David Jacobs, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of History at Temple University and one of the leading academic authorities on UFOs and alien abduction. He is the author of "The UFO Controversy in America" and "Secret Life: Firsthand Accounts of UFO Abductions."
Robert O. Dean claims to have held a Cosmic Top Secret clearance as an Intelligence Analyst at SHAPE/NATO Headquarters in Belgium during the mid-1960s, which gave him access to one of only 15 copies of a top-secret NATO report on UFOs called "The Assessment." Since leaving the military, he has become one of the most outspoken proponents of the reality of alien visitation and the need to end government secrecy on UFOs.
Following are several examples of how Jacobs and Dean differ in their views on the UFO/alien situation.
QUESTION: What do you think of the Roswell Incident?
DR. JACOBS: I'm somewhat of an agnostic on that issue. There are a lot of people who have studied the subject quite thoroughly and think that this represents a real crash. I'm waiting until all the evidence is in [and] the critics have been vanquished.
BOB DEAN: All I can say on that issue is that "you ain't seen nothing yet." I happen to know that Roswell, although the most famous, was merely one of at least 12 incidents and many of those will be coming out before too long.
QUESTION: Why does the government feel it necessary to keep their info on UFOs secret (if they have it, as many apparently believe)?
BOB DEAN: The initial decision was made many, many years ago and it was basically made out of fear. And of course, the Cold War was a major issue. Now the government is faced with this problem: how do they admit to us that they have been lying through their teeth for 50 years? Then the other issue is, how do they admit to us the things they don't know? But this will be coming out in spite of the government cover-up. Because too many concerned people in the military and at high levels of government have concluded that this information must be shared.
DR. JACOBS: I'm one of those UFO researchers who does not find the evidence for government cover-up to be compelling. I fail to find the necessary chain of evidence to make the link that must be there.
QUESTION: Do you believe aliens want to hurt humans in any fashion?
DR. JACOBS: We find no solid evidence for malevolency, but unfortunately we find no evidence for benevolency either.
BOB DEAN: After 30 years of research, I myself have found no solid evidence of malevolent intention. I am convinced that much of the trauma and fear is inadvertent and unintentional. I have also found that there is definite evidence that at least some of our visitors, friends, aliens, cousins, whatever term you use, do indeed have benevolent intentions.
QUESTION: Do you believe we have had alien assistance in the advancement of technology?
BOB DEAN: I know for a fact that some of our advanced technology has been gleaned from alien hardware. Now, whether it was given to us, or the result of reverse engineering, I am not certain. I have a personal suspicion that both of those answers may apply.
DR. JACOBS: I find no evidence for alien assistance on any level.
QUESTION: What conclusions, if any, have you drawn regarding the
authenticity of the MJ-12 documents?
BOB DEAN: Just recently, additional Federal documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act that appeared to be legitimate documents refer to MJ-12 as probably the highest classified matter in US Government history.
DR. JACOBS: The general consensus in the UFO research community is that the documents are a hoax.
QUESTION: ...have you found much evidence for UFOs in our past?
DR. JACOBS: I think that we can trace the abduction and UFO phenomenon to the latter half of the nineteenth century. After that the evidence pretty much disappears, although there might be a suspicious report now and again. Unfortunately, we'll probably never know because we can not go back in time and do a proper investigation.
BOB DEAN: As a student of history, I have found in 30 years of research that records, valid records from recent times, all the way back to ancient times, [are] all literally teeming with UFO evidence. One of my basic points that I continually stress as a researcher is that not only are we *not* alone, but we *have never been* alone. My personal view is that we've had a long and continuous inter-relationship with extra-terrestrial intelligence.
QUESTION: What do you think about the current trend in "abductees" suddenly deciding their experiences were benevolent and highly spiritual when previously they were traumatized?
DR D JACOBS: This is a very complicated question to answer. To make it short, I believe that it is a combination of the Will to Believe, previously held New Age beliefs, coping mechanism, and incompetent hypnosis. However, I also think that there are procedures within the abduction events that can cause people to think this. This is something that I think is fostered by the abductors.
BOB DEAN: The abduction scenario has never been my forte. But I have been continually interested in the difference between so called abductions and contactees. I must tell you, that I believe both are valid. In my experience, once individuals are able to go beyond the fear and the trauma that they often find, that the experience in some way has been beneficial.
Copyright 1995 America Online, Inc.
Original file name: .CNI - Dean/Jacobs short
This file was converted with TextToHTML - (c) Logic n.v.