SUBJECT: ARTICLE FROM UFO ON THE WHISTLEBLOWERS FILE: UFO1952 PART 3 In his CAJI newsletter, Cooper stated that "No one likes to be a fool, but most ufologists are ex- actly that. I keep saying to do research, to investigate, but no one does it. They just sit around and call each other names.'' This reporter, representing UFO Magazine, attempted to contact Cooper to verify his claims by leaving a message on his com- puter service. Cooper read the message and called about an hour later. When I answered the phone, Cooper growled, "What the hell do you want!?" When I attempted to ex- plain that I was doing a story for UFO and wanted to verify his claims, he shot back, "What are you writing for your f***in' trashzine?" I then said that I had received a copy of the CAJI newsletter and he replied, ''I would be very careful if I was you. That newsletter is copyrighted.'' Cooper then stated, "I don't trust you or anyone you are associated with. " The only response I was able to get con- cerned the allegation that Bob Lazar ran a speed lab. "John Lear told me that out of his own mouth . . . I got the information from a man named Cory and eoff who are good friends of John Lear. " Just at that moment the phone rang with the call waiting feature, and Cooper refused to hold 'til I could find out who was calling. He refused to speak any further and hung up. This seems out of character for a person who claims that his information is legitimate. As UFO Magazine was going to press, and as we expected, Cooper's newest newsletter at- tacked this writer and the magazine. Cooper now claims that Cory Testa was intimidated by UFO regarding the claims that Bob Lazar is involved with drugs, and that UFO or myself or both are a part of Cooper's paranoiac ''secret government.'' The absurdity of this speaks for itself. But for the record, UFO will attempt to get Testa's version of this. Researching and accurately reporting facts are not Cooper's strong suit.-D.E. And UFO MAGAZINE CO-Publisher says. . . . There you have it. Don Ecker's ar- ticle, documentary reports researched and produced by George Knapp of KLAS-TV and what Cooper has published in his CAJI newsletter are part of a growing information base which should demonstrate why we have chosen not to give space to the often false and specious claims that Cooper purveys. It is not our intention to single out individuals and ''pick on'' them; it's simply very important that the truth or the closest thing to it be establish- ed. A close reading of our whistleblowers series, as it pro- gresses, will demonstrate that there are people in this field who have set themselves up for examination and whose claims of truth are, at best, cleverly-mouthed chunks of pro- paganda; some if not most will be found wanting. Milton William Cooper has threatened, lied about and attacked a number of people in the UFO field (I'm included, as is Don Ecker). Along with slander and lying, he has a clear history of con- tradicting himself, backtracking when caught in those contradictions and then attempting to patch up his story with a turnaround position based on sudden new claims that, true to style, cannot be checked out. A Bill Cooper could not maintain a foothold in any other field. Such a bullying personality would have been "run out of town" long ago. But the fact that this man and others like him still can command some audience and are seen as hav- ing some veracity and authority denotes a sore lack of discrimination on the part of many in the UFO arena, if not outright foolishness. But it should be likewise emphasiz- ed that this syndrome also testifies to our collective frustration with the lies and secret machinations of some powerful persons in the U.S. govern- ment, cultivating many people's will- ingness to listen and 'follow just about anyone who purports to be defending the Constitution and who vocally demands accountability from the very government officials in whom we should be able to place our trust. It's so very important: Dedication to the absolute truth, to the finer points of democracy, when exercised without caution and discernment, plays right into the hands of those who would short- circuit those very precious qualities we hold dear. "Users" of all political persuasions will exploit the emotional fervor of the crowd to further their own selfish and inhumane ends. (Some names to remember: Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, Joseph Stalin, Joe McCarthy.) It's imperative that we - and I include everyone who shares the vision of UFO Mag- azine-short-circuit such per- niciousness at its very core, striking at the heart of demagoguery with persistent courage and honesty. Only personal commitment to humane and truthful ideals, and the willingness to expose the truth, can successfully overcome The Big Lie. UFO Magazine honors just such a commitment. - Vicki Cooper IN DEFENSE OF THE FACTS When I began to look at Cooper's UFO-related information, our pur- pose was to examine his claims and see how valid they were. This endeavor started with Cooper's CAJI newsletter, and his claims that people such as Bob Lazar, John Lear, Bill Moore and others were engaged in various illegal or unethical acts. But back in April and May of I990, Lazar, for instance, had NO criminal charges even pending. Ap- parently Lear was targeted by Cooper only because he appeared on the George Knapp special and expos- ed some of Cooper's bogus informa- tion over the air. When UFO tried to contact Cooper, he immediately blew up. Sure enough, before too long he launched a smear campaign against the magazine and this writer. Cooper has even called the magazine and threatened to sue unless we print a complete retraction of Part One, published in UFO, Vol. 5, No. 4. Never a word that parts of the story (in his opinion) are wrong, not a word that he wants his side told in these pages. Instead, in his latest newsletter, Cooper has resorted once more to smearing, innuendo and libel. He even engages in an in- credibly sophomoric, juvenile display by making scatological parodies of my name, George Knapp's, and Vicki Cooper's. I, for one, wiIl not be intimidated. UFO Magazine wilI continue to report the truest facts available, and what is nice about reporting facts is . . . they can be shown to everyone at any time. What is really sad about this story is the $act that I agree with much of what Cooper says when he is speak- ing about an erosion of Constitu- tional civil liberties. There are bizarre things afoot in the land, each day becomes more uncertain, and the public is simply not being told the true $acts. However, one thing about the First Amendment, that although it guarantees freedom of speech, it does not allow the screaming of fire (with no fire) in a crowded theater. Cooper has been screaming fire on rainy days, and the problem with that is . . . What do you do when a real fire starts? Just