Summary
An opinion column by national-security columnist Jed Babbin in The Washington Times (May 27, 2026) reflecting on the PURSUE document and video releases by NASA and the Pentagon. Written in a light, science-fiction-buff register, the piece surveys familiar UAP touchstones — Area 51, a 1949 New Mexico “copper fireball,” and Apollo-era astronaut sightings — while repeatedly cautioning that none of it proves the existence of interstellar visitors and that most phenomena likely have prosaic explanations. Babbin is skeptical of the government-cover-up thesis, arguing the U.S. government keeps secrets poorly (citing Aldrich Ames, the Walker spy ring, Edward Snowden), and notes that rival space powers China and Russia have not made comparable disclosures. He references Trump’s PURSUE effort and an expected second tranche of files that “may not be more illuminating than the first.” The column offers commentary and cultural framing rather than new reporting.
Key Claims
- The piece is explicitly opinion/commentary, not reporting; it adds no new primary evidence. (Babbin)
- UFOs have allegedly been spotted around Area 51, where some UFO data was reportedly gathered “beginning in 1949, when a ‘fireball’ thought to be made of copper passed over an area of New Mexico.” (Babbin — note this conflates Area 51 with the central-New Mexico green-fireball / residual-copper-powder cluster, which is independently documented)
- Buzz Aldrin on Apollo 11 reported flashes of light and “a very large object” outside the capsule. (Babbin, recapping PURSUE/Apollo material)
- Apollo 12 astronauts described particles, illuminated debris, and flashing streaks “sailing off in space” and photographed unidentified phenomena above the lunar horizon. (Babbin)
- A December 1972 Apollo 17 photo through the capsule window shows “three ‘dots’ in a triangular formation.” (Babbin)
- Edgar Mitchell (Apollo 14 LMP) gave later-life interviews asserting Earth had been visited and the government covered it up; Alan Shepard never commented on UFOs. (Babbin)
- Most or all of these phenomena “can be explained without the presence of alien beings, by natural causes.” (Babbin)
- The government-cover-up theory is doubtful because the U.S. keeps secrets poorly (Ames, Walker, Snowden). (Babbin)
- China and Russia, also spacefaring, have made no comparable disclosures; their astronauts are unlikely to be less observant. (Babbin)
- Trump’s PURSUE effort is “supposedly hot on the UAP trail,” and a second tranche of files may not be more illuminating than the first. (Babbin)
Notable Quotes
“None of this proves anything about our supposed interstellar visitors. Most or all of these phenomena can be explained without the presence of alien beings, by natural causes.” — Jed Babbin
“But from Aldrich Ames to the Walker spy ring to Edward Snowden, we’ve seen that our government doesn’t keep secrets terribly well.” — Jed Babbin
“It seems unlikely that we are alone as sentient beings in the whole universe, but that may yet be the case.” — Jed Babbin