Area 51 Declassified: Still No Word on Aliens or UFOs

Finally, after decades of denials, the government has officially acknowledged the existence of a top-secret facility at Area 51 in the Nevada desert. The official CIA line is that it was used for aerial testing of aircraft, including the U-2.

It's not the first time the government has pulled back the veil of secrecy somewhat on the 8,000-square-mile installation, as former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush both referred to the "location near Groom Lake," while justifying continued secrecy, when they were in office. Other government references date back to the 1960s.

But, we ask, if Area 51's mission was so mundane, why the need for so much secrecy and why for so long?

The very fact that the government has been obfuscating over what it now says was simply a place to test aircraft would seem to invite some healthy skepticism. Who's to say the complete truth is known now? After all, the documents just released still contain redactions.

In other words, we cannot yet eliminate the possibility that aliens and UFOs may be among us.

Declassified documents aside, some UFO buffs and others believe the most earth-shattering revelations will more likely come from Area 51 workers.

"The government probably will not release what it knows," UFO researcher Robert Hastings said. "My opinion is that whoever is flying these craft will break the story and will reveal themselves at some point in the future. The CIA is not going to release anything they don't want to talk about."

Then there are the Hollywood versions to consider, such as "Independence Day," that fine 1996 blockbuster starring Will Smith as a dashing jet fighter pilot who captures an alien. The movie depicted Area 51 as the last stand against the alien attack, which had already destroyed New York, L.A. and D.C. A super-secret facility at the site housed three dormant alien bodies recovered from Roswell, N.M., in 1947.

So yes, Area 51 may still be where the government has been conducting alien autopsies and dissembling UFOs. After all, "Independence Day 2" -- due out in 2015 -- may well reveal it.

Stay tuned.