There is a small easter egg in the newly declassified UFO files.
https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/059uap00012.pdf
The Bush administration used USAID to fund the Union of Ufologists (UOU) of Turkmenabat.
A declassified 2004 U.S. diplomatic cable from the American Embassy in Ashgabat reveals that the Union of Ufologists of Turkmenabat had successfully registered as an NGO, helped register 187 small businesses, distributed humanitarian aid to refugees, and assisted other groups with legal registration — all while operating under the eccentric banner of studying UFOs.
The cable, written by then-Deputy Chief of Mission Jennifer Leigh Brush, notes that despite the group’s origins, its 1,000+ members (including lawyers, scientists, and teachers) had become a reliable and creative partner for USAID projects and civil society initiatives.” It praised the Ufologists for finding “clever ways around government restrictions.”
Brush noted that most members of the UOU had little or no interest in UFOs, suggesting the entire organization served as a front.
The cable opens with “Yes, UFOs” and concludes that the group was “Crazy? Like a fox; and worthy of USG attention and support.”
USAID has a long history of using U.S. taxpayer dollars to fund NGOs in Turkmenistan. Officials claim these NGOs primarily focus on capacity building, social innovation, economic development, and legal services. Critics argue that USAID is routinely used by the U.S. State Department to interfere in foreign countries and even support regime-change efforts. USAID funding has also gone to far-left media outlets in Europe and to organizations such as George Soros’s Open Society Foundations.
Later, while serving as Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova from 2012 to 2014, Jennifer Leigh Brush was accused by Transnistrian authorities of stirring up animosity. They described her reports as biased and inflammatory and said she failed to act as a neutral mediator.
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