The CIA and UFO's

A door opens and in slips a man in a trench coat, collar lifted to hide his neck and lower face, hat pulled low. He sidles up, glances around,  and whispers, 'The name is Secret, Top Secret."

Well, that is the image that comes to mind scanning documents in the CIA's online vault of secret papers related to the subject of unexplained flying objects.

In one collection is an intriguing document dated 29 July 1952:

"4. Recent reports reaching CIA indicated that further action was desirable and another briefing by the cognizant A-2 and ATIC personnel was held 25 November. At this time, the reports of incidents convince us that there is something going on that must have immediate attention. The details of some of these incidents have been discussed by AD/SI with DODI. Sightings of unexplained objects at great altitudes and traveling at high speeds in vicinity of U.S. defense installations are of such nature that they are not attributable to natural phenomena or known types of aerial vehicles." 
----- CIA Memorandum 23 July 1952 (stamped 29 July 1952), re "recent sightings of unexplained objects" to Deputy Director/ Intelligence from Assistant Director Scientific Intelligence. Signed "Ralph L. Clark". (https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/collection/ufos-fact-or-fiction)

Note: ATIC was the Air Technology Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Note the term "there is something going on that must have immediate attention." This memo follows several high profile sightings (visual and radar) over Washington, D.C. Sightings the Air Force explained away as mirages, reflections, and radar "angels" or false readings all caused by "temperature inversions."  Inversions that had been reported earlier that summer and later that fall but without the objects being seen that caused the uproar.

From an undated (estimated to be 1952) Walter D. Smith memo on the subject of Unidentified Flying Objects (Flying Saucers), Introductory paragraph addressed the fact the Air Force had, since 1947, been the single investigative group related to the sightings:

"2. It is my view that this situation has possible implications for national security that transcend the interests of a single service."  (memo to National Security Council ER-3-2808)

Note: Several times in the 1950's the Air Force clearly wished to shed the UFO projects from its area of responsibility but strangely they kept having the ball tossed back into their lap. The late 1950's and the early 1960's will see the Air Force facing congressional hearings, attacks by UFO groups, and authors such as Keyhoe who would accuse them of hiding things and making light of reports. In 1952 was the CIA sponsored Robertson Panel and the attitudes expressed here may have been part of that activity.  Yet, it must be noted that something was considered of high national security value in this subject.

National Security Council Directors "Draft" on the subject
of unidentified flying saucers:

"Pursuant to provisions of Section 102 of the National Security Act of 1947...
1. The Director of Central Intelligence should formulate and carry out a program of intelligence and research activities as required to solve the problem of instant positive identification of unidentified flying objects."
And then...
"3....coordinate with the military services and the research and development board of the Department of Defense, and the covert [?] agencies as appropriate."

Note: It is unclear if this draft was adopted but it does present a new view of who the major players were in the entire span of Blue Book investigations.  When later researchers accused  the Air Force of sending the "good sightings" somewhere else they may have been correct. With projects like Project Stork, closely tied to the R&D aspects of the DOD, and the CIA brokering a deal to make the Air Force only one piece on a giant chess board...some theories may need revision.