in my investigations.
Looking forward to hearing from you, I remain, Mister Minister,
sincerely yours."
Sometimes later, Monsieur Coëme kindly answered my letter. He said that
he would have been delighted to help me. However, we were dealing with
an old story and he had kept no personal files on these events, which
still should be available from the Defence Ministry.
Yes, indeed... Mr Coëme did not provide me with new data. I was still
unable to confirm the visit of Mr. D’Amato at SOBEPS, and his meeting
with Gen. De Brouwer.
Several months ago, I obtained the electronic address of Gen. De
Brouwer. At the beginning of my investigations, the idea to get in
touch with him came to my mind. I wrote to him to ask his feeling on
the recent "Belgian wave". He never answered, therefore I though that
it was not disturbing him once again.
My last chance to get a confirmation of D’Amato’s visit was at the
SOBEPS association, the activity of which was prominent during the
Belgian wave and central to the UFO question between 1989 and 1992. The
relationships between the people responsible for the SOBEPS association
and I were not always smooth. Who was right or wrong is of no
importance. Also, with respect to our potential interest in the LoFLYTE
affair, I decided that it was time to look further than our
differences. This was made possible only because Michel Bougard, the
director of the SOBEPS, shared the same feelings.
I therefore sent a fax to Mr. Bougard’s house, asking him to confirm
(or not) D’Amato’s visit. A kind answer came pretty fast: "Indeed, I
hereby confirm that we received Mr. R. C. D'Amato at the SOBEPS, on
July 1992". M. Bougard also stated that he did not attend the meeting
with D’Amato, but that several colleagues did. He told me that he was
going to ask Pr. Meessen, Lucien Clerbaut (Secretary General) and
Patrick Ferryn, and keep me informed.
Mr Bougard held his words. A few days later, with the kind
authorization from his colleagues, he sent me the following data that
were passed on to him by Mrs. Clerebaut et Ferryn (Pr. Meessen will
reply later):
Mr Richard D'Amato came to visit SOBEPS Office, Avenue Janson, in
Bruxelles, on July 9, 1992. He introduced himself as "an official
envoy", delegated by a group of US Senators who were interested in the
observations made in Belgium, and in the putative relationship of these
with what they called "Black Programs". Supposedly, D'Amato came to
determine whether the observed phenomenon should be attributed to
flying objects, the existence of which being hidden to US people. His
card mentioned: C. Richard D'Amato, Counsel for International and
National Security Policies, Committee on Appropriations, United States
Senate.
According to the persons who attended the meeting, D'Amato appeared to
know very little about the "UFO" context, generally speaking. His data
on Roswell seemed to be exactly those presented on TV and in the
newspapers to the average US citizen.
Any way, we got it! The confirmation that D’Amato came at SOBEPS was
given to us by a very reliable source. Furthermore, the willingness of
the SOBEPS to open their files (an exceptional fact amongst "serious"
UFOlogists, allowed me to double-check previous data. Indeed, Monsieur
D’Amato played the same tune at SOBEPS than that he played to Dr. Jesse
Marcel Jr., the son of the Intelligence Officer of Roswell Base,
exactly one year before.
What has been written by Dr Richard Boylan should therefore be true...
What has been claimed by Friedman, Good and others seems to be
corroborated by the people at SOBEPS and especially Mr Bougard.
I have to say that, at this point of the story, nobody except two of my
fellows, Jeff & Stéphane Kucharski, knew about my investigation. Even
my request addressed to SOBEPS was voluntarily imprecise. Later on, to
acknowledge the help of the SOBEPS, I faxed more data on my
investigation to Mr Bougard.
Sometime later, Pr. Meessen also shed some light on the meeting with
D’Amato. We exchanged numerous E. mails which constituted at this time
one of the most valuable contribution brought by an UFOlogist to my
investigation on this phenomenon.
Here is what Pr. Meessen wrote (note: translated from the French):
"M. Wathelet,
I thank you for your recent E. mail and the precise answers it
contains. I will discuss this point latter since I would like to focus
first on the most important topic: Mister D’Amato’s visit.
M. Clerebaut explained me over the phone that Mr. D'Amato wished to
meet me, to obtain additional data on the Belgian wave. He asked
whether I could meet him, on such day at such time at the SOBEPS
Office. I agreed. The meeting lasted for the whole afternoon. Mrs.
Clerebaut & Ferryn also attended the discussion, but they did not talk
too much.
M. Richard C. D'Amato introduced himself as Sen. Robert C. Byrd
counsellor, who was heading at this time the "Senate Committee on
Appropriations". It is a very powerful organization since it is
responsible for the attribution (dispatching) of the military budget.
