Finally, it was published. The long-awaited U.S. intelligence report on unidentified flying objects was finally published. Since 2004, there have been over 140 reports of unidentified flying phenomena (or UAPs) and the government doesn't have a good explanation. Although the report does not prove that the objects were created by extraterrestrial beings, it is likely to fuel conspiracy theorists as well as people who believe there is extraterrestrial life.AdvertisementThis report, which Congress required amid an increase in interest in alien life, is an astonishing acknowledgment by the government that sightings have occurred that cannot be explained. The 18 unexplained sightings that have been reported by the United States are most intriguing. They could be evidence of technological prowess that is unknown to the United States, and may also pose a challenge to other countries. According to the report, some UAP were able to move in windy conditions, move against the wind, move quickly, or remain stationary.AdvertisementAdvertisementThese unidentified phenomena may pose a national security threat, according to the report. The report does not rule out the possibility that the sightings could be related to secret weapons programs or other technology from big military players like Russia and China. Another possibility is that the objects were garbage. One encounter was identified as being likely to be a large, inflatable balloon. Officials dismissed the possibility of an extraterrestrial influence, although it does not rule out the possibility. A senior official stated that there are no clear signs that the sightings could be explained by nonterrestrial forces.AdvertisementThe Pentagon will now do more research to help explain these sightings, and also develop a process for better collecting and reporting on similar events. This report recognizes that some of the reasons data might be patchy is that servicemembers who reported such sightings were often ridiculed. In three months, Congress will be updated by the government on its efforts to improve data collection on unexplained sightings.AdvertisementMany people were quick to warn that the intelligence report's failure to reject a nonterrestrial explanation of the sightings should not be taken as a warning. Although the intelligence report did not eliminate the possibility that UFOs could be extraterrestrial, it was likely to exclude the hypotheses that they might be flying pigs, dragons, or flying pigs. It also does not rule out the possibility that UFOs may be the Norse god Odin riding Sleipnir (his magical eight-legged horse). Adam Larson, NBC News reports that unidentified flying objects can be just that: they are airborne objects we cannot identify. People who believe in it will not be swayed. People are being told by the government that something is potentially dangerous. Ziv Cohen, a psychiatrist, tells Axios that they also claim to have been lied too for 80 years. The problem is that when you hear that the government was lying to you, it makes people naturally wonder, "Are they telling the truth now?"
