# Presidents & Area 51/UFOs **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 22, 2015, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-area-51-ufos/723183 "2015-06-22T21:16:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-area-51-ufos/723183/21 "2015-06-23T03:46:13Z")
> [@jakesteele](#): > > This may be an urban myth, but supposedly even presidents don’t have a high enough security clearance to go to Area 51. Also, the presidents never get to know whether or not there are UFO/aliens. > > Does anybody know about this? Who would be this military officer or executive official who could deny the President this information? He outranks all of them. ---
**Author:** ![SpyOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SpyOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpyOne)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-area-51-ufos/723183/22 "2015-06-23T04:59:26Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > But I can see where “Bill Clinton’s Chief of Staff can’t get UFO stuff declassified” could get turned into “Even the President can’t get clearance to see UFO stuff”. Similarly, there are very good reasons to limit the number of people who have seen classified documents. If nothing else, it limits the number of people who could have leaked it. So Presidents don’t go looking at documents they don’t have a really good reason to look at. And it’s pretty easy to see how “The President hasn’t read it” could get turned into “the President\* isn’t allowed \*to read it”. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-area-51-ufos/723183/23 "2015-06-23T05:04:39Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > He never said the President doesn’t know about it. He just asked if there is any validity to the Prez not having clearance to look at the Area 51 classified files. That’s not the way I read it. > [@jakesteele](#): > > Also, the presidents never get to know whether or not there are UFO/aliens. > > Does anybody know about this? ---
**Author:** ![SpyOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SpyOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpyOne)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-area-51-ufos/723183/24 "2015-06-23T05:23:43Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > [Area 51 aka Groom Lake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_51) is, or was, classified top secret because it was were they developed & tested secret, high tech aircraft. Sorry, but no UFOs or aliens there… That’s what **they** _want_ you to think. 😉 Seriously, though, while I agree that there are almost certainly no alien anything at Area 51, and most of what people claim to have seen is easily covered by since-declassified-experimental/secret aircraft, … it wouldn’t be a bad place to hid an alien ship or two if we actually had some. I mean, you’d want someplace where everybody who works there already has security clearances, and where they routinely can’t talk about anything they’ve seen. Someplace with enough people that the folks who study the alien ships(s) won’t be a noticeable percentage of the traffic in and out. I’m just saying that it being the place where the Stealth Fighter got built and tested in no way proves it isn’t where we are hiding alien ships, as that is pretty much exactly the kind of place you’d want to hide them in. If you had some. Which we don’t\*. - Just to be clear, that is a statement of opinion. It is impossible to _prove_ we don’t have captured alien ships, and I might be proven wrong in the future. But I’ll sure be surprised if that happens. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-area-51-ufos/723183/25 "2015-06-23T05:29:00Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > That’s not the way I read it. I think it pretty easily inferred when he says: “doesn’t get to know” he means that in the same sense WE don’t get to know (for sure). ---
**Author:** ![SpyOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SpyOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpyOne)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-area-51-ufos/723183/26 "2015-06-23T05:32:22Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > Something I’ve always wondered about, but never bothered to ask—if the government _did_ possess tangible evidence of the existence of an extraterrestrial species, is there any outstanding reason why this information would be kept under wraps? Are there any valid reasons why the government would be motivated to not publicly disclose this fact? I believe the general line is that, if the public knew about the aliens, they would demand the government prepare to defend us against the aliens. This would be problematic for the government for a few reasons, possible including[ul] [li]It’s impossible, given how advanced they are[/li][li]It would ruin the economy, given what it would cost[/li][li]It would take time and energy away from defending against Ruskie ICBMs, which are a much more immediate threat[/li][/ul] Also, if the public figured out the situation was hopeless, … a depressed despondent populace doesn’t make for a robust economy. It makes for record setting suicide rates. I’m not sold that this is true, but I could see folks believing it, even folks in charge of the government. It wouldn’t be the first time the government kept something from the public because they thought we (or they) were better off if we didn’t know. ---
**Author:** ![SpyOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SpyOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpyOne)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-area-51-ufos/723183/27 "2015-06-23T05:50:36Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > The obsession with Area 51 has become laughable. True, there is a lot of info about Area 51 that’s classified–but what army base does have all of its info wide open to the public? Just like the people who say "will they shoot you if you try to enter Area 51? Do you really think you could wander into Fort Hood or the Bremerton Naval Base without authorization and the guards would just smile? I live around a lot of military bases. they are all incredible well marked, with fences marking the exact boundary of the base. There are signs on the fence that say “US GOVT PROPERTY, NO TRESPASSING” and stuff. I have had occasion to be on these bases, and even did a wee bit of exploring, although i kept my eye peeled for any sign marking a “do not go here” area. I have even ventured past some of those signs under VERY specific circumstances. (Which is how I got to hear a Chief Petty Officer tell and Avionics Technician “You do NOT ask _the pizza guy_ to come into a classified area. You meet him at the door.” I’ve never had a gun pointed at me. As for more serious trespassing, we had an incident here a few months back where a truck driver who had a pass to come on base for his work came on and then left the area he was allowed into, walked aboard a ship tied up at the pier, and shot a sailor who moved to protect the guard who had confronted him (who was unarmed). That man did get killed, but I think that shows there are a lot of warnings before a trespasser on a normal base gets shot. In contrast, I have seen photos off signs around Area 51, with no fence in sight, that simply say that if you pass this point (on a dirt road) you can be shot on sight. They arrest people who are well outside the boundaries of the base if they have climbed a hill that can see into the base. The security around Area 51 is kinda special. Though I doubt it is unique. And unlike most secured areas where highly classified stuff happens, Area 51 has a whole lot of yahoos trying to sneak in. I mean, if large numbers of folks kept trying to sneak into CIA Headquarters, I imagine they’d start arresting any non-employee who entered their parking lot, and slowly start moving that perimeter further away until just getting off the wrong highway exit could result in arrest. ---
**Author:** ![GiantRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-area-51-ufos/723183/28 "2015-06-23T20:35:54Z")
> [@Lanzy](#): > > Many many people have asked under FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) for the secret area 51 files. Some of the files are actually classified and they will not get them. When they receive their packet and it is heavily redacted they think they have some proof of aliens being hidden from them. > > In reality no matter what you ask for there will most likely be redaction. That only means you are not allowed to see everything because names and identities and events of certain things are NOYB. > > Area 51 files are only the 2nd most requested items. JFK assassination is number one. > > FWIW I worked for the FBI and their FOIA requests. Hehe. You just reminded me of the first time I FOIAd my own background investigation (needed for resolving a legal dispute with an agency). At least a quarter of it was redacted, usually the parts that started with “GiantRat then stated…” Apparently I’m not allowed to know what I know from doing my job. And amusingly, none of that should have been classified - your average background investigator isn’t exactly read in on many SAPs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidents-area-51-ufos/723183.md?page=1)