Mr. D'Amato explained that this visit was included within a &qotvoyage
(trip) to Europe"... he never said that he was "officially delegated by
the US Congress US", as stated by your French friend. However, I could
not believe that D’Amato’s visit was only motivated by a personal
interest in the Belgian wave. Rather, Mr. Byrd might have asked him to
get data on the SOBEPS, its personal and its research methods. This did
not disturb me. On the contrary, I appreciated that he took the
information directly from us, after "knockin' on the door".
I also knew that he would write a report that he would drop somewhere.
This only was of importance to me since it provided me with a unique
possibility to pass on a message to the readers! The meeting took place
on July 1992. D’Amato therefore certainly knew about the Belgian wave,
at least as it was presented through the media to US "observers" in
Belgium. At the position he held, one does not travel without having
prepared the trip! Though he did not read the SOBEPS report published
in 1991, he very likely benefited (at least) from a "briefing". Anyway,
this did not matter since his only presence sufficed to demonstrate
that he was interested in the UFO phenomenon, in the SOBEPS studies and
in the data obtained by the Belgian F-16.
I described to him our major observations in such a way he could really
understand the exceptional extent of the Belgian wave, the high
reliability of the eye-witnesses, and the capacities of the observed
flying objects which could not be explained in the light of our
technological capabilities and scientific knowledge. I also told him
that I was conducting personal investigations and that I wanted to know
what has been seen on the Belgian Army radars. As a scientist, I think
that I would have betrayed my responsibilities if I would not have
requested these data. He probably realized how seriously we took the
study of the observations (the facts) and their interpretation. Mr.
D’Amato listened to me with a real attention. Though he was more a
specialist of political, military and judiciary questions than a
scientist, I felt that D’Amato caught fairly well the "message" that I
wished to have him passed on. I do not recall that he asked questions,
but I know that I led the discussion to reach the goals that were mine.
The "official" approach of the UFO phenomenon by US political and
military authorities is inappropriate and must be modified!
Here is what I wanted him to understand and to bear in mind, at least
on a person to person basis. To reveal the content of this meeting
would not have come to my mind. Not because it deals with "secret
affairs" but because it is often more efficient to work "in the shade".
Given the current situation, it seems that avoiding the propagation of
misinterpretations may be useful, especially if they may eventually be
regarded as hoaxes.[...]
In front of D'Amato, I added that, undoubtedly, the highest political
and military US authorities have all investigation means allowing them
to be well-informed of the UFO characteristics and the extraordinary
nature of this technology. They should therefore be aware that this
technology was coming neither from USA nor from any other country in
the world. I told him the following: I understand that, in 1947 and in
the beginning of the fifties (when the Robertson Committee released a
"semi-official" opinion), USA were essentially interested in conducting
secret studies of the UFO phenomenon to gain potential military
advantage. However, one has to acknowledge that today situation is not
the same. Because there is a continuous flux of observations, and
because the E.T. nature of the phenomenon becomes more and more
convincing in the light of a thorough analysis of the observations, we
are now facing scientific and human interrogations of the utmost
importance. We are not only dealing with a National Security issue. The
issue belongs to Mankind and affects our future in the long term.
Nobody is allowed to disguize the truth.
The day will come when we will learn that the political and military US
authorities have been lying intentionally for long years. This is not
the choice of a single man, but that of several people. On the long
run, neither the power of the weapons, neither that of money, nor the
power of the power itself (under all its aspects) can "win". The
"essencial values" have to be protected. USA claim they are the land -
and the protectors - of freedom and democracy, but it will become known
that they have been voluntarily misleading us. Whatever the reasons
that will be put forwards, the responsible persons will have to take
the consequences of this policy upon themselves. This political system
will loose all credit. Still, USA could initiate a "new deal" in term
of UFO which may proved to be more profitable to them in the long run
than will be their current attitude consisting in fooling everybody on
this planet. "Where there is a will, there is a way"!.
So this is what happened at the meeting at the SOBEPS Office. This may
not be exactly what you were expecting. I do not recall the exact words
of our talk (note: with D'Amato), but I can ascertain that the above
described ideas were central to our discussion. Mr. Ferryn followed
what I said in English, and two days ago, he confirmed to me that he
indeed remembers the above conversation. He was the person who drove
Mr. D'Amato from and back to his hotel. What they discussed together
remained unknown to me. However, from what I recently learnt, Mr.
D'Amato acted as someone who knew very little about the UFO phenomenon.
All he said about it was already known. He asked questions about the
SOBEPS, as a person who wished to better appreciate our Society. We had
nothing to hide. On the contrary, we had a message to deliver. Some of
the allegations that you "harvested" might be re-examined in the light
of the above "feeling".
