# How would the US government deal with an alien landing? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 11, 2012, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-us-government-deal-with-an-alien-landing/624775 "2012-06-11T01:24:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-us-government-deal-with-an-alien-landing/624775/1 "2012-06-11T01:24:40Z")
In TV and the movies, if an alien spacecraft lands somewhere in America, then unless they had contact with and announced the landing to our government first, it seems like standard operating procedure is to have the military rush to the area to take the alien(s) away to a secure facility for interrogation, and possibly even do a vivisection on it/them. Being a sci-fi type scenario, we can only guess, but if a ship really did land somewhere here in the US do you think this is how our government would respond? Personally, I’m thinking yes. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-us-government-deal-with-an-alien-landing/624775/2 "2012-06-11T01:34:09Z")
Back in the 1990’s US gov’t official policy was to hire Roland Emmerich to pretend to make a movie at the landing site. Nowadays they hire Micheal Bay. Will Smith, of course, is Earth’s official liaison to all visiting aliens. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-us-government-deal-with-an-alien-landing/624775/3 "2012-06-11T01:42:23Z")
No, I don’t believe our government would kidnap the aliens and dissect them. They’d shoot them and then dissect them. Unless, of course, shooting didn’t work too well, in which case there’d be some variation on a huge, smoking hole in the ground where the trigger-happy cop had been standing. Then things might get ugly. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-us-government-deal-with-an-alien-landing/624775/4 "2012-06-11T01:55:14Z")
😃 ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-us-government-deal-with-an-alien-landing/624775/5 "2012-06-11T02:21:08Z")
Aliens who had the technology to travel many light years would probably be able to defend themselves against anything that Earth technology could throw at them. That’s the assumption that I’d make if I were President of the U.S. (or Prime Minister of Japan, in the much more likely scenario of them landing in Tokyo). I’d also assume that their defensive technology might not be obvious to us, or that the craft that landed was part of a larger fleet sitting where we can’t see it. So I’d avoid any hostile moves, including kidnapping and dissection, unless the aliens were behaving in a hostile way to us. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-us-government-deal-with-an-alien-landing/624775/6 "2012-06-11T03:03:33Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > (or Prime Minister of Japan, in the much more likely scenario of them landing in Tokyo). I am somewhat curious how different countries would handle such an event too. As for the US, I would have to imagine that some sort of security would be on standby, even if military jeeps and tanks didn’t just blatantly roll in to the landing site. But do to things like national security concerens, I would expect the military to try and swoop in first. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-us-government-deal-with-an-alien-landing/624775/7 "2012-06-11T03:54:04Z")
If the _Weekly World News_ were still publishing, the government could give them an exclusive — complete with photos, video, etc. Then (almost) nobody would take it seriously. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-us-government-deal-with-an-alien-landing/624775/8 "2012-06-11T03:58:36Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > If the _Weekly World News_ were still publishing, the government could give them an exclusive — complete with photos, video, etc. Then (almost) nobody would take it seriously. Best investigative reporting on the planet. ---
**Author:** ![gunnergoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e95f7d/32.png) [@gunnergoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gunnergoz)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-us-government-deal-with-an-alien-landing/624775/9 "2012-06-11T08:28:37Z")
If a spaceship landed in the US, the first people on the scene would doubtless be the TSA demanding to see their passports and luggage. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-us-government-deal-with-an-alien-landing/624775/10 "2012-06-11T11:05:46Z")
music is the universal language. they would play music for them. maybe some poetry too. ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-us-government-deal-with-an-alien-landing/624775/11 "2012-06-11T11:38:23Z")
Note to aliens: dress up as Jebus and then you can do anything you want. Failing that, naked hot babes seem to get more leeway than most. ---
**Author:** ![AndrewL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AndrewL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndrewL)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-us-government-deal-with-an-alien-landing/624775/12 "2012-06-11T13:00:41Z")
It’s going to depend highly on how the aliens arrive, how imposing they are, and how they behave. A single injured alien in a crashed ship is going to be treated very differently than the sudden appearance of mile-wide flying saucers over every major city in the world. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-us-government-deal-with-an-alien-landing/624775/13 "2012-06-11T13:10:49Z")
No matter what happens or where it happens, you know it’ll end up on YouTube! Especially if the aliens look like cute kittehs… ---
**Author:** ![dataguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eada6e/32.png) [@dataguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dataguy)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-us-government-deal-with-an-alien-landing/624775/14 "2012-06-11T13:19:46Z")
I’ve long suspected that on the intergalactic maps, Earth is marked as a Bad Neighborhood (primitive, violent). Any aliens arriving here are probably lost. They would probably be able to defend themselves, but not before being confronted with some version of “You’re not from 'round here, are ya?. Lemme see what’s in your pockets?” ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-us-government-deal-with-an-alien-landing/624775/15 "2012-06-11T15:14:29Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > Will Smith, of course, is Earth’s official liaison to all visiting aliens. He does make the suit look good… > [@Giles](#): > > (or Prime Minister of Japan, in the much more likely scenario of them landing in Tokyo) No, no. The US handles aliens, the Japanese are the go-to guys for giant radioactive mutant monsters. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-us-government-deal-with-an-alien-landing/624775/16 "2012-06-11T15:30:04Z")
> [@dataguy](#): > > I’ve long suspected that on the intergalactic maps, Earth is marked as a Bad Neighborhood (primitive, violent). Any aliens arriving here are probably lost. They would probably be able to defend themselves, but not before being confronted with some version of “You’re not from 'round here, are ya?. Lemme see what’s in your pockets?” Back in the day of crop circles, a friend of mine had a medallion made up with a crop circle drawn on it. She’d ask people if they knew what it meant (without telling them what it was); if they knew, then it meant they were aliens. I recognized it before she asked me, so I said “No services this exit. Why?” It’s also pretty important _where_ the aliens land. If they touch down in front of the White House, sure, the governmental types are going to get involved pretty damn quick. On the other hand, if they touch down in the infield for a little league game in Dubuque, our visitors will be dealing with the local constabulary who might not be up on their First Contact protocols. ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-us-government-deal-with-an-alien-landing/624775/17 "2012-06-11T15:59:18Z")
In the event of an alien landing the US would probably invade Iraq. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-us-government-deal-with-an-alien-landing/624775/18 "2012-06-11T16:04:38Z")
> [@janeslogin](#): > > In the event of an alien landing the US would probably invade Iraq. That is _so_ nine years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-us-government-deal-with-an-alien-landing/624775/19 "2012-06-11T22:14:35Z")
This is an interesting article. > [@](#): > > Unless it is spewing exhaust, the craft would be assumed to be nuclear powered. This determination would put NEST technicians in charge of securing the craft and moving it to a DOE facility, most likely in New Mexico, where it would be in close proximity to the Sandia and Los Alamos nuclear laboratories and the White Sands Missile Range. > **[When UFOs Arrive What Will You Do?](https://rense.com/general48/aliens.htm)** ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-us-government-deal-with-an-alien-landing/624775/20 "2012-06-12T03:17:42Z")
I’d think the threat of having an asteroid involuntarily parked in Washington would put a dampener on any kind of immediate aggression, wouldn’t it? Any civilization capable of accelerating mass to a relativistic speed could easily field-rig, say, NEO DA14 into a servicable fastball. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-us-government-deal-with-an-alien-landing/624775.md?page=2)