UFO - The Battle Continues
Based on the ITC Century 21 series 'UFO'
© ITC 1999

TARGET REACQUIRED Chapter 5

by Jeff Stone

MAJIC Inter-Office Email Communication December 20, 1983

Sent At: 8-08 pm GMT
X-To: Ted@MJ-9.com
X--From: Rom@MJ-2.com
Subject: Presidential Briefing Paper
Cc: MJ-1@<undisclosed address>
Bcc:
Attachment: Smoking-Gun.wps 6-22-72

Ted,

here's the transcript of the Watergate tape you were after. Don't for God's sake let anyone on the Hill find out that we have this recording...it's the one that Nixon thought he'd got rid of, and the one that ultimately got him fired. Filter out the Cuban stuff and give it to the President as is, but tell him that we just have the transcript...NOT the actual tape.

Sorry if I sound like I'm patronising you here; there's a lot more than just UFOs we have to keep secret here. :)

My love to Danielle. Golf as usual this weekend?

Be seeing you,
Natalia

Attached File: Smoking-Gun.wps 6-22-72

...........................
TOP SECRET/MAJIC EYES ONLY

WHITE HOUSE OVAL OFFICE CONFERENCE RECORDING
JUNE 22, 1972
PARTICIPANTS: President Richard M. Nixon, John W. Dean III, H.R. Haldeman, Henry Kissinger, Robert Ehrlichman, Gen. Alexander Haig, Gen. James Henderson, Col. Edward Straker

D: The first thing that has to be done is to ensure that Hunt will keep his mouth shut. He's lying low at the moment, but he's made it quite clear to me through Liddy and McCord that he won't stay quiet unless he receives what he believes is his due. And we're not talking just Hunt here...Sturgis and Magruder are both up to their eyrs in this. Mitchell too. He can't tell us he had no idea it was going on.

N: That figures. How much this time for Hunt and company?

E: Ah, we're looking at about $2,000,000 for Hunt and the rest of his team. Roughly half that will go to Hunt alone. Sturgis has to pay off the Mongoose people...

K: (sniggers)

N: Something funny, Henry?

K (sniggering slightly): No, no, it's just...'Moongoose people'. It's like we're in a movie. The irony, ah, the irony is amusing.

N: Do try and stay focussed, please. We're not (expletive deleted) around here.

K: Yes,...yes, of course sir.

HAIG: We're going to let this guy blackmail the President? Hunt must be crazy if he thinks he can do that.

N: Hunt *can* do it, and he will. Remember the Bay Of Pigs and Kennedy. I don't think we have much choice in the matter.

N: Hunt knows we have him in Dallas on the day of the hit. He and Sturgis. He won't spill his guts on that, obviously, but he can still drop us in the (expletive deleted) on the damned burglary. He's about the only person who knows there's any sort of connection.

HAIG: It's like he wanted it to fail. You ever thought about that?

(no response)

K: How much does Hunt know?

D: Enough. I have his notebooks, but the man's got a memory like an elephant. John Mitchell's in the direct firing line, as he gave the orders for the break-in...

N: (laughs) We're revising history here, aren't we? On tape.

D: Oh yes, sir. He gave the green light to me himself.

(pause)

N: (expletive deleted). What the (expletive deleted) was he thinking?

D: As head of the CRP, he obviously thought he was acting in your interests, sir. What with his wife's increasing mental instability, it's quite possible he was just too flustered to consider the wider implications. He thought Hunt and company were experts. We all did. Now we know better, but Mitchell's got to realise...and be told...that this is mostly his mess.

K: Ah, if we could move on, sir....the Air Force men are here.

N: Right. Send them in. And for God's sake, John, make sure Mitchell realises what's at stake here. I'm not going to be (expletive deleted) over because of a half-assed burglary. Not for him, or for anyone. Tell him to take care of his crazy wife and leave the policy to us, right?

D: We're on top of it, sir, count on it.

(Straker and Henderson enter...they are greeted and sit down)

N: Now, General Henderson. Al here tells me you're going ahead full speed on the SHADO project.

HEN: That's right, sir. Colonel Straker and I have made it our Number One priority for the past two years. But we've hit a snag as regards organisational and logistical back-up.

N: Meaning?

HAIG: Well, ah, it's like this. You're familiar with the MAJIC project?

N: Oh yes, the flying saucer nonsense. I tried to take a look at the MAJIC files back in the 50s when I was Ike's Vice. No dice. And today, it's the same. "National security". It's a fine (expletive deleted) thing when the President doesn't have clearance to see information on something.

D: That's for your protection, sir. Plausible deniability must be maintained at all times. The less you know the better.

N: (laughs bitterly) It wouldn't be the first time I've been left in the dark, eh, John?

D: (laughs nervously) Ah, yes indeed, sir.