Shortly after Mr. D'Amato's visit at SOBEPS, I met with Gen. W. De
Brouwer. He spontaneously told me that D'Amato came the day after (note
his visit at the SOBEPS Office). The key point of our meeting seemed to
be his wish to obtain a copy of the radar recordings performed by the
Belgian F-16, during the night of March 30th to 31st. Gen. De Brouwer
did not passed these recordings onto "Dick". However, he assured
D'Amato that he could have them, provided an "official" request was
sent by US authorities. This request never came! It was only a
"tactical" game."
Quotation ends.
The letter from Professor Meessen was far longer. However, the other
topics presented in his mail were of private or general nature. At the
end of the letter, Pr. Meessen wrote that he would not oppose the
publication of this letter provided he could read first all quotations.
Quite normal, honestly.
Later on, however, Mr Bougard told me that this visit and the related
talks were perceived differently by the three persons from the SOBEPS.
Relating all view points and apprehensions seemed pertinent to him.
Indeed, Mrs. Clerebaut et Ferryn appear to have a slightly divergent
opinion regarding D’Amato’s visit. I would like to acknowledge this
difference of "perception". Essentially, we will retain that Mrs.
Clerbaut (secretary general) and Ferryn (co- founder of SOBEPS)
remember that some references to the "black programs" were made, and
that the visit had some "official" character. Pr. Meessen has a more
"lukewarm" attitude.
In my opinion, D'Amato made a major goof when he met with Gen. De
Brouwer. He asked for a copy of the data recorded by the FAe F-16. This
was in opposition with the "etiquette". D’Amato indeed knew that Gen.
De Brouwer could not provide him with these data. Was this some sort of
"yankee" arrogance or a more intentional manoeuvre? Here again, I agree
with Pr. Meessen to term pure "strategy" these unofficially "official"
movements.
I would also believe that D’Amato’s attitude constitutes a message
addressed to us, saying: "We (the highest Official US Institutions) are
very interested in the UFO phenomenon because we are not at the origin
of it".
D'Amato pretends that he is looking for clues to prove that there is an
incredibly powerful "dark force" in the USA which would master a
"mysterious" technology, allowing them to disregard the borders and the
authority of the US government.
Strangely enough, it seems to me that Mr D'Amato should be
well-informed and probably better informed than everybody else. Thanks
to the position of his boss, Sen. Byrd, he has full access to the best
of the US "Hi-Tech" companies and research laboratories! He has also
strong ties with all intelligence services in the USA! He has permanent
contact with all services depending on the Defence and Foreign Affairs
Ministries. And he is regarded as a US specialist in these domains, as
exemplified by the fact that he gave a talk at the Annual Meeting of
Political Sciences, held at the Truman Auditorium of the Sheraton hotel
on August 1997. Amongst the speakers, there were people from the
Defence Department, the Navy, US Representatives, and several
University Professor (including Stanford). The main topics were related
with Strategy, National and International Security, NATO, International
Politics, etc...
Furthermore, it is difficult to admit that the technology essential to
build UFO can be developed in such a way that none of the best secret
services in the world heard about it. Just think of the necessary
infrastructure! Private companies would have to contribute to it. You
also need factories, hundreds of people, large energy supply, and an
incredible amount of money... So, where does this technology come from?
Is this so "big" that people can defy the power of the US government
and that of the president of the USA?
In the paper from Dr. Boylan, a citation of which is given above, there
are some data on a company which could be a good "choice" to deal with
"Advanced Technology". Its name is "EG&G". Interestingly enough, did
you know that EG&G set up a plant in Belgium? When? In 1989, of course!
Where? Very close to Bruxelles airport. Why there? Because EG&G
controls a small air company which they used only for their own
transportation. We have to admit that this is quite surprising, haven't
we?
Anyway, we are now far away from the questionable speculations reported
in the media which have led allegedly the Belgian Defence Secretary to
close the "Belgian wave" file. Later on, I learnt that this was not
true; just a misinterpretation (?) of these media.... Thus, Ministry
Poncelet never mentioned anything about the LoFLYTE! LoFLYTE...? Neeeh,
it is not a "black program". It is a common project involving the
Defence Department and several private companies. This is crystal
clear! But may be, the truth cannot be told... Hence, the whole file
must be re-open. Should it must not, then I want to know why it must be
closed. Monsieur D'Amato did not come to Belgium for a scientific study
on temperature inversion. And Chief Renkin, of the "Gendarmerie" did
not see a LoFLYTE but something completely different...
