Timothy Good - Earth: An Alien Enterprise: The Shocking Truth Behind the Greatest Cover-Up in Human History

by Jonathan Caplan, QC

I n any democratic society, a process for the proper evaluation of evidence is essential, usually within the context of criminal or civil proceedings or of public or governmental inquiries. We are used to assessing the credibility and reliability of witnesses and of seeking corroborative evidence where possible. We know that even honest witnesses may be mistaken, and many people have been sentenced to life imprisonment or even the death penalty on the strength of a single uncorroborated witness.

The history of the UFO phenomenon, going back to Biblical times, is essentially a record of human testimony of lights, objects, or events that cover the spectrum from the unusual to the high strangeness of close encounters. No doubt the same can be said of paranormal phenomena. This record has its share of charlatans, those who are mistaken, and perhaps those who have been deceived by othersor even by themselves. But the fascinating feature of ufology is the core of honest, intelligent people in different eras and from different cultures all over the world, including many who are scientifically or aeronautically trained, who describe very similar objects or similar experiences of high strangeness which on any basis cannot be the product of a black research program. In many cases there are multiple witnesses or there is corroborative evidence in the form of photographic images, radar readings, or physical traces. For the lawyer, who too often has to make bricks out of straw, such a body of material represents a refreshingly strong case, particularly if examined in the same way in which we examine evidence in other contexts.

We cannot, of course, though, accept these accounts at face value. In the world we inhabit, all is often not what it seems, so how much more so in the world of ufology where our reference points, let alone our vocabulary, are wholly inadequate? This was the hard lesson of Shakespeares Macbeth who, having interpreted literally the predictions of the three ethereal witches that strongly implied his future safety, was left dejectedly to ponder that the instruments of darkness often win us to our harm by half-truths and with honest trifles.

And so to the question asked as long ago as 1955 by Captain Edward Ruppelt (the former head of the U.S. Air Force Project Bluebook): What constitutes proof? Does a UFO have to land at the River Entrance to the Pentagon, near the Joint Chiefs of Staff offices? The answer is no easier to provide after more than fifty years of further reports and investigations, despite the advent of the digital camera. UFOs seem to be a phenomenon that coexists with us and which is as baffling to an Israelite in the Sinai desert, or a medieval monk, or a modern fighter pilot or astronaut. That we are not alone is no longer in doubt. But at present that still remains an inference rather than a proven fact.

There are many powerful institutions that would balk at recognizing such proof even if a landing did occur at the Pentagon on prime-time television. The risk of destabilizing organized government and religion would be too great, and the risk of advanced technology falling into the wrong hands would be greater. In that event, who is to call the shots on whether proof exists or not, especially if key evidence is to be concealed or confuted? If we cannot expect official and honest recognition, then maybe only the people can decide on the basis of the evidence that is placed before them. Maybe the much-criticized new age culture is the only way to combat the clandestine secrecy that certainly surrounds this subject.

We owe the few reliable researchers like Timothy Good a huge acknowledgment because they keep the record of this phenomenon, which may be all that we can do, and they get it into the public consciousness. I greatly admire the quality of his books and his perseverance. And I strongly suspect that the real value of his work will only be fully appreciated in years to come.

Jonathan Caplan is a well-known lawyer practicing in London and has acted in many high-profile cases. He was appointed a Queens Counsel in recognition of his standing in the profession. He has been interested in ufology for over forty years.