Roswell: Conclusions
Roswell has been the Holy Grail of UFO research. It has offered hope to those seeking to prove a UFO cover-up, but has yet to deliver the goods. In retrospect, Roswell's hammer-lock on public discussion about UFOs has been unfortunate. Through the lens of the pop media, the Roswell case has become a kind of litmus test for the legitimacy of the entire UFO phenomenon. The case for the UFO is much broader and stronger than a fixation on Roswell warrants. The problem is that basic reading, research, and understanding of the larger picture has eluded a culture that appears unable to digest anything but the most pre-masticated news, spoonfed by video and soundbytes over corporate airwaves. And the public has been feeding on Roswell for twenty years. Thus, the Roswell debate, while important on its own merits, has brought an unmerited sense of finality to the UFO debate in general.
Another problem with placing all of one's chips on Roswell is the unlikelihood that the true nature of the crash will ever be established – to the satisfaction of all concerned parties. Heated though the Roswell argument has become, there is just not enough proof to establish beyond any reasonable doubt either of the two main contentions: (1) that an extraterrestrial object (with alien bodies) crashed, or (2) that the crash resulted from debris of a balloon of some sort. Ultimately, Roswell will probably always have more evidence than proof; lots of witness testimony but no smoking gun.
Moreover, the debate is no simple believer versus skeptic affair. The vast outpouring of literature on the subject includes many researchers, propagandists, and hacks of all opinions who have carved up UFO's greatest cash cow. Among those who believe in an ET solution to the Roswell puzzle, strong arguments about particulars continue to exist, augmented by personal rivalries and punctuated by emotional attacks instead of reasoned debate. And the fact remains that many UFO researchers who otherwise "believe" in aliens do not believe that a UFO crashed at Roswell. Others, still, concede that an ET explanation remains one of several valid possibilities.
One thing we can say with reasonable certainty: claims to have "closed the case" are greatly premature, based on slender evidence, wrapped in the cloak of official sanction, and given widespread circulation by the mass media. In such an environment, it is unrealistic to presume that we will ever get to the bottom of the mystery. We may form opinions about what we think happened, but we would be wise to refrain from claiming to know much of anything, except that the military deceived the public about it for fifty years, and probably continues to do so.
A final observation that often goes unnoticed: the Roswell crash occurred amid one of the greatest UFO sighting waves in modern history. While the case must stand or fall on its own merits, isolating it from its historical context has been an all-too-common mistake.