Contributors’ Chapters

John Podesta

“Presenting the facts, the book includes statements from only the most credible sources – those in a position to know – about a fascinating phenomenon, the nature of which is yet to be determined. Kean and her impressive team of contributors make no untoward claims, but provide a rational analysis of the most pertinent information, much of it presented here firsthand in riveting detail, stating that further investigations are needed. . . The American people – and people around the world – want to know, and they can handle the truth.”
— John Podesta, from his foreword to UFOs
Excerpted from UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record by Leslie Kean. Copyright © 2010 by Leslie Kean.

Photo Courtesy Syfy

Airline Captain Júlio Guerra

In the chapter he wrote for UFOs, Airline Captain Júlio Guerra relives his lengthy encounter with a highly active UFO while serving as a flight instructor for the Portugese Air Force in 1982. The object circled his small airplane, and that of two other Air Force pilots, for twenty minutes, while they communicated with ground control. Guerra describes some harrowing moments when he was extremely close to the UFO, and provides his original drawing of the elliptical object.

Photo Courtesy Júlio Guerra

Wilfried de Brouwer, Air Force Major General (Ret.)

Wilfried de Brouwer, Air Force Major General (Ret.), was tasked to handle the spectacular Belgian UFO wave of 1989/90 by his country’s defense minister. The general provides many witness accounts and drawings, analysis of a close-up color photo, and describes what happened when he sent F-16s in pursuit of something unidentifed on three occasions. On the first night of the wave, over a dozen stunned policemen witnessed the objects. “Hundreds of people saw a majestic triangular object with a span of approximately a hundred and twenty feet and powerful beaming spotlights, moving very slowly without making any significant noise but, in several cases, accelerating to very high speeds,” De Brouwer reported. For the first time, General De Brouwer reveals his personal thoughts about this still-unsolved case.

Photo Courtesy Wilfried De Brouwer

General Parviz Jafari of the Iranian Air Force (Ret.)

General Parviz Jafari of the Iranian Air Force (Ret.) was a major and squadron commander when he was ordered by the Air Force Command to approach, in his Phantom F-4 jet, a large, multi-colored UFO observed over Tehran. In his own words, Jafari details the wild cat and mouse chase during which he attempted to launch a Sidewinder missile at a series of objects, and describes the ability of the UFOs to disable his firing mechanism at the last moment. He also reports on his de-briefing by a US Government officer, who wrote a three-page, secret memo about the incident for the US Defense Intelligence Agency which has since been declassified.

Photo Courtesy Parviz Jafari

Former Arizona Governor Fife Symington III

Former Arizona Governor Fife Symington III witnessed a “massive delta-shaped craft of unknown origin” silently navigating over Arizona in 1997, along with hundreds of citizens, while in his second term as governor. Although he attempted to investigate at the time, he also publicly spoofed the sighting so as not to add to the public hysteria, while keeping his own observation secret. In exclusive interviews with Leslie Kean and in his own written piece for UFOs, Symington reveals the truth about what he saw; how it affected him while governor; why he kept it secret for ten years but then decided to speak out; and what our government should do to address the UFO problem. “I would not want to see another governor go through what I did in 1997, and it’s only a matter of time before it will happen again,” he states.

Photo Copyright © Randall Nickerson

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