7 ms·

I think the Wall Street Journal had the best lede on this: “U.S. intelligence officials have examined more than a dozen sightings of unexplained aerial objects

• chiefalchemist 5y ago
  Not to get too far off topic but the intelligence community isn't exactly a benchmark for truth and transparency. Within its arsenal is misinformation, and it's not afraid to use it. Also, the recent reports I've watched and read all eventually mentioned "national security." Such mentions are euphemisms for more funding, more DOD budget, etc. Granted, it could be aliens. Nonetheless there are plenty of earthlings who benefit from a misinfomation based narratives. Some of those benefitees are the source of the narrative. Let's not lose track of the context. It matters.
  • gameswithgo 5y ago
    people are also just wrong, and crazy, all the time.
  • BitwiseFool 5y ago
    Intelligence Agencies are designed to deceive. That's their primary function. It is completely within the realm of possibility that this is some psyop, ploy for funding, or tool designed to throw off some foreign adversary about our technical capabilities.
    • dragonwriter 5y ago
      > Intelligence Agencies are designed to deceive. No, their primary function is to acquire information useful to decisions makers, including info others want to keep secret. Counterintelligence agencies, which are sometimes conjoined to intelligence agencies and sometimes separate have a primary function of preventing information that decisionmakers want to remain secret from being discovered. Deception is frequently an important technique in both intelligence and counterintelligence, and if understood broadly enough is integral to the purpose of counterintelligence.
      • chiefalchemist 5y ago
        Yes. But the USA doesn't have designated counterintelligence agencies. They're consistently referred to strictly as intelligence agencies. So it's important to clarify that the counterintelligence role is there even if it's not directly identified. And, no their primary function is not to acquire information. Their primary funtion is to push and pull "information" to acheive the goals of The Republic. It's chess, not checkers.
        • wahern 5y ago
          Maybe not agencies as you mean, but it does have: * Marine Corps Counterintelligence: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Corps_Intelligence#Marine_Corps_Counterintelligence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Corps_Intelligence#Mari... * United States Army Counterintelligence: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army_Counterintelligence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army_Counterinte... * Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Counterintelligence_and_Security_Agency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Counterintelligence_an... * National Counterintelligence and Security Center: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Counterintelligence_and_Security_Center https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Counterintelligence_a... Found via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_counterintelligence_organizations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_counterintelligence_or... AFAICT the NCSC is independent from the CIA, though both do fall under the DNI. And the DCSA does have "agency" in its name. ;) The hierarchy became more complex and confusing after the 9/11 reorganization, and apparently has continued to do so.
          • dragonwriter 5y ago
            You left out the FBI, which doesn't have “counterintelligence” in the name but is nevertheless the primary civilian counterintelligence agency.
            • wahern 5y ago
              Without knowing more, I would think most counterintelligence work is still done by the FBI, CIA, NSA, and maybe DIA. But I was replying to the specific claim that there were no "designated ... agencies", where I interpreted designated to mean specialized. The FBI, CIA, and NSA are monolithic organizations.