The Hesitant Headline · chapter 2

We need to start a new Swedish debate

Around our planet, in countries as diverse as Brazil and Japan, an issue has recently emerged in decision-making assemblies and campaigns by committed citizens.

The Disclosure movement in the US is at the forefront of this. It fights for increased transparency around the UFO phenomenon. It demands that governments acknowledge and release information related to this subject, today also called UAP, Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. In 2023, the movement gained a lot of momentum after new congressional hearings⁷.

Tim Burchett, a congressman from Tennessee, has become a prominent voice in the movement. He regularly receives questions from constituents about UFOs and calls for transparency. Senior politicians from both parties, such as former Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Mike Rounds, have joined the cause with a co-sponsored bill⁸, which shows the importance of the issue. Names such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Anna Paulina Luna, Eric Burlison, Kirsten Gillibrand and Eric Moskowitz have raised questions about the phenomenon and are working to increase transparency.

In the US, there is a divide between these and another faction, which is heavily sponsored by the military industry. Politicians like Mike Turner have made a name for themselves for actively preventing transparency⁹ and promote the status quo to keep the public at their current low level of knowledge. Sean Kirkpatrick and Mick West as seen in Science World¹⁰ recently considered by many who are familiar with the subject to have the same agenda. So also a significant part of the leadership of our local UFO Sweden (unofficial national organization).

In Sweden, the UFO issue seems to be a non-issue, but with a good number of enthusiasts who keep up to date on their own in mainly American alternative media. Is this a sign of health where we generally focus on more down-to-earth issues, or is it rather an ostrich behavior where we turn a blind eye to the unknown? An open debate can lead to insights that are crucial to our understanding of the universe around us. Instead of ignoring the issue, we should be curious and open to discussion. Let's follow Burchett & co's example and dare to ask the difficult questions.

At the beginning of the year, about ten high-profile advocates stood on stage together in Austin, Texas for the premiere of The Age of Disclosure^{11 12}, where 34 politicians and whistleblowers have joined forces in a documentary to demand that the subject be taken seriously. On November 21st, it will finally be released on Amazon Prime to a wider paying audience (and by the time you read this, it will probably be available on pirate sites for those who do that kind of thing).

In the last two years, twelve people around this circle have now sworn an oath and testified on honor in the American Congress to the authenticity of the UFO issue. How many from the other camp, which we blindly follow in the Swedish media, have done so? None. It is high time we take this issue seriously before we fall even further behind.

Is this the biggest news story in world history or an influence operation that has managed to fool so many senior officials? Is either acceptable to ignore?

The Pentagon's inability to account for its spending is another factor. For many years, the US Department of Defense has been unable to track billions in annual spending.¹³ This lack of transparency not only affects the American public but also has implications for us through NATO and the DCA agreement, where uncertainty around defense spending can undermine trust and cooperation between allied nations.

In the SVT series Aliens - the battle for the aliens¹⁴, which was broadcast in the fall of 2024 by Kalle Ström, two of the country's leading ufologists were pitted against each other. E. Thomas Persson¹⁵ and Clas Svahn have diametrically opposed attitudes to the hypothesis that extraterrestrials visit Earth. Persson accused Svahn of a cover-up and psychological influence operations directed against his own population. Despite this, there was no subsequent discussion in the media.

Let's start a new Swedish debate!

The whole book is also available as a PDF.