The outcome of an independent inquiry by the General Accounting Office (GAO), the investigative arm of the US Congress, into the Roswell Incident almost half a century earlier. Published in July 1995, the report effectively closed the casebook on the matter - at least, at an official level. Its conclusion: the Air Force was now telling the truth (see Roswell Incident, USAF report). The crash had not involved a weather balloon as originally claimed but a covert military balloon intended to supply early warning of a nuclear attack. Bizarrely, some of the minor components of the balloon's payload had been supplied by a New York novelty company whose fancy labels were misinterpreted by eyewitnesses at the crash site as alien inscriptions. The GAO also concluded that a document known as "Majestic 12," which some UFO buffs claim is a secret government document outlining procedures to be followed when handling the putative Roswell craft and its occupants, is a forgery.
