Why does a small, but devoted group, of intelligence officials continue to follow the UFO community long after the government disavowed any secret evidence of little green men? I have no idea, I just presumed they're looking for UFOs. But a few weeks ago, a writer named Gus Russo called me, telling me he was writing about this particular group of spooks.

I told him I don't do UFOs (no really, I don't), but suggested a few people who may know more. Anyhow, his final conclusion is that, in fact, these crafty guys are monitoring the UFO community in an attempt to keep tabs on foreign intelligence who may have already infiltrated this group:

*Tom’s motivation, it now appears certain, can be summed up in two words: national security. In a recent interview, a senior intelligence official who is familiar with spooks in cyberspace explained, “Tom is interested in the subject because, one, he is concerned that DIA officers parading as CIA officers – a felony – are leaking classified material to the UFO groups. He also knows that in years past the KGB used parapsychology and paranormal groups to get to military people with classified information. He is concerned that any enemy group could easily use these forums to search out national security secrets.” Joel Brenner, the United States national counterintelligence chief recently said that the number of Russian agents operating in the country had reached “Cold War levels,” according to the Russian News & Information Agency. *

Russo cites as further evidence: "In 2004 the CIA released under a FOIA request the Stargate Archive files, which reveal that the CIA was indeed concerned about monitoring UFO authors who might be privy to classified material."

So, if I get this right: these spooks don't really believe in UFOs, but they're worried that foreign intelligence agents have infiltrated UFO groups that have military members with classified info. And what sort of classified information do these supposed foreign intelligence types think they're gonna get from the UFO group (other than UFO information)?

Anyhow, too much to contemplate for one day, but an enjoyable read, if you can follow the cast of characters.