Minutes of Meeting of the Intelligence Advisory Committee, 4 December 1952

This document contains the minutes of the Intelligence Advisory Committee (IAC) meeting held on December 4, 1952, at the Central Intelligence Agency. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Robert Amory, Jr., Acting Deputy Director (Intelligence). Among the items discussed was the subject of Unidentified Flying Objects. The committee reached two primary actions regarding this topic: first, the Director of Central Intelligence was tasked with enlisting selected scientists to review and appraise available evidence in the context of pertinent scientific theories. Second, the Director was tasked with drafting and circulating a proposed National Security Council Intelligence Directive (NSCID) to signify IAC concern and authorize coordination with relevant non-IAC departments and agencies. During the discussion, Mr. Amory noted that the committee had received a request to discuss the subject informally. Dr. H. Marshall Chadwell provided a brief review of the evidence and peripheral considerations, noting that the majority of available evidence was currently being processed by the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC). Major General John A. Samford, representing the United States Air Force, offered his full cooperation. The committee recognized that the issue was best approached by directly relating it to specific problems of intelligence and defense. It was deemed desirable that the scientific review be undertaken immediately, with the potential for a future NSCID to be dependent on the findings of those scientific studies.