Richelson to release the information under the Freedom of Information Act. The Freedom of Information Act requires the government to release records from any federal agency along as those files do not affect personal privacy, national security, and law enforcement. The files contained information of the origins of Area 51 and what transpired there including the military testing of aircraft such as, the U-2m, S5-71 Blackbird, and Mach-3. Testing of prototype aircraft and weapons were what happened within Area 51, and the experiments were kept secret to avoid information being revealed to the Soviets. Thus, the information dispels theories that UFOs were flying or interacting with people in Area 51, and the unidentified flying objects were just military …show more content…
But to the reluctance of the government to address the claims of extraterrestrial activity, the conspiracy theories grew popular through the 1950s to the present. A poll showed that 57% of U.S. citizens believe that UFOs are real, therefore, beliefs in UFOs will not quickly dissipate. But recent evidence and personal accounts provide logical arguments with support to show that the claims of extraterrestrial interactions with the U.S. government in Area 51 is not true. Rather the lights and unidentified flying objects reported by people near Groom Lake were prototype aircraft that were being designed to aid the U.S. in the Cold War against the Soviet Union. The reports of UFOs only happened after the testing of experimental aircraft throughout the 1950s and 1960s, thus the correlation between the testing of the prototype planes and reports of UFOs verify that it was the aircraft tested by the U.S., not aliens flying over Area 51. The testimony by Robert Lazar is contested by retired service members who worked in Area 51 and Lazar’s questionable credibility. While there is no proof to support the conspiracy theories surrounding Area 51, people still believe and argue that the government has fabricated stories and that aliens do exist. But with no tangible