ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Longtime Department of Defense researcher Luis “Lue” Elizondo has become known for his reports on the existence of UFOs (unidentified flying objects), now known as unknown anomalous phenomena (UAPs).
In his new book, Imminent: Inside the Pentagon’s Hunt for UFOs, out now, former Pentagon insider Elizondo invites readers into this hidden world.
He spoke to ABC News’ Stephanie Ramos about his motivation for writing the book, government secrecy surrounding UAPs, official comments on the phenomena, and some of his own unusual experiences.
ABC NEWS: Unidentified flying objects have fueled speculation and conspiracy theories for decades. In his new book, “Imminent: Inside the Pentagon’s Hunt for UFOs,” longtime Defense Department researcher Lue Elizondo, the former head of the Pentagon program responsible for studying UFOs, now known as unidentified anomalous phenomena, reveals long-hidden truths with profound implications not only for national security but also for our understanding of the universe.
Lue Elizondo is with us now. Thank you for joining us. I really appreciate it. So Imminent tells the story of your courageous fight to make public what the government knows and doesn’t know about UAPs. What made you want to write about it?
ELIZONDO: Yes, I wanted to tell the American public about my experience and what the government has been doing for a very long time, not just when I was on the program, but for decades, about the government’s interest in UFOs or what we now call UAP. You’re absolutely right, they are an unidentified anomalous phenomenon. The fact is, they are real and they are a national security problem for this country.
ABC NEWS: And it’s so interesting because I worked at the Pentagon for ABC many, many years ago, and I remember getting a tour of some of the hallways and someone said, “Oh, they’re studying UFOs and UAPs. But it’s top secret.” That’s all they would say. So there’s this secrecy approach to all of this, right?
You write in your book: “While there are valid reasons to keep some aspects of UAPs secret, I believe that humanity should not be left in the dark about the fundamental fact that we are not the only intelligent life form in the universe.” So why do you think the U.S. government and other major governments have a secrecy policy regarding UAPs?
ELIZONDO: Sure. I think if we look at the timeline, when we started looking at this, the U.S. government was at the height of the Cold War. And the relationship with the Soviet Union at the time was fraught with conflict at best.
And we didn’t necessarily want to give away any information that we might have gathered about UAP or UFOs, and certainly any gaps in information or information that we don’t know about the UFOs. So that’s one reason. And I think the other reason is that governments fundamentally have a responsibility to protect their people, their citizens.
ABC NEWS: So, Lue, for those who are skeptical and think, “Nope, there’s no such thing as UFOs, they don’t exist,” and you’re here to tell us that there are facts and research that prove they do exist.
ELIZONDO: Let’s not forget, Stephanie, that a former director of national intelligence, a former director of the CIA, and even a former president of the United States have already come forward on the record and said, “Yes, it looks like these things are real.”
Our very best, most advanced technology captures these things. We also have eyewitness accounts from our trained observers, our fighter pilots. And then there is the radar data, which basically all shows the same event at the same time, in the same place, under the same circumstances.
ABC NEWS: And there’s been so much technology analyzed and researched. Now let’s talk about your personal experiences. You mentioned in this book that UAPs have appeared both in your home and around it. How have these personal experiences influenced your views on UAPs and what exactly have you seen?
ELIZONDO: Yes, sure. Let me preface this first. We are not sure if they are actually related to UAP. What we do know is that many people who were in the program that I was in had very similar experiences while they were in the program.
So not before or after, but during the time we were researching this UAP and from our experience – when I say ours, I mean my families and even our neighbors – we saw some of these glowing green balls of light. Very diffuse in nature. No hard edges. It seemed like they were just wandering around the house, down the hallway and going through a wall.
I know that sounds pretty bizarre. And look, there are certainly natural explanations, aren’t there? You could say ball lightning or St. Elmo’s fire or some kind of plasma static charge in the air. But the bottom line was that it was very bizarre. Not only my family witnessed it, but neighbors and other people who were part of our efforts and the government experienced very, very similar events in their homes.
ABC NEWS: Absolutely fascinating. Thank you, Lue, for sharing your experiences with us and documenting what you know and what you think we all should know in your book, Imminent: Inside the Pentagon’s Hunt for UFOs. The book is out now. Thank you, Lue.
ELIZONDO: It is an honor and a privilege. Thank you.
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