F-2003-00606 FINAL RESPONSE

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 00934938
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: July 13, 2023
• Document Release Date: November 7, 2022
• Case Number: F-2018-00697
• Publication Date: April 11, 2003

Approved for Release: 2022/10/13 C00934938
Central Intelligence Agency
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Washington, D.C. 20505
11 April 2003
Ms. Katrina Taylor
Reference: F-2003-00606
Dear Ms. Taylor:
This acknowledges receipt of your 21 March 2003 letter requesting
records under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Specifically, your request is for records pertaining to:
Roswell, New Mexico
Operation Majestic (MJ12)
Area 51 (S-4)
You also request a photograph of Director of Central Intelligence, George
Tenet. For identification purposes we have assigned your request the number
referenced above. Please refer to this number in future correspondence.
Concerning that portion of your request for a photograph of Director
Tenet, we suggest that you contact our Public Affairs Staff at the following
address:
Public Affairs Staff
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, D.C. 20505
With respect to that portion of your request pertaining to Roswell,
please be advised that this agency has no information on the so-called "Roswell
incident." Further, on the general subject of Unidentified Flying Objects
(UFOs), there is no organized CIA effort to do research in connection with
UFO phenomena, nor has there been an organized effort to collect intelligence
on UFOs since the 1950s. At that time, the Air Force, specifically the Air
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Technical Intelligence Center at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, had the
primary responsibility for the investigation of all reports of UFO sightings.
The CIA's role was in connection with a Scientific Advisory Panel, established
to investigate and evaluate reports of UFOs. The panel was concerned only
with any aspect of UFO phenomena which might prove to present a potential
threat to the United States national security. The panel later issued a report
of its findings, the Report of the Scientific Panel on Unidentified Flying
Objects dated 17 January 1953, also known as the Robertson Report. The
report was released by the Air Force Office of Public Information on 9 April
1958. The Air Force investigation, called Project Bluebook, was terminated in
1969. We understand that the Air Force turned its records on this subject over
to the National Archives and Records Administration where they are currently
available for inspection and purchase. There is currently no CIA program to
actively collect information on UFOs, although since the time of the Robertson
Report there have been sporadic instances of correspondence dealing with the
subject, and we occasionally receive various kinds of reports of sightings of
objects in the UFO category.
As of this date, however, the Agency has released to numerous previous
requesters 991 pages of UFO-related documents under the FOIA. Most of this
material was located as a result of a previous search for records conducted on
behalf of an earlier requester for information regarding UFOs up through
1979, and as a result of a recent updated search for records conducted on
behalf of an earlier requester for information regarding UFOs from 1979
through 15 March 1990. Any releasable material as a result of these earlier,
thorough searches is included in this package. These documents are not
indexed, and most of the material deals with matters related to the report by
the Scientific Advisory Panel. We should advise you that most of the reports
dealing with the UFO sightings considered by the Panel originated with other
government agencies such as the Air Force, and that much of the later CIA-
originated reports concern sightings as reported in the foreign news media. In
accordance with our attached fee schedule, the material referred to above costs
ten cents per page less the first 100 pages as a requester in the "all other"
category.
Also, as a result of former Director Woolsey's 14 December 1993 radio
interview, a recent further release of 1,757 pages has been made bringing the
total amount of pages to 2,748. Additional documents for release are currently
under review.
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Therefore, should you wish to purchase this package, please send your
check or money order for US$264.80 to me, made payable to the Treasurer of
the United States and cite the reference number above to ensure proper credit
to your account. A copy of our fee schedule is enclosed.
You also have the option of reviewing the initial release of 991 pages on
the CIA's electronic FOIA internet site. The access for this site via homepage
URL is:
http:\\www.foia.cia.gov.
Another option would be to review the material referred to above in our
reading room. If you wish to do so, please let us know at least two weeks in
advance, and we will be glad to make the necessary arrangements.
In an effort to assist you further, also enclosed is a copy of an article
from the CIA's internal magazine Studies in Intelligence, Summer 1997,
entitled "CIA's Role in the Study of UFOs, 1947-90." This item is being
provided at no cost since it is under 100 pages.
With respect to Majestic (MJ-12), our records show that we conducted a
search on behalf of a previous requester for records pertaining to Majestic 12.
Our search was thorough and diligent, but no records were located. That
earlier requester appealed our findings, and we conducted a second search.
Again, no records were located.
Further, with respect to that portion of your request concerning Area 51,
the CIA may neither confirm nor deny the existence or nonexistence of records
responsive to your request. Such information�unless, of course, it has been
officially acknowledged--would be classified for reasons of national security
under Executive Order 12958. The fact of the existence or nonexistence of
such records would also relate directly to information concerning intelligence
sources and methods. The Director of Central Intelligence has the
responsibility and authority to protect such information from unauthorized
disclosure in accordance with Subsection 103(c)(6) of the National Security Act
of 1947 and Section 6 of the CIA Act of 1949.
Therefore, this portion of your request is denied under FOIA exemptions
(b)(1) and (b)(3); an explanation of these exemptions is enclosed. The CIA
official responsible for this determination is Kathryn I. Dyer, Information and
Privacy Coordinator. By this action we are neither confirming nor denying the
existence or nonexistence of such records.
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You may appeal this decision by addressing your appeal to the Agency
Release Panel within 45 days from the date of this letter, in my care. Should
you choose to do this, please explain the basis of your appeal.
Also, please advise if you are interested in either purchasing the 2,748
previously released UFO pages or reviewing the material in our reading room.
Meanwhile, we trust that the information enclosed and that provided above
will be helpful.
Sincerely,
/4#
Kathryn I. Dyer
Information and Privacy Coordinator
Enclosures
Approved for Release: 2022/10/13 C00934938
Approved for Release: 2022/10/13 C00934938
CIO/IMS/IRRG/PIPD ../9 April 2003
Signature assigned by:
Distribution:
Orig - Adse
1 - PIPD/F-2003-00606 GIP (b)(1) (b)(3) Glomar
Denier:
FOIA 00606 Taylor GIP
(b)(3)
(b)(6)
(b)(3)
(b)(6)
(b)(3)
(b)(3)
(b)(6)
(b)(3)
(b)(6)
Approved for Release: 2022/10/13 C00934938