Letter from Senator Harry Reid to Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn III regarding AATIP

This document is a formal letter dated June 24, 2009, from U.S. Senator Harry Reid to Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn III. The correspondence concerns the Advanced Aerospace Threat and Identification Program (AATIP). Senator Reid notes that the U.S. Senate mandated the Defense Intelligence Agency to assess foreign advanced aerospace threats. He argues that the program has made significant progress in identifying highly sensitive, unconventional findings, and that the current rate of success necessitates extraordinary protection. Consequently, Reid requests the establishment of a Restricted Special-Access-Program (SAP) with a Bigoted Access List to secure the program's activities. The letter outlines the need for a specialized cadre of Department of Defense and private sector personnel to handle advanced sciences, sensors, and intelligence. Reid emphasizes that the methodology used to identify, acquire, study, and engineer these technologies must be protected to prevent interference from adversarial Foreign Intelligence Security Services (FISS) and to avoid undue attention from other entities. The document includes an attachment detailing the program's preliminary structure, including a list of government and contractor personnel, such as Senator Daniel Inouye, Special Agent Luis Elizondo, and Dr. Hal Puthoff. The letter concludes by stating that the results of AATIP will provide the U.S. with a distinct advantage over foreign threats and help maintain its preeminence as a world leader.