Subject: [exopolitics] Dr Steven Greer, CSETI and the Disclosure Project


Why the contact movement should stand by Dr.Steven
Greer and the Disclosure Project Witnesses.

The current debate concerning Disclosure Project
witnesses compels me share my perspective. It is my
assessment that this controversy reveals the low level
of political and moral development of the subculture
known as  "ufology" Its relative backwardness and lack
of consiousness  is preventing the emergence of a
vibrant broad based contact movement with the "Et
visitors". It is my hope that the following narrative
and analysis will move the discussion to a higher
level by providing information from one who once was a
"CSETI insider." I have not spoken to Dr. Greer in 8
years, nevertheless I still consider myself one who
passionately believes that the presence of the
"Visitors" can help our civilization evolve in a
positive direction.

I was closely involved with CSETI from 1992 to 1998.
Most of my work involved organizing  CSETI research
activities known as the CE-5 Initiative. Although this
project was never successful in achieving its ultimate
goal of facilitating "landings of Et spacecraft and
boardings of CSETI researchers" we had remarkable
limited success. On repeated occasions I witnessed the
vectoring in of UFOs by CSETI teams using Dr. Greer's
contact protocols. Please see my web site where only a
very small part of CSETI's investigations are
described  Joseph Burkes MD's website

The precursor to the Disclosure Project was known as
"Starlight" and like the CE-5 Initiative that effort
demanded tremendous personal and professional
sacrifice from Dr. Greer. While working as an ER
physician and helping his wife raise 4 children, he
tirelessly traveled all over the Western World
promoting human initiated and human empowered "Close
Encounters" with the "Visitors." Project Starlight was
equally ambitious and required countless confidential
meetings between Greer and prominent military,
political and intelligence officials who were
assisting him in breaking the veil of secrecy
surrounding this subject. I learned this from
attending repeated meetings with Dr. Greer where he
informed CSETI investigators concerning these
developments. On several occasions I stayed with
Steven and his wife Emily at their home in Asheville.
There I witnesses those two brave souls stand up to
constant adversity placed in their path. As a former
political activist and fellow ER physician, I know
that the nightmare of Emergency Room is good
preparation for being a political operator in both
Washington DC and the UFO ghetto. A difficult but
necessary task that my colleague Dr. Greer had
volunteered to do.

I attended the 1997 " behind closed door briefing"
held in Washington that was organized by Dr. Greer and
his closest supporters. I participated in a limited
way but observed the enormous complexity of witness
selection process and the need to provide a respectful
and supportive venue for them to give their important
testimony. That Dr. Greer could hold success a diverse
coalition together, on a shoestring budget, with
crackpot debunkers hounding him at every step, was
close to a miracle. Yes the late Philip Klass even
tried to and disrupt that "by invitations only
meeting. A six-foot tall, retired Navy Intelligence
officer who also happened to be Dr. Greer's military
advisor, kept that old but nevertheless determined
debunker from barging in on our meeting. The
definitive history of CSETI of course will be left to
Steven Greer. I consider it a previlege to have
witnessed only a small part of it.

There was some vigorous discussion among Dr. Greers's
team at that meeting. I spoke up because I found one
or two witnesses to be highly questionable. Harsh
words were exchanged but I still voiced my concerns
and one pilot who was exposed as a con-man in UFO
press was dropped at the last minute. This only
occurred after Steven confronted him about the
allegations in a last minute phone conversation before
the witness departed for Washington.

For those critics of CSETI and the Disclosure Project
I urge you to consider the difficult balancing act
that confronted Dr. Greer. Remember the witnesses were
(and still are) susceptible to considerable
intimidation. On one hand in order to attract the
maximum number of witnesses, (this was especially
important during the early stages of DP) a very
supportive atmosphere had to be created in order for
them to have the courage to come forward at all. On
the other hand this broad invitation ran the risk that
some of the witnessed might be problematic like the
one described above.

Dr. Greer invested considerable time and energy in
assessing their testimony, nevertheless he was running
a non-governmental organization that had almost no
money. He and his family not only sacrificed hundreds
of thousands of dollars of un-earned income as the
result of his UFO work, but on top of that he was
pouring thousands of dollars of money that he earned
as a physician into the cause of ending the truth
embargo.

How can we compare this level of dedication and
sacrifice to some of CSETI's critics who make a humble
livelihood selling books and videos about UFOs and
require a steady diet of new" discoveries" and
"exposes" to increase their notoriety and support
their income.

I spent some time with Stephen Lovekin at the 1997
meeting. As an ER physician you learn a lot about
people. Body language, the way people behave can tell
you a lot. Sure it may not be as good as a $40,000
government security investigation, nevertheless when
investigating witnesses' claims these subtle clues can
be  revealing. Lovekin impressed me as genuine. Unlike
so many hucksters we find in this strange field, he
had a quiet modesty that told me he was telling the
truth as he knew it. There was something else I
recall. There was a touch of fear or perhaps a better
term would be uncertainty about him. It seemed like he
was struggling with the wisdom of his decision to
testify, but along side that reservation I sensed a
determination to come forward no matter what the
consequences. I believe then as I do know that Stephen
Lovekin  is the real McCoy.

The real tragedy here is that the repeated attempts at
debunking the Disclosure Project witnesses are coming
from within the UFO community itself. Rather than
assisting Dr. Greer and the Disclosure Project, they
waste their time serving as disruptors of a very
important effort. Such destructive activities will
discourage other witnesses from coming forward. The
UFO community, rather than being seen by the larger
public as united, will show its worse sides, as a
bizarre subculture where egoism and envy are important
motivators rather than honesty, modesty and
dedication. Potential donations from wealthy
contributors will surely not be encouraged by these
antics.

I know how careful Dr. Geer was in protecting his
sources in the early days of Starlight and the
Disclosure Project. He did most of the interviewing
work himself, not only to protect them from negative
aspects of "ufology", but also because he knew of the
potential risks to those like himself who were talking
to individuals who were capable of explosive
revelations. I personally had been involved in many
physical confrontations with the authorities during my
days as a student activist in the anti-war and civil
rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s. We worried in
those days about being kicked out of school, of being
arrested, or being sent to Vietnam, Back in 1997
listening to the revelations of some of the witnesses
Dr. Greer was attempting to bring forward, I was more
scared than I had ever been during my youth. I still
count myself proud of being a dues paying member of
CSETI. I wish I could have done more during these last
nine years to support the Disclosure Project and the
other visionary campaigns of Dr. Greers's organization

Ufology has the potential of being transformed from a
marginalized sub-culture into something much broader
and far more meaningful. The vision behind CSETI
projects like the CE-5 Initiative, the Disclosure
Project and SEAS can serve to guide us in building a
social movement that can overcome UFO secrecy,
establish a dialogue with the "Visitors" and possibly
even help to integrate advanced propulsion systems
into our planet's technological culture. For many such
a choice is out of the question. They would rather
promote their individual importance by tearing down
the good work of others rather than uniting with the
most progressive, energetic and thoughtful elements in
our community. I urge truth seekers to support the
vital work of Dr. Steven Greer and the Disclosure
Project Witnesses.

Sincerely
Joseph Burkes MD
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