This looks like a good spot for this rather long winded article. I hope some of you will appreciate it as much as I did. Tell me what you think. Is air space above area51 really unrestricted these days? If you know, let us know thx.

Here is the link; Link to article

After decades of denying the facility's existence, five former insiders speak out
Area 51. It's the most famous military institution in the world that doesn't officially exist. If it did, it would be found about 100 miles outside Las Vegas in Nevada's high desert, tucked between an Air Force base and an abandoned nuclear testing ground. Then again, maybe not— the U.S. government refuses to say. You can't drive anywhere close to it, and until recently, the airspace overhead was restricted—all the way to outer space. Any mention of Area 51 gets redacted from official documents, even those that have been declassified for decades.

It has become the holy grail for conspiracy theorists, with UFOlogists positing that the Pentagon reverse engineers flying saucers and keeps extraterrestrial beings stored in freezers. Urban legend has it that Area 51 is connected by underground tunnels and trains to other secret facilities around the country. In 2001, Katie Couric told Today Show audiences that 7 percent of Americans doubt the moon landing happened—that it was staged in the Nevada desert. Millions of X-Files fans believe the truth may be "out there," but more likely it's concealed inside Area 51's Strangelove-esque hangars—buildings that, though confirmed by Google Earth, the government refuses to acknowledge.

Edit;grammar


[edit on 8-4-2009 by aboxoftrix]

its no longer being completly denied, they acknowledge that there is a base out there, and that the bases sole use is to test soon-to-be aircraft such as the f-117 nighthawk, SR-71 Blackbird, B-2 Stealth Bomber, F-22, F-35 Joint Strike fighter etc.. Although, they don't officially acknowledge that its specifically for aircraft, that would make sense as the runway is GIGANTIC. (my estimate is the primary runway is about 4 miles long) perfect for helping those jankity prototype-aircraft get in the air.

The main runway is a little over 13,000 feet long, about 2,000 feet shorter than the runway at Edwards AFB where the space shuttle lands. The old runway dating to the OXCART era was about the same length but had an emergency-use extension onto the lakebed. This entire airstrip has been closed for years, ever since the new runway was declared fully operational.

Cool article. Unfortunately, it doesn't tell much of anything we don't already know minus a few top secret aircraft tests and a CIA 'truth serum' story. One interesting thing that it does confirm that reverse engineering did in fact take place on foreign technology and it did confirm underground tunnels. However, the compartmentalized nature of working at A51 makes it near impossible to prove that anything does or doesn't exist there.





[edit on 8-4-2009 by NightVision]

www.youtube.com...

the above link shows a secret film crew attempting to reach the entrance gate at Area 51 and "bumping" into 2 old ladies also looking for the entrance and despite warnings driving straight through the gate and being followed by a "spook car" (my interpretation of possible unofficial officials).... very wierd and clearly quite scary. i think you will enjoy it- so back to point of thread, i am curious as to the distance from the said gate in the video to the actual runway/infastructure of the base? i mean how big is this unofficial base? and how far does the perimeter extend ? anybody know? Area 51 has fascinated me for over a decade but only recently am i finding more and more about it with such videos as this and ATS theories/whistleblower stories. i truly think we are of a generation where we will get our much desired disclosure on alien existence. I'll just be cra&&ing my pants if it comes before 12/21/2012 (thought id best write that date in american format so not to confuse you all) ;op jk

reply to post by NightVision

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Its a start though dont you agree? especially if the CIA are now starting to declassify projects like OXCART after 50 years, then perhaps we can expect a whole lot more declassification of little bits and pieces over the coming few years hey!? who knows, maybe declassifying such projects like this is drip feeding us the truth building up to the big revelation we seek?

reply to post by NightVision

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There was never any controversy over underground tunnels at the Nevada Test Site. The NTS is full of tunnels used for nuclear testing. [SLAC is 25ft under the ground. CERN is 300+ feet under the ground.YMP is a tunnel. Tunneling is not rocket science.] It is the persistent rumors of large (read expansive) underground facilities with which I have a problem. Also the secret tunnel from Vegas to Groom Lake for that mystery train.

