Within Elizondo
How Strong Is AARO's Rebuttal?
AARO's reports are the strongest official challenge to Elizondo's claims about alien technology and reverse engineering.
On this page
- What AARO says it found and did not find
- Why sceptics cite the historical report
- How believers answer the classified evidence problem
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Introduction
AARO’s rebuttal is the strongest official challenge to Luis Elizondo’s most dramatic UAP claims because it does not merely say “we do not know”; it says the Pentagon’s dedicated UAP office found no empirical evidence that the US government or private companies have recovered, hidden or reverse-engineered extraterrestrial technology. That directly conflicts with Elizondo’s 2024 congressional testimony, where he claimed that advanced technologies not made by any government are monitoring military sites and that the US possesses UAP technologies. [U.S. Department of War]media.defense.govU.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1U.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1(#endnote-29 “Endnote 29”)
The rebuttal is not a full disproof of every UAP report, nor does AARO claim every incident has been solved. Its force is narrower but important: after reviewing historical programmes, classified and unclassified archives, and interviews with people alleging knowledge of hidden programmes, AARO says it did not find verifiable support for the alien-retrieval and reverse-engineering story. For Elizondo’s credibility, that creates a sharp divide between two questions: whether he is right that UAP deserve serious national-security scrutiny, and whether his claims about non-human technology have been publicly substantiated. [U.S. Department of War]media.defense.govU.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1U.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1(#endnote-29 “Endnote 29”)
What AARO says it found and did not find
AARO, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, is the Pentagon office created to investigate unidentified anomalous phenomena across air, sea, space and other domains. Its public posture is sceptical but not dismissive: AARO says UAP reports near sensitive sites can matter for safety, intelligence and national security, while also saying that extraordinary explanations require evidence beyond witness accounts and rumour. Jon Kosloski, AARO’s director in late 2024, told the Senate that the office had more than 1,600 UAP reports in its holdings, that many resolved to commonplace objects such as birds, balloons or unmanned systems, and that only a small percentage appeared potentially anomalous. [AARO]aaro.milOpen source on aaro.mil.
The key historical document is AARO’s March 2024 “Historical Record Report”, Volume I. It says AARO reviewed US government investigatory efforts since 1945, researched classified and unclassified archives, conducted about 30 interviews, and worked with intelligence and defence officials responsible for controlled and special-access programme oversight. That matters because Elizondo’s strongest claims sit precisely in the space AARO says it examined: alleged hidden programmes, contractors, crash retrievals, biological material and reverse engineering. [U.S. Department of War]media.defense.govU.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1U.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1(#endnote-29 “Endnote 29”)
AARO’s central findings are blunt. It says no US government investigation, academic-sponsored research effort or official review panel has confirmed that any UAP sighting represented extraterrestrial technology. It also says it found no empirical evidence that the US government or private companies have reverse-engineered extraterrestrial technology. At the same time, it concedes that many UAP reports remain unsolved or unidentified, mainly because the available data are limited, poor quality or incomplete. [U.S. Department of War]media.defense.govU.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1U.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1(#endnote-29 “Endnote 29”)
This is an important distinction. AARO is not saying “nothing unusual has ever been reported”. It is saying that unresolved does not mean alien, and that the historical record does not substantiate the specific recovery-and-reverse-engineering claims. For readers assessing Elizondo, that distinction is central: his argument often moves from UAP being real and potentially advanced to the stronger claim that non-human technology is already in government hands. AARO accepts the first topic as serious but rejects the public evidential basis for the second. [AARO]aaro.milHistory and Origin of KONA BLUEHistory and Origin of KONA BLUE
Why sceptics cite the historical report
Sceptics cite AARO because the report attacks the structure of the disclosure narrative, not just one sighting. Elizondo’s public case depends partly on the idea that people inside government have seen enough classified material to know that a concealed technology programme exists. AARO’s counterclaim is that some allegations trace back to misidentified conventional programmes, repeated second-hand stories, misunderstood special-access restrictions, or authentic but non-UAP programmes being interpreted through an extraterrestrial frame. [U.S. Department of War]media.defense.govU.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1U.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1(#endnote-29 “Endnote 29”)
One concrete example is KONA BLUE. AARO says multiple interviewees described KONA BLUE as a Department of Homeland Security compartment connected to retrieval and exploitation of “non-human biologics”. After research, AARO concluded that KONA BLUE was only a proposed prospective special-access programme, not an approved operational programme; it was never formally established, received no materials or funding, and had no data or material transferred under it. AARO traced the proposal back to AAWSAP/AATIP circles, which makes it particularly relevant to the Elizondo ecosystem even though it does not prove or disprove Elizondo’s personal claims by itself. [AARO]aaro.milOpen source on aaro.mil.
