June 1, 1977🇺🇸Program

Webre SRI UFO Project Terminated After Pentagon Warning

Alfred Webre's White House-backed SRI UFO project is shut down after a Pentagon liaison at SRI tells him: 'There are no UFOs.' A colleague named Peter Schwartz delivers the message, telling Webre the project is dead. Webre believes the project was killed because it could have led to genuine disclosure. The White House contact ('Jane Doe' under Stuart Eisenstadt) stops responding. Webre is transferred to an environmental futures project, effectively removing him from UFO research. This demonstrates the pattern of promising government UFO initiatives being terminated by Pentagon/intelligence community pressure.

Date
June 1, 1977
Location
Menlo Park, California🇺🇸
Type
Program
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Map

Background

Alfred Webre, a Senior Policy Analyst at Stanford Research Institute (SRI), initiated a White House-backed UFO project in 1977. The project aimed to create a comprehensive UFO database and develop policy recommendations, but it was abruptly terminated after a warning from a Pentagon liaison.

The Incident In January 1977, Alfred Webre joined SRI and proposed an "extraterrestrial communication" project with White House support. He believed that White House backing could shield the project from external challenges, especially given President Carter's public statements on UFOs. Webre envisioned a three-phase project: * Creating a comprehensive UFO database. * Having scientific advisors evaluate the data and construct interpretive models. * Producing a report with policy recommendations, potentially leading to a permanent, open, global database and an end to military and intelligence secrecy on the subject.

Webre contacted White House staffers and was referred to "Jane Doe" of the White House Domestic Policy Staff. "Jane Doe" supported his proposal during a spring meeting in Washington D.C. Webre returned to SRI, developed his proposal further, and received corporate approval. However, the project was shut down after a Pentagon liaison at SRI told him, "There are no UFOs," according to the existing summary. A colleague, Peter Schwartz, delivered the message that the project was dead.

Investigation The source text does not provide information about any official investigation into the termination of the Webre project. The text focuses on the project's initial conception and abrupt end.

Significance The termination of Webre's White House-backed SRI UFO project highlights the challenges faced by individuals seeking to openly investigate and disclose information about UFOs. Webre believed the project was killed because it could have led to genuine disclosure, suggesting potential resistance from within the government or military to such transparency. The event underscores the ongoing debate surrounding UFO secrecy and the difficulties in conducting objective research on the phenomenon.

Connections