JUDY WOODRUFF: It is one of the most enduring questions of humanity: Are we alone in the
universe? Today, a highly anticipated report from the U.S. intelligence community zeros
in on unidentified aerial phenomenon, or UAPs, commonly known as UFOs. It comes from the
Office of the Director of National Intelligence. It concludes that these unidentified objects
clearly pose a risk to flight and a national security threat to the U.S. But the larger
question is, is this alien life, remains unanswered. John Yang has the story. JOHN YANG: Judy,
the nine-page report says there is not enough high-quality information to draw any conclusions
about the source or intent of these UAPs. Here to discuss what is in the report and
what the report does say, Representative Andre Carson, Democrat of Indiana, a member of the
House Intelligence Committee, which commissioned this report. Mr. Carson, you said in a statement
earlier today that this represents a much-needed shift on this issue. What do you mean by that?
REP. ANDRE CARSON (D-IN): Well, as you just mentioned, today's report still leaves many
of us with a lot of unanswered questions. It does not rule out all that many potential
scenarios that we have come up with. So ,when we're talking about UAPs, we could still be
dealing with a lot of varying scenarios or potentialities. But the report goes a very
long way in terms of prioritization. So it goes a long way in terms of bring credibility
to the issue. However, since coming to Congress, I have been fascinated by the issue, as have
been my colleagues. And I am pleased to see that our approach has been taken more seriously
now. So, it's a taboo topic, but I think there's much more work to do. JOHN YANG: And coming
from the Intelligence Committee, which asked for this report, clearly, there is a belief
that there could be a national security threat? REP. ANDRE CARSON: Well, I think that that
is always a consideration. The immediate concern is very twofold. One, this is a technology
that we don't completely understand, and it seems to be defying our understanding of physics.
It appears to be more advanced than our own technology, but that's never a good thing
from a strategic point of view. There is an expectation among Americans that we stay on
top of advancements in technology. And, secondly, whoever's operating or whoever's behind, these
aerial phenomena, seems to be keenly interested in our military capabilities. JOHN YANG: And
is that why the Intelligence Committee -- I mean, it was the Intelligence Committee that
asked for this report? REP. ANDRE CARSON: Certainly. But it is effectively a response
to the scores of inquiries that we get daily, not only from our offices, but that the committee
gets. And there's a tendency for the UAP sightings and developments to occur around military
assets, especially, it seems, around our naval assets. And that's enough to know that we
need more information and really a better understanding. We know enough now, but that's
not necessarily important. There are still many unknowns, but we're honing in on this
issue very rapidly. JOHN YANG: You talk about needing more information. The report spells
out or sets goals about sort of more research, more gathering of information about the UAPs.
What is the next step? REP. ANDRE CARSON: Compared to other national security issues
and issues critical to our defense, we still suffer from a very limited understanding of
these phenomena. A part of that is we have a very limited data set. There is only a number
of sightings, data and observable phenomena. Also, the quality of that information can
sometimes be subpar. And so I think the next part will be breaking down the stigma that
exists, especially amongst legislators, particularly amongst pilots outside of Congress. But I
think the next step is to do a deeper dive. I want to hold a public hearing as well. But
we're not going to get the information we really need initially until we have classified
briefings. And my hope is that it's not another nation who has a strategic and technological
advance, and it's not from the private sector. My hope is that we can contain this matter.
And, hopefully, it stays within the good old United States of America. JOHN YANG: And you
are going to get more briefings from the intelligence community? REP. ANDRE CARSON: Without question.
You know, as the chairman of that committee, my hope is to have a series of hearings, and
one of them being a public hearing, so we can at least provide the information to the
American public to the degree that will not compromise our national security, to give
them some kind of resolve, and I think quell their thirst for this wonderful phenomenon
that we have been talking about and movies have been made about for the past seven or
eight decades. JOHN YANG: Representative Andre Carson of Indiana, thank you very much. REP.
ANDRE CARSON: What an honor. Thank you.