Pentagon: AATIP Program Inception Reported (NYT)
According to a 2017 New York Times investigation, the covert Pentagon study began operations during this year. Senator Harry Reid allegedly secured initial congressional funding for the effort. However, subsequent testimony by former director Luis Elizondo contradicts this date, suggesting 2008 instead.
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Background
The New York Times reported that the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program commenced in 2007, funded at the request of then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The article claimed the initiative received nearly $22 million in appropriations starting late 2008 through 2011. This reporting has generated significant controversy regarding the program's actual genesis. Former director Luis Elizondo later stated that AATIP evolved from AAWSAP and began in 2008, not 2007. Dr. Hal Puthoff, who worked on the program, has offered yet another timeline. These discrepancies highlight ongoing confusion about the relationship between AAWSAP and AATIP, and the exact chronology of Pentagon UAP research efforts.