How do you assess the claims of David Grusch, James T Lacatski, and others?

How do you assess the recent claims of David Grusch and James T Lacatski about “craft of unknown origin” and “biologics”, kept secret by the US government, probably within the military-industrial complex?

James T Lacatski was one of three authors of Skinwalkers at the Pentagon - a useful book, published in 2021, that cleared up the confusion between the AAWSAP and AATIP programs, as well as revealing that AAWSAP was the first to investigate the now-famous Tic Tac case. A follow-up book has recently been released which we found much less useful. Halfway through, it did, however, completely unexpectedly and with little to no context, drop a bombshell:

"At the conclusion of a 2011 meeting in the Capitol building with a US Senator and an agency Under Secretary, Lacatski, the only one of this book’s authors present, posed a question. He stated that the United States was in possession of a craft of unknown origin and had successfully gained access to its interior. This craft had a streamlined configuration suitable for aerodynamic flight but no intakes, exhaust, wings, or control surfaces. In fact, it appeared not to have an engine, fuel tanks, or fuel. Lacatski asked: What was the purpose of this craft? Was it a life-support craft useful only for atmospheric re-entry or what? If it was a spacecraft, then how did it operate?”

In a recent podcast, James T Lacatski did nothing to contradict the suggestion that he had personally seen this craft of unknown origin. And he put the cat amongst the pigeons by implying that at least some of the people David Grusch talked to about “a secret UFO retrieval program” believed in what they were saying but weren’t necessarily accurate. He was also careful to avoid any mention of “biologics”.

Whereas “ufology” has always been hijacked by weirdos, wackos, liars, and conmen, the loose collection of pro-UFO activists who burst onto the scene in 2017, stirring Congress into action, have been of a much better calibre. All have been employed by, or worked with, US government agencies. These individuals include, in no particular order: Christopher Mellon, Lue Elizondo, James T Lacatski, Jay Stratton, Garry Nolan, David Grusch, Travis Taylor, Hal Puthoff, and Eric Davies - but this list is far from complete.

A 512-acre property in Utah, commonly known as Skinwalker Ranch, which allegedly manifests mysterious phenomena, was owned by Robert Bigelow from 1996 until he sold it to Brandon Fugal in 2016. Both men have spent a sizeable amount of money trying to get to the bottom of what might be happening, employing scientists and others. Yet there is no convincing or conclusive evidence of anything after 28 years of investigation. Books have been written and sensationalist TV series made, yes - but all this does is merely perpetuate the existing myth.

Skinwalkers at the Pentagon included enthralling accounts of a “hitchhiker effect”, including strange encounters with a menacing 7ft-tall “wolfman”. There’s belief, but no photos or any other kind of proof. And one of the co-authors is George Knapp, the experienced Las Vegas journalist, who has been a major part of “ufology” for over 30 years - the same person who introduced Bob Lazar to the world, continuing to stand by him. If you haven’t already read it, yet still believe Bob Lazar’s “S-4” stories, you absolutely must read our in-depth analysis of why Lazar cannot be trusted.

The above list of smart individuals (Mellon, Elizondo, Lacatski, et al.) have undoubtedly influenced each other to varying degrees when it comes to forming a view of UFOs/UAP. It would be naïve to think otherwise. And the alleged goings on at Skinwalker Ranch, “hitchhiker effect” included, will have left their mark in this scheme of things.

I’ve closely followed Hal Puthoff’s career as a physicist - especially his interest in paranormal or psi phenomena - since the mid 1970s, not least because I was one of the first individuals to formally study parapsychology at a university at that time. It has to be said that Hal Puthoff was taken in by the Scientology cult for a number of years. I’m including this fact here because it’s important to stress that good people, including scientists, can be influenced by a range of dubious beliefs. Again, if you haven’t already read this earlier article, titled “I want to believe”, you probably should do so now, simply because we’re all vulnerable to cognitive distortion. And, as there’s much talk of UFOs being possibly linked with paranormal phenomena, I’d also urge you to read this article on the topic, as my considered words are the result of almost 50 years of careful deliberation following my initial studies. Whilst I’m doing my best to draw the various relevant strands together here, we’ve also previously stated that you don’t get a better witness than Dave Fravor - and yet he’s been fooled by Bob Lazar and therefore has shown poor judgement.

Jacques Vallée has been a prominent and influential figure in “ufology” for many decades. People understandably listen to him, as he has considerable experience, taking his views seriously. Recently, he co-authored a book about the so-called “Trinity” crash retrieval. Yet the story is utter nonsense and easily discredited.

Lue Elizondo has spoken of a group of individuals in positions of authority within the Pentagon who believe UFOs are real but “demonic”. Beliefs might vary, but they’re still beliefs.

