The Korean War was underway. The Soviets had tested their first atomic bomb, and China had fallen to communism.
In the 1950s, this meant undermining the Soviets without direct confrontation.
One memo involving CIA director Walter B. Smith highlights the National Security Risk posed by flying saucers, not just as unknown aerial threats, but as tools that could be exploited by the Soviets to spread hysteria or disrupt air defense systems.
Kissinger claimed this was outdated now that the Soviets maintained their own substantial nuclear arsenal.
And the whole China thing, the back channels with the Soviets, Maumgren was Nixon's, like, you know, confirmation, you know, route.