Is there any evidence CIA was responsible for the hoaxes?
There is significant evidence that US Air Force was responsible for the hoaxes. And, of course, Area 51 is an Air Force Base.
The relationship between the two seems acrimonious on this issue. Also "the CIA" sounds more sinister than the US Air Force so it makes the story better.
>There is significant evidence that US Air Force was responsible for the hoaxes. And, of course, Area 51 is an Air Force Base.
Yes, Area 51 is an AF base but CIA has paid for most of the planes that were tested there in 50s, 60s and 70s. U-2 was paid for, in a large part, by a CIA budget [0]. Same goes for Lockheed A-12, a predecessor of SR-71, which too was paid for by the CIA [1]. Then there's Have Blue, a predecessor of F-117 which, too, was paid for by the CIA. CIA also paid for a slew of other planes and prototypes which ended up either destroyed or as other AF planes. So while it was an AF facility, CIA had a large say in what goes on there.
CIA also has a large staff of psychologists and other sociology experts who can pull off various deceptions and spread propaganda to a large part of the population. UFO mythology was probably created by them. AF don't have many experts in this area.
The CIA didn't exist until several months after the 1947 Roswell crash of a US Air Force "weather balloon".
The CIA doesn't have complete access to Area 51. They fund projects and advise, but there are projects and Special Access Programs that are outside of their mandate and authority.
It is probable that in the 50s, 60s and 70s the CIA advised the Air Force on disinformation or other tactics, but I do not believe UFO mythology was created by them. I am almost certain but, of course, I do not know everything and I have no evidence to support my assertion.
A large part of the UFO-government mythology did originate from a psyop against Paul Bennewitz perpetrated by the Air Force-
There is significant evidence that US Air Force was responsible for the hoaxes. And, of course, Area 51 is an Air Force Base.
The relationship between the two seems acrimonious on this issue. Also "the CIA" sounds more sinister than the US Air Force so it makes the story better.