That finding is powerful for sceptics because it offers a mundane mechanism for how a rumour can look official. A proposed classified programme can leave behind memos, names, compartments and insider talk. To someone outside the full chain of custody, it may look like evidence of a real retrieval programme. AARO’s version is different: the paperwork reflected a proposal based on claims that relevant material existed, but the programme did not become the hidden repository believers describe. [AARO]aaro.milOpen source on aaro.mil.
AARO also gives examples where interviewee accounts were checked against named people, facilities or records and then resolved differently. In one case, an alleged account of a former service member touching an extraterrestrial spacecraft was investigated; AARO says the person denied knowledge of off-world technology and said the only related memory might have involved touching an F-117 Nighthawk stealth aircraft. In another, AARO says a UAP with peculiar characteristics matched an authentic special-access programme test, but one unrelated to off-world technology. [U.S. Department of War]media.defense.govU.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1U.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1(#endnote-29 “Endnote 29”)
For sceptics, the historical report also matters because it fits a longer official pattern. NASA’s 2023 independent UAP study did not claim extraterrestrial origins; instead, it emphasised better data, better reporting systems, stigma reduction and scientific methods. AARO’s later annual reporting likewise continued the pattern: many reports remain unresolved, but no cases in the reporting period were assessed as showing extraterrestrial origin. NASA Science [Director of National Intelligence]dni.gov4020 uap 20244020 uap 2024
Where AARO directly pressures Elizondo’s claims
The pressure on Elizondo is clearest on three fronts: recovered craft, reverse engineering and non-human material. In his written testimony to the House Oversight Committee, Elizondo stated that advanced technologies not made by the US government or any other government are monitoring sensitive military installations, and that the US and some adversaries possess UAP technologies. He also framed the issue as a secretive, multi-decade arms race hidden from elected representatives and oversight bodies. [House Oversight Committee]oversight.house.govOversight CommitteeOversight Committee
At the same November 2024 hearing, press coverage recorded Elizondo answering “yes” when asked whether the government had conducted secret UAP crash-retrieval programmes and whether those programmes were designed to identify and reverse-engineer alien craft. The Guardian’s account also noted the continuing absence of physical evidence presented publicly at the hearing. [The Guardian]theguardian.comSource details in endnotes.
AARO’s public position cuts across those claims. The historical report says AARO found no empirical evidence for US government or private-company reverse engineering of extraterrestrial technology. A Pentagon statement reported by The Guardian after the hearing similarly said the department had not found verifiable evidence that a UAP observation represented extraterrestrial activity or that programmes involving possession or reverse-engineering of extraterrestrial materials had existed or currently existed. [U.S. Department of War]media.defense.govU.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1U.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1(#endnote-29 “Endnote 29”)
This creates a credibility problem that cannot be solved by pointing only to Elizondo’s background. A person can have real government service, real clearances and real proximity to sensitive programmes while still being wrong about what particular classified information means. AARO’s argument is not mainly that Elizondo could never have heard such claims; it is that, when similar claims were tested against records, programmes and named entities, the office found no verifiable support for the alien-technology conclusion. [U.S. Department of War]media.defense.govU.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1U.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1(#endnote-29 “Endnote 29”)
There is a separate, narrower official dispute about Elizondo’s AATIP role. Pentagon-linked statements have previously questioned whether he had assigned responsibilities for AATIP, while supporters have cited contrary material, including former senator Harry Reid’s support for Elizondo’s involvement. The Black Vault’s FOIA-based reporting shows why this remains messy: official messaging has disputed his role, but released records also show internal discussion and disagreement around AATIP responsibilities. For this subtopic, the main point is not to relitigate every AATIP title; it is that official scepticism of Elizondo does not stop at alien claims but also extends to parts of his institutional self-description. [theblackvault.com]theblackvault.comPentagon Destroyed E-mails Of Former Intelligence OfficialPentagon Destroyed E-mails Of Former Intelligence Official
How strong is AARO’s rebuttal?
