What鈥檚 really going on at Area 51, the US Air Force base in Nevada whose
fascination for UFO believers has made it just about the most famous 鈥渟ecret鈥�
military installation in the world? The controversy was given another stir last
month when two satellite imaging companies posted photographs of the base on the
Net. You can see them at www.terraserver.com and www.spaceimaging.com. The
photos show much what you鈥檇 expect to see at an Air Force base鈥攈angars,
landing strips, housing. So what鈥檚 the big deal?
For a summary of the paranoid imaginings that swirl around Area 51, see The
UFO Cover-up at www.all-natural.com/lear.html. Allegations about Area 51 being
used to house recovered flying saucers are the least of it. Author John Lear
says the US government is in a long-standing conspiracy with aliens who need
human enzymes to help them digest their food. The testimony of Bob Lazar, who
says he was an Area 51 scientist, provides details about how the alien
propulsion system works at www.boblazar.com. Its power source鈥攑reviously
unknown to humans鈥攊s element 115.
If what you want is a reasonably straightforward history of the base, look
at the conspiracy site Above Top Secret
(www.abovetopsecret.com/area51.html), which traces the base from its beginnings
as a testing ground for the U-2 spy plane. The site also has an account of a
videotaped interview with a dying alien, conducted at the base by a 鈥渕ilitary
telepath鈥�. You can tell he鈥檚 telepathic by the way he puts his hand to his head
a lot.
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Considerably more down to Earth is the Federation of American Scientists鈥�
take on the matter at www.fas.org/irp/overhead/groom.htm. They don鈥檛 believe in
flying saucers or in aliens鈥攄ead or alive. But they do believe that the
continuing speculation about the use of Area 51 illustrates everything that is
harmful and ridiculous about post-Cold War government secrecy.
