One of the areas of UFO research that does not deal with the phenomenon of unidentified flying objects itself is the involvement of intelligence agencies within the phenomenon. On occasion, this took the format of these agencies actively endorsing or using cases to mask more mundane, but nevertheless deemed secret information. In this section, an overview of some of this material will be given.

• Extra-terrestrial intelligence or terrestrial intelligence agencies?
  It is trendy to suggest to friends and family that the US government knows more about the UFO phenomenon… or even extra-terrestrial beings. Though entirely speculative, it does not mean that the US government plays no role in the phenomenon whatsoever. There is good evidence that shows that it, either officially or unofficially, has been interested in the UFO phenomenon – and has actively promoted it.
  
• The strangest UFO encounter… or a hoax?
  In 1947, strange events occurred in Maury Island, Washington. Two men reported a UFO and afterwards went to great lengths to ridicule their own story. Did they receive the help of the intelligence community?
  
• Driving Mr. Bennewitz Insane
  Disinformation and UFOs; it is a subject that for many years has been a taboo, but by neglecting it, it will not go away, specifically not when it is becoming more and more clear that it has played an important role behind the biggest UFO stories of the last few decades.
  
• New York, New York: the Linda Napolitano “abduction”
  Did the most important UFO abduction ever – proving the physical reality of the aliens – occur in late November 1989? Or was it instead a carefully constructed plot to disinform and discredit?
  
• The Mother of all Crashes: The Roswell Incident
  Was the so-called Roswell Incident of 1947 the crash of an extra-terrestrial spacecraft or was it instead an act of government disinformation?
  
• A lone chemist’s quest to expose the UFO cover-up
  In the late 1950s, chemist Leon Davidson worked at Los Alamos, the research facility where the atomic scientists had endeavoured to control the force of the atom. But atoms were not the main thing on this scientist’s mind. Davidson was interested in UFOs and hunted down the then top secret CIA Robertson Panel report. This led him to the conclusion that the CIA were actively promoting UFOs as ETs, a conclusion few have been able – or willing – to accept since.
  
• A missing Pentacle
  The so-called “Pentacle Memorandum” convinced UFO researcher Jacques Vallee that the US government had been toying with the official UFO investigations, and that these were a front for something else… if not something more sinister.
  
• The Gulf Breeze Six
  On July 9, 1990, six US military intelligence analysts from the 701st Military Intelligence Brigade at Augsburg, West Germany, at that time the biggest NSA (National Security Agency) listening post in the world outside the United States, deserted their posts, somehow convinced that the end of the world was nigh. It is one of the most extra-ordinary stories…
  
• MJ-12: Majestic, or Incredulous?
  Nothing has changed the world of UFOs as much as the infamous MJ-12 documents, purported to be presidential briefing papers and evidence that the US government is covering up an extra-terrestrial presence on Earth. Always deemed too good to be true, is it the biggest disinformation campaign the field has seen?
  
• The Pied Pipers of the CIA
  The UFO contactee movement was led by people that worked hand-in-hand with the CIA; the abductee scenario was created by CIA personnel. It reveals an intriguing alternative universe of the contactee and abductee phenomenon.
  
• Doctoring Villas Boas and aliens on ice
  In the late 1950s, Brazil seems to have become the testing ground either of an alien power… or those pulling the UFO string, putting forward the first successful stories of UFO abductions and crashes. In both, the esteemed Doctor Olavo Fontes seems to have been part of the experiment.
  
• The alien overlords
  The drive to uncover “the truth” about the UFO phenomenon is often believed to be an “us versus them” situation: the people versus the evil government. But in the 1990s, it became clear that this was not the case. Instead, it became apparent that it were “CIA assets” that were briefing that the CIA had secrets. A rather incestuous relationship…