Tony Dokoupil
But let’s switch gears to another matter, you could say is of compelling public interest. And that is, and I say it with a bit of a smile, UFOs. The Pentagon, which you used to run is set to put a report out on UFOs next month, how serious is this within the military world? Are they real? What are your thoughts on the subject overall?

Robert Gates
Well, years ago, when I was secretary, I had a, had a senator come to me and in deepest secrecy, and he wanted me to give him a briefing on aliens. And I said, well, CIA doesn’t handle immigrants. And he said, “no, no, I mean aliens.” Then I said, “Oh, you mean, aliens?” And he said, yes. And I said, and I courageously answered, well, that’s the Air Force’s problem. You know, in all in all seriousness, in all my years as Director of Central Intelligence and Secretary of Defense, no one ever brought me any evidence or any information relating to UFOs, which is not to say they’re not out there. And it’ll be interesting to see what these releases have to say.

Anthony Mason
You haven’t had any sightings yourself, sir.

Robert Gates
No sightings up here.

Anthony Mason
Secretary Gates, thank you very much for joining us this morning. We appreciate it. The paperback edition of “Exercise of Power” is on sale now.