58 pages • 1-hour read
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs
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Chapters 16-20Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 16 Summary: “The ‘Aha’ Moment”
Puthoff arrived at the Pentagon with an exciting new theory. One “breakthrough technology,” he suggested, could explain all the observables. With the right technology, Puthoff suggested, UAP could “warp space and time in a localized area, creating a localized ‘bubble’ around a craft” (152). Warping space and time would require a massive amount of energy but would explain the time distortion and the anti-gravity achieved by UAP. The necessary shape for such a vehicle would explain the orbs and cylindrical shapes of the UAP, as well as the distortion of light and the biological effects caused by UAP events. Elizondo provides a detailed scientific explanation of how the single technology of gravitational distortion could explain all five observables. To supply this massive amount of energy, Puthoff theorized, the hydrogen from water could be extracted in such a way that the Earth—with roughly 70% of its surface covered in water—would function as “simply a gas station” for UAP (164).
To explain the association between UAP and nuclear sites, Elizondo notes the uptick in UAP activity following the development of the atomic bomb. Any advanced species—one that could manufacture UAP—would have a vested interest in keeping watch over any species that might one day develop similar technology. The development of atomic power, Elizondo suggests, is evidence that humanity has “a history of being a very violent species” (167). As such, an alien race may be concerned about technologically capable humans. In this situation, Elizondo believes that humanity has two options: either learn to communicate with whoever is developing the UAP or prepare for war. He believes that the public has a right to know about such an important discovery.
Chapter 17 Summary: “What Now?”
Elizondo felt “hyper-alive, overwhelmed, and terrified” by the prospect that humanity could be facing an existential threat (170). Suddenly, events from the past were seen in a new light, and he resented the government for covering up UAP evidence. Reasoning over the various possibilities, he tried to determine whether these visitors are benevolent, malevolent, or neutral. Whatever the answer, he was certain that people had a right to know the truth.
Elizondo was increasingly convinced that he had to share what he knew with the world. Since what he knew was highly classified, however, he worried about hurting his career and his family. At home, he dwelled on the issue further. Since he could not even tell his wife about what he knows, he felt isolated and alone. He wished to share “this potentially life-changing burden” but could not (174). He went over the evidence in his mind, trying to assure himself that there could be no other explanation for what he knows. Ultimately, he was sure that humanity needed its most capable thinkers working on the problem. Given the government’s efforts to shield the truth, however, this was not possible.
As he obsessed over what to do, Elizondo decided that he must get approval for his plan to study the UAP activity around the USS Roosevelt and that he must take what he knows directly to the Secretary of Defense. By this time, a new Secretary of Defense had been appointed. Elizondo liked and respected the new appointee, James “Mad Dog” Mattis. They had worked together in the past, and Elizondo was convinced that Mattis would appreciate any attempt to furnish him with more information about any potential threat. He saw Mattis as a “no-nonsense, battle-hardened commander, but also unafraid to reveal his humanity” (179). The issue, however, was trying to arrange a meeting with such an important person. Elizondo could not break the chain of command under any circumstances. Despite his best efforts, he could not “batter down the bureaucracy” (180). Everyone on the team reached out to any connection they had. This included a meeting with Jim Semivan, a senior member of the CIA who had connections to many celebrities who were interested in UAP, including Tom DeLonge, the singer and guitarist from Blink-182. Elizondo carefully brought Semivan onto the AATIP team.
Chapter 18 Summary: “The 800-Pound Gorilla”
Elizondo was interrupted during a meeting because Chris Mellon wished to speak to him. Mellon was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, meaning that he was “one step removed from the secretary of defense” (183), and he had an interest in helping the AATIP team. Unsure whether he could trust Mellon, Elizondo offered to share information with him if he could obtain a string of high-security clearances. Elizondo knew that these could take months or even years to obtain. Thanks to his VIP status, Mellon returned a week later. Elizondo was emailing his lawyer about a legal petition regarding his role at Guantanamo Bay when Mellon returned. Elizondo admits that he was “beyond impressed” (185). He shared the team’s most convincing UAP evidence with Mellon, who was immediately frustrated by their difficulties and wished to help.
Chapter 19 Summary: “…And the Horse You Rode In On”
Elizondo learned that the plan to observe UAP near the USS Roosevelt had been rejected. Those involved did not want to “be associated with the historical stigma around UFOs” (186). Elizondo was outraged, referencing the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, as evidence for the importance of sharing information between agencies. The AATIP team worked on a new plan, in which they would declassify certain videos following the correct administrative process. This would then allow them to share the most convincing evidence (such as the GoFast video) internally with many more people. They hoped that this would add legitimacy to their endeavors. Elizondo was surprised when the Department of Defense Office of Prepublication and Security Review returned to him with the suggestion that he should make the videos public. Soon, they were marked for unlimited distribution.