Nobody ever explains what they did with the dirt that was displaced for these supposed underground bases, nor do they bother to pay for a gravity study to prove their existence. Dulce is a prime example of this crap.

Of course, the OXCART project, and even test programs involving Soviet aircraft, have been declassified for many years.

The OXCART and TAGBOARD programs were declassified in 1976 when the surviving D-21B drones were placed in outdoor storage at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona. The A-12 aircraft were to join the drones but instead remained in a building at A.F. Plant 42 in Palmdale until 1981. In preparation for placing the aircraft outdoors, the CIA in 1976 crafted a memo for Air Force officials to use in response to queries about the aircraft. In 1981, after the A-12 airframes were moved outdoors at Palmdale, a number of historical photos of the A-12 and D-21 were released along with some general details about the OXCART and TAGBOARD programs. "The OXCART Story," a 1982 article in the CIA's "Studies in Intelligence" magazine was declassified in 1991 when A-12 aircraft started entering museums for public display.  Over the next 16 yeards the CIA declassified thousands of pages of OXCART-related documents, mostly in response to FOIA requests. In 2007, an A-12 was placed on permanent display at CIA Headquarters in a ceremony that recognized the accomplishments of the pilots who performed operational reconnaissance missions in the aircraft.

The HAVE DOUGHNUT and HAVE DRILL/HAVE FERRY foreign materiel evaluation programs were declassified in the late 1990s. CONSTANT PEG was declassified just a few years ago along with other related projects.

The recent L.A. Times article is based on oral history interviews which are highly subjective. T.D. Barnes was right to say that foreign technology was "reverse engineered" - Soviet radar systems were simulated for test purposes - but he was exercising dramatic license in order to explain some of the popular myths about Area 51. The tunnels he discussed were located at the Nevada Test Site, not at Area 51, and are a well known part of the underground nuclear testing program.

Ken Collins' story about being debriefed under the influence of sodium pentothal ("truth serum") is not completely accurate. He was, in fact, administered sodium amytal, a drug used to recover memories from people who have been through a traumatic event (in this case his ejection from the stricken A-12). It is also unlikely that he told the civilians who picked him up that his airplane had nuclear weapons aboard. This would have drawn unwanted attention to the incident (the exact opposite of what he wanted!) and there are no documents (including his own reports and the CIA debriefing transcript) that support such a tale.

To be honest, that LA Times article is not quite as useful as toilet paper. The CIA and George Washington University websites have those declassified documents you mentioned, which I read maybe a decade ago.

Blackbirds

The photo in the article is from the CIA website. It looks like route 58 in Tehachapi.

reply to post by aboxoftrix

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The article is so interesting!!

I can not believe you have had only one flag and star, so S and F for you!

This article is about area 51 from insiders, why the ATS crowd is not going nuts over this?, I do not understand. They confirmed the underground tunnels and all. Good article and thanks for bringing it here!

Everything in the article is old news.

TD Barnes has his own website.
TD Barnes

As I said before, there is nothing secret about tunnels on the NTS. These tunnels have nothing to do with the fantasy tunnels of many ATS posters.

If you want to read some actual disclosure, get a copy of the book "Red Eagles". This LA Times article was just fluff.

also more info here:
www.stevequayle.com...

why hide the dirt when you can melt it and use it to reinforce the tunnel? This info is old hat.

But Steve Quayle is nuts and the drawings are of a conceptual design.

Somewhere on the YMP website is a video of one of these boring machines popping out the side of the mountain.

hi all im a long time lurker on these boards been lurking for about a year or so and i have never seen this video untill today of area 51 please check it out and tell me what you think... www.youtube.com...

[edit on 3-6-2009 by Kurotachi]