So it’s this extremely relevant matter of judgement that we cannot ignore. Everyone is vulnerable to belief and we can easily make fools of ourselves. Therefore, the crucial word here must be caution. We have to be fully aware of our susceptibilities and other weaknesses, constantly reviewing if we’ve been caught in the snare.

In our wider work, we’re always banging on about the social conditioning influence of “monkey do what monkey see”. This ubiquitous effect has unfortunately far more impact than the wise words of William Shakespeare: “To thine own self be true” and “Be just and fear not” - with many being shockingly ignorant about what’s going on. For us, this early and continuous social/psychological influence is a necessary basic starting point, together with understanding the full and far-reaching impact of psychological avoidance. If you lack sufficient comprehension of this, you’re failing to grasp the current human condition. And those behind the UFOs/UAP haven’t landed on the White House lawn for one very obvious reason: we’re still a semi-primitive, emerging intelligent species that’s dysfunctional, inconsistent, and untrustworthy.

Any talk about “multiple” craft which have “crashed” after arriving here on Earth should trigger the ringing of an extremely loud warning bell, but it all just gets lapped up by the masses as if gospel. The assumption that “they” are not that far ahead of us, technologically and evolutionary, is equally as concerning. There’s also considerable ignorance about the hostility of space and therefore what will be required to overcome the many obstacles involved in interstellar travel. None of this points towards the likelihood of off-world spacecraft crashing here, decade after decade. One offered “explanation” is that different civilisations are “at war” above and around us, but the notion is ludicrous - a desperate claim, and a mere projection of our own backward state.

The suggestion that UFOs occasionally “crash” is further challenged by the fact that they clearly don’t bash into our commercial, private, or military aircraft despite manoeuvring around them since the latter stages of World War II. Yes, a case for potential “flight safety concern” can be theoretically made, but the actual reality shows there are never collisions. The technical capabilities of the anomalous craft are obviously considerable, as might be reasonably expected.

Any off-world visitors won’t be new to the job. Observing the contradictory inhabitants of planet Earth will be well practised and have been done elsewhere throughout the galaxies for millions or even billions of years beforehand. Early mistakes will be well in the distant past, learned from, with a playbook for guidance for operating in the here and now. They’ll be consistently smart, because they’re advanced. So “crashes”? No, almost certainly not.

There is a reasonable explanation which could explain why the US authorities might (with that word purposely emphasised) be in the possession of an off-world craft. We’re assuming, of course, that they’re here, that they’ve been here for some time, and that they’ll continue to stick around for the foreseeable future. Add to this that they’re not being quick to shake the hand of any President, but neither are they exactly concealing their presence. Now put yourself in their shoes. Why are they here and what are they waiting for? It’s not difficult to work out a compelling answer.

I have a friend who doesn’t believe that the Apollo missions landed on the Moon between 1969 and 1972. He gets slightly rattled when I mention I knew Ed Mitchell, the sixth man to walk on the Moon, but my friend nevertheless ultimately sticks to the “It never happened” conspiracy theory line. You won’t be surprised to hear that he’s also sceptical of UFO reports. He’s told me that he’d need to see and touch an off-world craft to be convinced. And this latter point, of course, is far from being unreasonable.

Is my friend really that different to the world’s biggest superpower or humanity in general? What if it was in the visitors’ playbook to deliver a craft as an unambiguous “calling card” when a civilisation is stumbling at an evolutionary sticking point? The AMIGOs (as we called them in our mini-series of three films on this subject) presumably wouldn’t give us something which could be easily replicated, with the advanced technology subsequently used by us for warfare. And there’d be an assumption that the off-world vehicle would initially be kept hidden away, poked and prodded, but also that the secret would eventually come out.

If the US government actually has in its possession non-human technology, then there must be a precise explanation of why this situation has transpired. We can rule out the idea of a crash or crashes. And it’s extremely unlikely to be some early prototype of a civilisation beginning its first-step excursions into space, which would almost certainly burn up whilst entering Earth’s atmosphere. Which leaves “by design” for consideration. Getting back to the “why?”, it’s obvious that we need waking up, prompting introspection about our limited evolutionary level - and such a “calling card” could be part of a multi-pronged approach involving minimal interference.

Or, alternatively, there might be no extraterrestrial craft (or similar) hidden away in some Lockheed Martin or Wright-Patterson Air Force Base building. In which case, we’ll need to better explain the Admiral Wilson memo and James T Lacatski’s intriguing statement.

The most sensible course of action, for now, is to remain cautious and let the US Congress do its investigative work into what might or might not be within some unacknowledged Special Access Program. Meanwhile, there’s plenty for us lesser mortals to do regarding human irrationality and other sub-standard behaviour.

Written by Iain Scott, 30th October 2023