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Revision as of 17:53, 20 May 2007 by Perfectblue97 (talk | contribs) (lead in passage, citation not nessesary as entry intorduces sources)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Jimmy Carter UFO Incident is the name given to an incident in which former US President Jimmy Carter reported seeing a unidentified flying object while at Leary, Georgia in 1969.
After successfully running for governor of Georgia, Carter was asked to file a report of the sighting by the International UFO Bureau in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, which he did in September 1973. Since its writing, the report has been investigated several times,and has been by both Ufologists and the mainstream media from the time of it's release until the present day.
Sighting
One evening in 1969, two years before he became governor of Georgia, Carter was preparing to give a speech to at a Lions Club meeting. At about 7:15 p.m (EST), one of the guests called his attention to a strange object that was visible about 30 degrees above the horizon to the west of where he was standing. Carter described the object as being bright white and as being about as bright as the moon. It was said to have appeared to have closed in on where he was standing but to have stopped beyond a stand of pine trees some distance from him. The object is then said to have changed color, first to blue, then to red, then back to white, before appearing to recede into the distance.
Carter felt that the object was self-luminous, but not a solid in nature. Carter's report indicates that it was witnessed by about ten or twelve other people, and was in view for ten to twelve minutes before it passed out of sight.
In 1973 Carter said (Sheaffer 1998:20–21) harvcol error: no target: CITEREFSheaffer1998 (help)
"There were about twenty of us standing outside of a little restaurant, I believe, a high school lunch room, and a kind of green light appeared in the western sky. This was right after sundown. It got brighter and brighter. And then it eventually disappeared. It didn't have any solid substance to it, it was just a very peculiar-looking light. None of us could understand what it was."
Speaking in a 2005 interview, Carter states:
"all of a sudden, one of the men looked up and said, 'Look, over in the west!' And there was a bright light in the sky. We all saw it. And then the light, it got closer and closer to us. And then it stopped, I don’t know how far away, but it stopped beyond the pine trees. And all of a sudden it changed color to blue, and then it changed to red, then back to white. And we were trying to figure out what in the world it could be, and then it receded into the distance."
Date
The exact date on which the sighting occurred has been called into question by investigators. According to the report that he filed with the International UFO Bureau, Carter saw the UFO in October 1969. However investigators have cited Lions Club records as evidence that it occurred 8 months earlier. (Sheaffer 1998:18–28) harvcol error: no target: CITEREFSheaffer1998 (help)
According to a meeting report that he filed with the Lions Club, Carter gave his Leary speech on January 6, 1969, not in October. The setting of his January meeting as described in his report to the Lions Club also matches the setting that he would later described to the media when speaking about his sighting. His report to the Lions Club made no mention of the sighting itself. (Sheaffer 1998:18–28) harvcol error: no target: CITEREFSheaffer1998 (help)
Object and investigation
According to an carried out in 1976, some seven years after the event, most of those present at the meeting either did not recall the event, or did not recall it as being anything important. According to Fred Hart, the only guest contacted whom remembered seeing the object: "It seems like there was a little—like a blue light or something or other in the sky that night ... like some kind of weather balloon they send out or something ... it had been pretty far back in my mind." (Sheaffer 1998:21–22) harvcol error: no target: CITEREFSheaffer1998 (help)
While puzzled by the object and its origins Carter, himself, later said that while had considered the object to be a UFO -on the grounds it was unexplained- his knowledge of physics had meant he had not believed himself to be witnessing an alien spacecraft.
Based on the location and time, of the sigting, Ufologist Robert Sheaffer, founder of the skeptical organization CSICOP, later concluded that the object that Carter witnessed was most likely the planet Venus being witnessed across the horizon.
Personal impact
The sighting is said to have had a personal impact on Carter and his perception of UFO and UFO sightings. During his 1976 election campaign, he is said to have told reporters that, as a result of it, he would institute a policy of openness if he were elected to office, saying:
"One thing's for sure, I'll never make fun of people who say they've seen unidentified objects in the sky. If I become President, I'll make every piece of information this country has about UFO sightings available to the public and the scientists."
Despite his earlier pledge, once elected, Carter distanced himself from disclosure, citing "defense implications" as being behind his decision.
International UFO Bureau report
- The report Carter submitted (page 1) The report Carter submitted (page 1)
- The report Carter submitted (page 2) The report Carter submitted (page 2)
Media
- Carter's story appeared in the June 8, 1976 issue of The National Enquirer. Though this account is said to have contained a number of errors and omissions, including incorrectly stating that the event occurred in Thomaston, Georgia in 1973 (Sheaffer 1998:18–19) harvcol error: no target: CITEREFSheaffer1998 (help).
- In February 1977, NICAP republished Carter's original report in UFO Investigator, but altered his handwritten report to make it appear that it had been submitted directly to NICAP as a typed document. (Story 1981) harvcol error: no target: CITEREFStory1981 (help).
References
- ^ Carter, Jimmy (1969) Report to the International UFO Bureau in Oklahoma City (PDF)
- Adams, Cecil (1984) "The Straight DopeChicago", Review Press Incorporated, ISBN 0914091549
- ^ Hylton, Wil S. (2005) "The Gospel According to Jimmy", GQ
- Harwood, William R (2002) "The Disinformation Cycle: Hoaxes, Delusions, Security Beliefs, and Compulsory Mediocrity" Xlibris Corporation ISBN 1401043542
- Good, Timothy (1989) "Above Top Secret: The Worldwide U.F.O. Cover-Up" Quill, ISBN: 0688092020
- This day in history - "1973: Carter files report on UFO sighting", The History Channel
- Sheaffer, Robert(1981) "The Ufo Verdict: Examining the Evidence", Prometheus Books, ISBN 0-87975-146-0
- Martin, Robert Scott (October 15, 1999). "Celebrities Have Close Encounters, Too". Space.com. Retrieved 2004-04-16.
- Horvath, Alex (February 7, 2003). "Bolinas man's film says we are not alone". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
- Stenger, Richard (October 22, 2002). "Clinton aide slams Pentagon's UFO secrecy". CNN. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
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