It could well be propaganda aimed at securing funding for pie in the sky military spending. But consider what would be the logical course of action if you're a

It could well be propaganda aimed at securing funding for pie in the sky military spending. But consider what would be the logical course of action if you're a government who comes across evidence of extraterrestrials, especially in decades past. First, you have to weigh whether telling the general public will cause panic. I don't know that if the US govt told people aliens were visiting in the 1960's, people would've taken it well. Then think about how your adversaries might respond. It stands to reason that if any country were able to gain control of alien technology either by making contact, observation or recovering crashed spacecraft, it could dramatically alter the balance of power for the next century or more. Imagine alien technology that allowed a Nation to build aircraft/spacecraft that could out accelerate and out maneuver any ballistic missile. All of a sudden mutually assured destruction falls apart and nuclear weapons are rendered obsolete by anyone without alien tech. So if you're a Nation state that knows about aliens, you'd probably want to keep it under wraps and one way you'd do that is discredit any public reports while quietly trying to figure out everything you could.