AARO’s rebuttal is strong against the claim that alien technology and biological material have already been publicly substantiated. It is also strong against the weaker claim that “the government has never looked properly”. The historical report shows that official UAP investigations have existed repeatedly since the 1940s, that AARO reviewed earlier programmes, and that the Pentagon has a dedicated office continuing to gather reports. [U.S. Department of War]media.defense.govU.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1U.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1(#endnote-29 “Endnote 29”)
The report is especially useful because it gives mechanisms rather than just denials. It points to misidentification, poor data, secrecy around real aerospace and defence programmes, circular reporting, and cases where interviewees appear to have attached extraordinary meanings to authentic but non-extraterrestrial activities. That makes it more persuasive than a bare press-office refusal. [U.S. Department of War]media.defense.govU.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1U.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1(#endnote-29 “Endnote 29”) [2U.S. Department of War]media.defense.govU.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1U.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1
However, AARO’s rebuttal has limits. First, it is an official government product about alleged government secrecy, so committed disclosure advocates will naturally question whether it had full access, institutional independence or willingness to expose wrongdoing. AARO says it worked through classified and unclassified archives and with special-access programme oversight officials, but readers do not get full public visibility into every classified search path, interview or denial. [U.S. Department of War]media.defense.govU.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1U.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1(#endnote-29 “Endnote 29”)
Second, a “no evidence found” conclusion is not logically identical to “impossible”. AARO itself says many cases remain unresolved and that some require focused scientific inquiry. Kosloski told senators that AARO would not foreclose explanations prematurely and would follow data where it leads. That leaves room for future evidence to change the picture, but it does not validate claims that have not yet been demonstrated. [AARO]aaro.milUAP RecordsUAP Records
Third, the classified-evidence problem cuts both ways. Elizondo and other disclosure advocates often say they cannot reveal the strongest evidence publicly because it remains classified. AARO says it has channels for people with relevant knowledge to report safely and that some information cannot be publicly released because sources, methods and collection locations may be sensitive. The result is a public stalemate: believers ask readers to trust witnesses with claimed access, while AARO asks readers to trust institutional review processes whose full evidence base is not public. [House Oversight Committee]oversight.house.govOversight CommitteeOversight Committee [AARO]aaro.milDHS Kona BlueDHS Kona Blue
How believers answer the classified-evidence problem
Supporters of Elizondo do not usually answer AARO by saying the office solved nothing. A more careful believer argument is that AARO’s public report may have been structurally unable to reach the most hidden programmes, particularly if the alleged activities are buried in contractor compartments, waived special-access arrangements, mislabelled defence programmes or oral-only channels. This argument is hard to verify publicly, but it is not irrational in a world where legitimate classified programmes exist and public records can be incomplete. [House Oversight Committee]oversight.house.govOversight CommitteeOversight Committee
Believers also point to Congress itself. The House hearing that featured Elizondo was not fringe internet content; it was an official congressional event with multiple witnesses and written submissions. The existence of such hearings does not prove alien retrievals, but it shows that some legislators take the claims seriously enough to seek testimony, classified briefings and whistleblower protections. [House Oversight Committee]oversight.house.govOversight CommitteeOversight Committee
Another believer response is that AARO’s own language leaves important space open. AARO admits unresolved cases exist and says better data are needed. NASA’s independent study similarly argued for reducing stigma and improving data collection rather than mocking all witnesses. For supporters, this means the official record still contains genuine unknowns and that a national-security investigation is warranted even if the alien conclusion remains unproven. [AARO]aaro.milAARO Historical Record Report Vol 1 2024AARO Historical Record Report Vol 1 2024
The weakness in that answer is evidential. “Some UAP remain unexplained” is not the same as “the US has recovered non-human craft”. Elizondo’s most consequential claims are not merely that pilots saw puzzling objects or that sensors captured hard-to-classify events; they are claims about possession, reverse engineering, hidden programmes and non-human technology. AARO’s rebuttal is aimed at precisely that stronger claim, and believers have not yet supplied public physical evidence that overcomes it. [U.S. Department of War]media.defense.govU.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1U.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1(#endnote-29 “Endnote 29”)
What the official scepticism means for Elizondo’s credibility
A fair assessment should not treat AARO as infallible or Elizondo as automatically discredited. AARO is an official body operating inside the same national-security system that disclosure advocates accuse of excessive secrecy. Elizondo is a former defence official who helped bring UAP into mainstream debate and whose general insistence that UAP reporting should be treated seriously has been partly vindicated by Congress, NASA and the Pentagon’s own creation of AARO. [House Oversight Committee]oversight.house.govOversight CommitteeOversight Committee [AARO]aaro.milUNCLASSIFIED FY23 Consolidated Annual Report on UAP Oct 25 2023 1236UNCLASSIFIED FY23 Consolidated Annual Report on UAP Oct 25 2023 1236
But AARO substantially weakens the public case for Elizondo’s strongest claims. It gives readers a reason to separate “UAP are real reports worthy of investigation” from “non-human technology is in US possession”. The first proposition is now widely accepted inside official processes; the second remains disputed, unsupported by public physical evidence, and directly contradicted by the Pentagon office tasked with reviewing the historical record. AARO [2U.S. Department of War]media.defense.govU.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1U.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1
The most balanced conclusion is that AARO’s rebuttal is not a final metaphysical answer to whether non-human intelligence exists. It is a strong official evidential challenge to Elizondo’s claims about recovered craft, biological material and reverse engineering. Until Elizondo, his allies, Congress or future declassification produces verifiable evidence that survives independent scrutiny, AARO gives sceptics a substantial basis for saying that his most dramatic claims remain unproven rather than established.