Now, imagine that this whole story could be a controlled released of
information, "distilled" drop after drop, to acclimate ourselves to new
concepts... And would it be possible that Mr. D'Amato, when he met with
Gen. De Brouwer, told him that NORAD and Space Command were under "Red
Alert" during the Belgian wave? Indeed the military Radar at Glons is
part of the NATO strategic device for air control. It is therefore
difficult to understand that the US controllers, somewhere in Colorado,
did not pay attention to the data recorded by this radar.
Unfortunately, I cannot check and warrant this piece of information. It
is one of the few of that kind that you'll red in my book.
Another hypothesis may be that Mr D'Amato came to gather data for the
Senate, the NSC (and therefore for the US President). There are several
clues to indicate that this is still his job today. D'Amato tries to
identify the people who are developing a quot;private" technology "in
the back" of the Congress and of the President. In this respect, how
should we interpret the joke made by President Clinton during his visit
to Belfast for Christmas on December 1995? Remarkably, this joke was
published as an official press release from the White House.
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Belfast, Northern Ireland)
For Immediate Release November 30, 1995
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AND THE FIRST LADY AT THE LIGHTING OF THE CITY
CHRISTMAS TREE
Belfast City Hall Belfast, Northern Ireland 7:36 P.M. (L)
"[...] And to all of you who have not lost your sense of humor, I say
thank you. I got a letter from 13-year-old Ryan from Belfast. Now,
Ryan, if you're out in the crowd tonight, here's the answer to your
question. No, as far as I know, an alien spacecraft did not crash in
Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947. (Laughter.) And, Ryan, if the United
States Air Force did recover alien bodies, they didn't tell me about
it, either, and I want to know. (Applause.) [...]"
Knowing how carefully the talks from Presidents are built, especially
those from the US President, one can ascertain that this sentence is
not ingenuous. To whom it was addressed remains unclear.... But
everybody knows that when the President wants it, NSC does it!
There are people who know but refuse to talk. It is an indisputable
fact. For their defence, one can say that it might be dangerous to
release new pieces of information as long as most of the citizens will
prefer "to believe rather than to know". In a school, the teacher
always adapt his instruction to fit the average capabilities of his
students...
So what, Monsieur D'Amato, your "friends" did find something really
bizarre in 1947. But was it so important that all related projects
could not depend on political variations or electoral caprices? Was it
both so huge and frightening that an investigation committee was set up
to study this strange stuff and develop new technologies from it, just
in case... To keep their hands free, and to avoid alarming the
citizens, these people might have turned away enormous resources, have
benefited and may still benefit today from protections. A sort of State
within the States.... Indeed, this looks like what you claim here and
there... Surprisingly enough, a US TV series, which has become a "cult"
series, tells exactly the same story! Do you know someone called Chris
Carter? Is the truth really else where? If someone wanted us to believe
it, it is exactly the right way to do it!
All these facts are crucial to the evaluation of the UFO phenomenon.
Good questions were asked. Facts were established. Double checks were
exposed here, and other will be brought to your attention in the
following chapters.
Is it possible, indeed, to evaluate the role of D'Amato without taking
in account the peculiarities of his main "boss": Sen. Byrd. In this
respect, it is possible - but not proven - that D'Amato could also be
the spokesman of one of the more important Internet access provider:
America On Line (AOL). If he is, he would then also be the person who
proposed to "release" some personal data concerning the AOL
subscribers. For the sake of developing the electronic business, he
said, adding that this would be done in full accordance with the
current laws. AOL has millions of subscribers around the world. Because
all data transferred to and from Internet are systematically recorded
within the computers of the provider, one can get a very accurate view
of Monsieur D'Amato's main interests, goals, opinions and character...
Besides, the fact that this company decided to "sell" private data on
their customers is certainly not agreeable to everybody.
Good to know that anyway! But what follows is not less interesting...
* PART 2/2: Senator Robert C. Byrd
LINKS TO THE REFERENCES
* Capital Online: Naval Surface Warfare Center group packs up
* Relevant Committees of the 104th U.S. Congress
*"archives"
*(Untitled)
*B:.B:. ©
*Birds of a Feather No Longer: Policy Split Divides "Aviary"
UFO-Secrecy Group
*Capital Online: Academy may resume donating leftover food
*Capital Online: Mid-sponsorship program still strong despite recent
troubles at academ
*CENTER OF ATTENTION NEWSLETTER #19
*Committee on Appropriations
*Congressional Budget Office Home Page
*Deja News - Article
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*DSFP Panels and Poster Presentations for 1997 meeting
*HotBot results: D'Amato (151+)
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*Senators Kept Psychic Intelligence Program Alive, Staff Aides Say
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*CQ NewsAlert - Committee Rosters
*DSFP Panels and Poster Presentations for 1997 meeting
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