Document extends secrecy on Area 51 in southern Nevada

[DuctapeFatwa]

Invoking national security, President Bush has renewed an exemption allowing the Air Force to keep mum about its top-secret operations at Groom Lake, also known as Area 51, in southern Nevada.

Bush signed a memorandum declaring it of "paramount interest'' to exempt the base from disclosing classified information.

President Clinton first issued the exemption in 1995 in response to two lawsuits filed by injured workers in Nevada seeking information about the military's environmental practices at the site. It has been renewed yearly.

The government has acknowledged the existence of the Groom Lake installation but has not disclosed what it does at the facility.

http://www.krnv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1448315&nav=8faOI4KJ

[truthisfreedom]

1. blah blah blah secrecy blah blah blah blah

whatever.

[HawkerHurricane]

2. Area 51/Groom Lake

nowadays, are the 'decoys'. What's the point of having a top secret testing facility that everyone knows about? So, they up the security there again, everyone starts looking there harder, and the real facility (wherever it is) goes unmolested along it's merry way.

[Robb]

3. Aha! You fell for our little trap!

:)

That's what they WANT you to think! Then when people look elsewhere, they can continue fiddling with alien saucers and bigfoot/Hitler clones!

/sarcasm off

Given the nature of what few airborne surveillance assets still get funding (i.e. E-737s, Rivet Joint, and other nondescript airframes), I would think a big airspace like that would still be useful. In the age of electronic warfare, nothing you're testing would seem particularly interesting to someone with a pair of binoculars and a lawn chair.

[Don_G]

5. Cheny's Secret Lair?

He does disappear quite a bit.

[MrPrax]

10. National Security are US

What's the point of having a top secret testing facility that everyone knows about?
so you can screw people on lawsuits...
Hell medical records at Reed are Area 51!!
Maybe half of Gitano is full of innocent people--but national security is a great way of avoiding scrutiny in a democracy.

The people can't be trusted...they might so the right thing

[damnraddem]

4. Poor Agent Mulder:

we still won't know the truth about those aliens. ;-)

As to the truth about what the U.S. military has up its sleeves, we never had any expectation of being told about that.

[Whoa_Nelly]

6. I hope Area 51

isn't being given exemption due to development of more nukes.

[jburton]

7. Too many Bigfoot sightings n/t

[PATRICK]

8. National Heritage protection

for Junior's birthplace.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

9. LOL! I knew there had to be some reason....

[RevolutionStartsNow]

11. Time out for a funny Area 51 story

When my daughter was in second grade, she had an assignment to write a story involving a little bear named "Corduroy". They could write about anything, as long as the little bear was the main character.

Some of the stories were "Corduroy Goes to the Zoo", "Corduroy Has a Birthday Party" and "Corduroy Gets a New Bike."

My daughter wrote a story called "Corduroy Goes to Area 51."