like the kid who always cried wolf, no one came when the wolf finally showed up. What it appears we are dealing with is demagoguery. Demagoguery in any form, with people following blindly, is always a dangerous development. Examine everyone's in- formation, do not accept anything without checking it to the extent you are able, and then check it again from another angle, if possible. UFO Magazine's opinion is that this field is fraught with enough dangers; tread carefully while walk- ing down this path. During this investigation UFO Magazine has found that much of Cooper's material is entirely fabricated, lifted from others'work, or facts he's selected and twisted to support his own story. Several times Cooper has told those who have disagreed with him or questioned his information, ''I will crucify you. . ." At what point will some- one allow a demagogue to in- timidate him or her into silence? At what point will truth be the final casualty in a war of words with liars? I will report the truth as long as we publish, and if necessary suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous slander. At some point the public will learn that each demagogue DOES have his 15 minutes in the sun, but then the public learns WHAT IS THE TRUTH. - Don Ecker Subj: BO GRITZ SAYS.... Editor: I've served most of my adult life as an intelligence operative (In- telligence Officer, Delta Force; Com- mander, Special Operations, Viet- Nam: Commander Special Forces, Latin America; Principal Agent, NSC-ISA). Unlike William Cooper, I can prove this identity. I have been a Pilot for more than 30 years. My assignments have taken me all over the globe including Africa, Asia, Middle East, Latin America, et al. Much of this time has been spent out in the open under the stars. I have never witnessed a UFO in the classic saucer sense, but I believe they exist nevertheless (Even Jimmy Carter says so). While in England, enroute to Bangladesh, I bought and read Above Top Secret, which strengthen- ed my personal convictions. This past month the Association of Former Intelligence Officers and Na- tional Intelligence Counter In- telligence Association included UFO reports (Belgian Air Force Colonel Wilfried de Brouwer) in their monthly INSUMS (Intelligence Sum- maries). As a Chemical, Biological, Nuclear trained officer, I know that "the" government lied about gassing sheep in Montana with GB-Agent, infecting San Francisco with a virus, and the proposed use of underground nuc - lear demolitions to construct a new canal in Nicaragua. They denied Frank Powers U-2 over Russia, SR-71, and Stealth. Why wouldn't they cover-up UFOs (classic or other- wise)? I obviously don't know much about flying saucers, even though I have more than a dozen friends, in- cluding pilots, who are eye witnesses to UFO sightings. I know a lot more about people and I certainly know the intelligence system. I have ex- amined military records on Bill Cooper. I have spoken with him and listened to him on telephone recorded audio tape. I feel compelled to add my opinion to that of George Knapp, Ed De Mar and others. I am absolutely convinced that Cooper is a charlatan. There is no doubt that he has information concerning govern- ment cover-up, which is easily vacuumed from the presentations and publications of others. When I retumed from Burma's Golden Triangle with videotape of overlord Khun Sa accusing U.S. of- ficials of being his best customers, Cooper started saying that drugs were funding the secret government UFO campaign. Only God and Cooper know if he actually observed a UFO, but I don't buy his story about being a part of Naval Intelligence. I have a Top Secret Crypto clearance with access to Special Intelligence, which is clear- ly imprinted on my records. None of the Cooper file shows him to have these basic intelligence clearances, without which he would be denied access to classified materials. I also have been granted coded clearances which open doors when combined with a "need to know" to highly selected ''compartments'' of information. If Cooper were real, he would have long ago referenced the proper codes that deal with informa- tion he says was available to him. 1 believe Bill Cooper is a fraud. There is enough wrong with the govern- ment. Cooper types only hurt honest efforts to gain truth. His fare would be more accurately billed as ''enter- tainment.'' As Chief of Special Activities on the Army General Staff, I regularly briefed the U.S. Army Chief of Staff and the other generals. I know and have experience working with Ad- miral Isaac Kidd (former Com- mander in Chief, Atlantic) and his staff. There were no enlisted men on the "briefing team." Field grade officers (Major and up) normally furnish in- formation to these key decision makers. Classifed information is carefully guarded, especially the com- partmented information that Cooper refers to. Without the proper coded access and a need to know, you don't get in! I don't buy Bill's "testing" the government by mixing up code names (Majestic vis Majority). Every time someone produces information contradicting Cooper, he changes, adds to, or reveals yet another per- sonal revelation he read in the cloak- ed documents way back when. St. John should have had such access. Cooper has more twists than a snake. He is also dangerous. I listen- ed to a telephone answer tape where- in Cooper badgered, bribed, threatened, cried, and then later allegedly slashed the tires on a man's car. Cooper talks and acts like a number of other fakes I know. They seem to want someone, anyone, to do anything that might threaten them since to be that important would enhance their own self-image. In the absence of real threats they conjure them up. I don't begrudge whatever popularity or success he may garner- that is show biz. But I do feel he is hurting the credibility and honesty of sincere researchers at a time when we are facing a true peril from within. The secret government needs to be exposed and expunged before it turns us into economic slaves through King George's "New World Order.'' Cooperites dull our cutting edge of truth. I exhort William Cooper to stop his Bush-lip and focus his energy and resources on unmasking the real villains. This is the first time I have written a letter to the editor. Strange that with all that is going on, it would be to a publication I haven't read, about a person I hope-if there are ETs-will soon be beamed up. Please send me info on your magazine. It wasn't on our Pentagon reading list, but maybe it should be. James "Bo'' Gritz Center for Action Sandy Valley, NV * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * You bet Colonel. Send $18.00 for a years subscription to; UFO Magazine 1800 S. Robertson Blvd. Box 355 Los Angeles, Ca. 90035 ********************************************** * THE U.F.O. BBS - http://www.ufobbs.com/ufo * **********************************************