N: Alright. Let me hear it.

HEN: What we're after here, sir, is authorisation for a contingency liaison structure between MAJIC and our own organisation. If we're facing what we believe we're facing, then close co-operation is an absolute necessity.

K: I thought we were already committed to it under SALT II...

N: I vetoed that, Henry. The Russians wanted in on it. Brezhnev nearly chewed my ear off at the summit. I had to deny everything.

HEN: We have to avoid any connection between this and conventional policy, Mr President. There are too many dangers of leaks. If word got out that aliens are regularly coming and going from this planet, carrying out murders of innocent people, then...well, I hardly need mention that it'd present innumerable problems both for us and for your administration.

N: (grunts) OK. So, you need this formalised?

HEN: That's right, sir. Colonel Straker has a draft plan for your perusal.

S: The outline on page 1 contains the costings, sir...as you'll see, it makes sense to have a formal liasion structure in place, even before SHADO becomes operational. In the long run, it'll save us both money and time.

(several minutes pass as Nixon examines the document...conversation in this period is too quiet to be discernible)

HAIG: This is genuine?

S: Yes, sir. It was taken by the co-pilot of an RAF Vulcan bomber only three days ago. The bomber was shot down by the UFO seconds later. All five men aboard were killed.

K: How often are these...incursions happening?

HEN: On average, three a month. That's only the ones we've been able to track, mind you. We lack at present the necessary equipment to offer 100% surveillance.

N: Why don't they just bomb our cities flat? It strikes me that these spacemen are going about this in a very half-assed way.

HEN: As far as we can tell, sir, the aliens are as keen to keep their activities secret as we are. There's also the possibility that they don't possess the means to mount a full-scale invasion.

N: Hmmmm.

K: How long will it be before SHADO is up and running, General?

HEN: We estimate we'll be on line sometime in early 1979. The eutronic detection system is the main technical stumbling block, and the liaison should enable us to get RAND Corporation help in the matter. Up til now, we can't place a contract with them without having it publically known.

S: Dr Lake has prepared an outline of operation on Page 3 of the draft plan, Mr President.

(Nixon reads the paper)

N: Tachyon accelerators? What the hell is a tachyon?

E: Erm, we'll have that looked into, sir. Don't worry.

N: (sighs) Well, it all looks very strange to me. You're absolutely sure this is necessary?

HEN: It may mean the difference between life and death for the entire human race, sir.

N: Christ. This is going to cost a pretty penny.

E: The thought occurs that we can funnel the money through NASA for the most part. IAC and NASA already have a strong working agreement in place.

N: This'll mean cancelling the Mars landing. We can't afford both.

HAIG: Well, we could just send a couple of probes...

N: Gentlemen, this is all too much at one time. I have a (expletive deletd)-up with the CIA and some Cubans who should know better to handle, as well as the openings to China and SALT III. The proposal has merit, but I think we ought to wait until the election is over before we move on it.

E: It will take that long to get the protocols set up, at any rate. We can go ahead with the preliminaries now. Sir?

N: Yeah. Yeah, that's fine. It's not like Congress has to know about it, huh?

HEN: We understand, sir. Thank you for your time. I'll leave all the documents with General Haig.

HAIG: One last point, General...what are we going to call this thing? We need a name.

HEN: Colonel Straker had an idea on that.

S: Yes sir, I thought Liberty Bell would be a good codephrase. The Federal Emergency Management Agency already has a Project Liberty Bell up for confirmation before the DIA Board, and we can just attach our Liberty Bell to that. Makes it easier to conceal the operation. If anyone goes looking, we just say...

N:...it's part of the normal Liberty Bell. I like it. Well, thank you, gentlemen, we'll be in touch.

HEN: You're welcome sir.

(Farewells; Straker and Henderson leave)

N: Jesus. (expletive deleted) flying saucers. It's a madhouse.

HAIG: It's absolutely true, sir. I saw five of them flying in formation over the Gulf of Tonkin in '68. Left our Thunderchiefs behind like we were on push-bikes. Amazing technology. We need this liaison, or SHADO won't be able to get off the ground. The IAC didn't know what it was taking on when it approved it two years ago.

N: We'll stall on this. MAJIC has it's own fish to fry right now, and I have no desire to overload General Corso's schedule with this. Once the election's over...and this damn break-in mess is resolved...

D: It's in the bag, sir. We'll all come out of this smelling of roses. If anything, it'll enhance the standing of the White House if we are seen to act swiftly and correctly on this matter.

N: You'd better be right.

D: Trust me, sir.

N: Mmmm. We'd better erase this part of the recording. How long were they here for, Al?

HAIG: Oh, I'd say...eighteen minutes, sir.

N: Right.


Interlude 1


The Works of Jeff Stone

The Library Entrance