Endnotes
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Source: oversight.house.gov
Title: Oversight Committee
Link: https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-Testimony-Elizondo.pdf -
Source: aaro.mil
Link: https://www.aaro.mil/Portals/136/PDFs/Dr_Jon_Kosloski_Statement_for_the_Record_SASC_Open_Hearing_Nov2024.pdf -
Source: aaro.mil
Title: History and Origin of KONA BLUE
Link: https://www.aaro.mil/Portals/136/PDFs/UAP_RECORDS_RESEARCH/History_and_Origin_of_KONA_BLUE_FINAL_508.pdf -
Source: science.nasa.gov
Title: Science Independent Study Team Report
Link: https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/uap-independent-study-team-final-report.pdf -
Source: theblackvault.com
Title: Pentagon Destroyed E-mails Of Former Intelligence Official
Link: https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/pentagon-destroyed-e-mails-of-former-intelligence-official-tied-to-ufo-investigation-claims/ -
Source: theblackvault.com
Title: new emails reveal pentagon effort to align messaging on aatip and luis elizondo
Link: https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/new-emails-reveal-pentagon-effort-to-align-messaging-on-aatip-and-luis-elizondo/ -
Source: oversight.house.gov
Title: Oversight Committee Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth
Link: https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/unidentified-anomalous-phenomena-exposing-the-truth/ -
Source: science.nasa.gov
Link: https://science.nasa.gov/uap/ -
Source: oversight.house.gov
Title: written testimony elizondo
Link: https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/unidentified-anomalous-phenomena-exposing-the-truth/written-testimony-elizondo/ -
Source: docs.house.gov
Title: HHRG 118 GO12 Wstate ShellenbergerM 20241113
Link: https://docs.house.gov/meetings/GO/GO12/20241113/117721/HHRG-118-GO12-Wstate-ShellenbergerM-20241113.pdf -
Source: aaro.mil
Link: https://www.aaro.mil/Congressional-Press-Products/ -
Source: aaro.mil
Link: https://www.aaro.mil/ -
Source: aaro.mil
Title: UAP Records
Link: https://www.aaro.mil/UAP-Records/ -
Source: aaro.mil
Title: DHS Kona Blue
Link: https://www.aaro.mil/Portals/136/PDFs/UAP_RECORDS_RESEARCH/AARO_DHS_Kona_Blue.pdf -
Source: aaro.mil
Title: AARO Historical Record Report Vol 1 2024
Link: https://www.aaro.mil/Portals/136/PDFs/AARO_Historical_Record_Report_Vol_1_2024.pdf -
Source: aaro.mil
Title: UNCLASSIFIED FY23 Consolidated Annual Report on UAP Oct 25 2023 1236
Link: https://www.aaro.mil/Portals/136/PDFs/UNCLASSIFIED-FY23_Consolidated_Annual_Report_on_UAP-Oct_25_2023_1236.pdf -
Source: aaro.mil
Link: https://www.aaro.mil/UAP-Cases/Official-UAP-Imagery/ -
Source: documents2.theblackvault.com
Title: Nov132024Hearing Elizondo
Link: https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/congress/Nov132024Hearing-Elizondo.pdf -
Source: theblackvault.com
Link: https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/foia-emails-reveal-pentagons-tight-control-over-aaro-historical-record-report-rollout-and-messaging/ -
Source: theblackvault.com
Link: https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/pentagon-reinforces-mr-luis-elizondo-had-no-responsibilities-on-aatip-senator-harry-reids-2009-memo-changes-nothing/ -
Source: theblackvault.com
Link: https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/defense-department-emails-confirm-2017-uap-briefings-further-clarify-luis-elizondos-role-in-aatip/ -
Source: space.com
Title: pentagon ufo office aaro historical report no emprical evidence alien technology
Link: https://www.space.com/pentagon-ufo-office-aaro-historical-report-no-emprical-evidence-alien-technology -
Source: space.com
Title: ufo [whistleblowers]({{ ‘whistleblowers/’ | relative_url }}) tell congress we are not alone in the cosmos video
Link: https://www.space.com/space-exploration/search-for-life/ufo-whistleblowers-tell-congress-we-are-not-alone-in-the-cosmos-video -
Source: space.com
Title: pentagon ufo chief tells senate very anomalous objects need careful study video
Link: https://www.space.com/space-exploration/search-for-life/pentagon-ufo-chief-tells-senate-very-anomalous-objects-need-careful-study-video -
Source: armed-services.senate.gov
Title: 11 19 24 sub transcript
Link: [https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/download/11-19-24-sub—transcript](https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/download/11-19-24-sub—transcript) -
