...THE 'HUGHES GLOMAR EXPLORER'...
The image here is of the actual ship that in 1974 successfully raised the wreck of the
Soviet submarine, K-129.
You might note that the ship bears the name of Howard Hughes and it was he that organised with the CIA to attempt to raise the sunken Soviet sub. The name of the operation was Project Azorian and its aim was to raise the 2000-ton wreck of the K 129 some 16,000 feet from the seabed. That is a fascinating story all by itself.
The Americans first used the term, 'We can neither confirm nor deny..' with Project Azorian as a diplomatic way of refusing to release sensitive information.
The Americans first used the term, 'We can neither confirm nor deny..' with Project Azorian as a diplomatic way of refusing to release sensitive information.
And that has been the case ever since but what does the phrase actually mean? Here is the answer:
'Glomar responses are meant to be reserved for those requests where either confirming or denying the existence of responsive records would cause cognizable harm to the agency'
'Glomar responses are meant to be reserved for those requests where either confirming or denying the existence of responsive records would cause cognizable harm to the agency'
And where does this explanation come from?
Follow the link to read the full details...
Last question how does this GLOMAR response apply in the case of the SOmerton Man?
Many moons ago we applied to the CIA under Freedom of Information about a certain candidate for being the Somerton Man, Pavel Fedosimov. We received the Glomar Response in reply.
'We can neither confirm nor deny..' with Project Azorian as a diplomatic way of refusing to release sensitive information.
Many moons ago we applied to the CIA under Freedom of Information about a certain candidate for being the Somerton Man, Pavel Fedosimov. We received the Glomar Response in reply.