Chapter 20 Summary: “The Three Heads of Cerberus”
The team at AATIP felt frustrated that they had amassed so much convincing evidence, yet they were unable to get it in front of the most important people. Through Mellon, they receive an introductory meeting with staff in Mattis’s office. Rather than speak to Mattis, however, they had to go through a series of uneventful and uninspiring preliminary meetings with less important staff. Ultimately, nothing got to Mattis. Since Mattis was new to his position, his staff did not want him to become associated with UAP and the surrounding stigma. The AATIP launched a new campaign to gain institutional support by bringing onboard already highly placed people, but the person they selected for this approach got cold feet.
Elizondo felt frustrated and worried. He believed that he had evidence that UAP exist and pose a serious threat to national security, but no one would listen to him. He had two choices: make peace and remain silent or resign and go to the press. Seeing himself as the “senior guy” in the operation, he knew that he was the only person who could successfully resign and go to the media. This was a personal challenge, however, as he did not approve of the actions of past whistleblowers such as Ed Snowden or Chelsea Manning. He was also afraid of potential retribution and the effect on his family. He sat down and discussed the matter, revealing as much as he could to Jennifer and his daughters. They accepted that they would struggle financially, but the family agreed to support Elizondo, sharing his belief that “the American people [deserve] to know the truth” (197). Knowing that his chances of success were low, Elizondo made plans to resign and bring as much attention to the UAP issue as possible. Via Mellon, he began making arrangements with journalists to share information.
Chapters 16-20 Analysis
Imminent is Elizondo’s platform to rage against Bureaucracy as an Impediment to Truth. As the operation to monitor the USS Nimitz was shelved, there were few reasons left for him to hide his contempt. At this point, he was not so much deliberating over what must be done as he was daring the Pentagon to give him a reason not to go public. Each barrier placed in his way represented the latest minor erosion of his patience until the entire dam broke. The irony of this demand for truth and honesty is that the UAP issue was running parallel to a separate legal case involving the detainment camp at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. Throughout the book, Elizondo makes occasional reference to the counterintelligence work he did at Guantanamo Bay and ever more sporadic references to the legal issues that resulted from this work. He was sued by the detainees, for example, for his involvement in the torture that allegedly took place at the camp under his watch. The Pentagon shrouded Guantanamo Bay in secrecy, as it did the UAP investigations. The irony is that Elizondo raged about secrecy in one instance while benefiting from it in another.
Once Elizondo decided to go public, the entire operation was planned with military precision and described in a sequence that uses narrative techniques commonly found in thriller fiction. This is reflected in the internal recruitment program that took place as Elizondo and his team weighed who they could trust. Chris Mellon is an example of someone who was able to prove himself to Elizondo and demonstrate his trustworthiness. Though Elizondo had heard of Mellon and was impressed by his credentials, he was not sure whether someone so high-profile could be brought into the operation. He set a challenge in which Mellon had to obtain a number of security clearances to show his trustworthiness. The task would take a long time, Elizondo believed, allowing him to reflect on what to do with Mellon. His intention was to use the slow, awkward government bureaucracy to his advantage, using institutional and administrative sluggishness to measure the worth of a potential ally. Mellon, however, returned quickly with the right clearances, surprising and impressing Elizondo. Mellon proved himself worthy of the team by conquering the government bureaucracy in record time. Meanwhile, Elizondo uses this episode to build suspense for a final confrontation with his antagonists and to burnish his credibility: Mellon’s high rank and institutional competence lent authority to Elizondo by proxy.
For most of Imminent, Elizondo has been increasingly concerned that the Pentagon and the government were not taking the threat of UAP seriously. He insists that the world needs to know about this due to his frequently repeated belief that secrets that are kept too long tend to go bad. While he may not explicitly say as much to the audience, there is a growing sense in the previous chapters that the public needs to know about UAP and that he had to be the person to tell them. In this section of the book, that sentiment is spoken aloud for the first time. Elizondo decided to become a whistleblower because he was utterly certain that this was the right thing to do. At this point, Imminent takes on a new form. Rather than a guide through the history of UAP research, the book becomes an explanation for why an unassuming government worker would break the law to reveal government secrets. The book serves to justify Elizondo’s actions rather than simply educate his audience. His explanations reflect The Quest for Redemption both on a personal and a national level. He seeks personal redemption for the damage to his reputation caused by his role at Guantanamo Bay, and he suggests that the country needs to redeem its failure to anticipate the 9/11 attacks by not repeating the same mistakes with regard to UAP.
At this point, Elizondo is aware of his own apparent hypocrisy. He criticizes other government whistleblowers, including Ed Snowden and Chelsea Manning, for exposing classified information. The former exposed the existence of the massive surveillance state operated by Western nations, while the latter exposed US war crimes in Iraq. According to Elizondo, these whistleblowers were wrong to go to the press with their government secrets. His actions, however, are justified by the profound dangers he has carefully laid out in his book. This irony points to the inherently subjective nature of such ethical judgments. Just like Elizondo, Snowden and Manning believed that their secrets needed to be exposed for reasons of public safety. Elizondo does not afford them the same sympathy or the same assumption of good intentions that he allows himself.
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