Roswell: what did the official archives contain?

Agencies searched their records and later issued reports. Compare their conclusions without treating a missing document as proof of any theory.

Concept illustration · Original evidence is linked below.

What the archive search looked for

The GAO report describes a search for government records concerning the 1947 event near Roswell. Its search scope is essential to interpreting what it found. U.S. Government Accountability Office ↗

Compare reports without conflating them

The Air Force reports are separate publications with their own explanations and documentary bases. Compare the records they cite with the propositions they advance. Department of the Air Force History and Museums Program ↗

Absence requires a bounded conclusion

A missing file can reflect retention, destruction, incomplete searching, or a genuinely absent record. It does not by itself identify the cause of the original event. U.S. Government Accountability Office ↗

Sources to Explore

Watergate: what does one recorded conversation tell us?MKULTRA: what do the hearing and official reply tell us?COINTELPRO: what do the program’s records show?The CIA and the media: what do documents confirm?More from North America on the timelineSee every guide on the timeline
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