Source: armed-services.senate.gov
Title: kirkpatrick statement
Link: https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/download/kirkpatrick-statement -
Source: war.gov
Title: department of defense releases the annual report on unidentified anomalous phen
Link: https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3964824/department-of-defense-releases-the-annual-report-on-unidentified-anomalous-phen/ -
Source: war.gov
Title: aaro director dr sean kirkpatrick holds an off camera media roundtable
Link: https://www.war.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3575588/aaro-director-dr-sean-kirkpatrick-holds-an-off-camera-media-roundtable/ -
Source: media.defense.gov
Title: U.S. Department of War AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1
Link: https://media.defense.gov/2024/Mar/08/2003409233/-1/-1/0/DOPSR-2024-0263-AARO-HISTORICAL-RECORD-REPORT-VOLUME-1-2024.PDF -
Source: dni.gov
Title: 4020 uap 2024
Link: https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/reports-publications/reports-publications-2024/4020-uap-2024 -
Source: theguardian.com
Link: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/13/house-ufo-hearing -
Source: theguardian.com
Title: pentagon ufo report hiding aliens
Link: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/08/pentagon-ufo-report-hiding-aliens -
Source: theguardian.com
Title: ufo whistleblower pentagon complaint
Link: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/28/ufo-whistleblower-pentagon-complaint -
Source: theguardian.com
Title: sean kirkpatrick pentagon ufo conspiracy theory myths
Link: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/27/sean-kirkpatrick-pentagon-ufo-conspiracy-theory-myths -
Source: theguardian.com
Title: ufologists sean kirkpatrick pentagon report uaps
Link: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/22/ufologists-sean-kirkpatrick-pentagon-report-uaps -
Source: Wikipedia
Title: Luis Elizondo
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Elizondo -
Source: animated-character-database.fandom.com
Title: Luis Elizondo
Link: https://animated-character-database.fandom.com/wiki/Luis_Elizondo
Additional References
-
Source: youtube.com
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvsU4p0GsasSource snippet
'Underwhelming' first UFO file dump: Ross Coulthart, Luis Elizondo | CUOMO...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: What a Pentagon Scientist Found Out About UFOs with Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyK46wdMJkQSource snippet
All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO): a Duality in Mission Regarding UAPs (Sean Kirkpatrick)...
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Source: youtube.com
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi0H_mkwTW0Source snippet
Pentagon Reveals 757 UAP Sightings With Near Miss Safety Concerns...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: Pentagon Reveals 757 UAP Sightings With Near Miss Safety Concerns
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lppkvUH19b8Source snippet
Breaking Down UAP Footage with the Head of The Pentagon's UAP Taskforce, Dr. Jon Kosloski...
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Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/WTNH8/posts/the-us-is-concealing-a-longstanding-program-that-retrieves-and-reverse-engineers/678601810978814/ -
Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/NewsNationNow/posts/a-former-navy-pilot-says-claims-that-the-government-is-withholding-information-a/3632150787008480/ -
Source: apnews.com
Link: https://apnews.com/article/5638be273b753253713a478546849e46 -
Source: reddit.com
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/skeptic/comments/1clsz5c/any_idea_what_the_hoax_uap_program_and_fake_uap/ -
Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ufochat/posts/6695063423951672/ -
Source: yahoo.com
Link: https://www.yahoo.com/news/ex-officials-allege-us-reverse-135753405.html
Topic Tree
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Parent topic
ElizondoRelated pages 7
- AATIP Role Did Elizondo Really Run AATIP?
- Biological Claims Why the Biological Claims Need Caution
- Congress What Did Elizondo Tell Congress?
- Craft Claims Where Is the Evidence for Recovered Craft?
- Influence How Elizondo Changed the UAP Debate
- Navy Videos What Did the Navy Videos Actually Show?
- Source Trail What Did Elizondo Know First Hand?



