Memior of Pentagon Papers
goatchurch | 18.10.2002 12:17
Back in 1969 it took an immense effort to leak the crucial
and damning Pentagon Papers documenting the lies and deceit
underpinning the Vietnam War. These days all it takes is
an email. Where are they now?
Ellsberg began his career entrenched in the politics of the Cold war era-a U.S. Marine company commander, a Pentagon official, an analyst at the Rand corporation, and a staunch supporter of America's battle against Communist expansion. None of this hinted at the role he would play in ending the war in Vietnam.
In October of 1969 Ellsberg began smuggling out of his office and xeroxing the 7,000 page top-secret study of U.S. decision making in Vietnam, known as the Pentagon Papers. He did so with the intent of revealing these secrets to congress and the American public and in so doing, he set in motion actions that would eventually topple the Nixon presidency and end the Vietnam war. This week he released "Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers", his first account of how and why he revealed these papers and how his actions helped alter the course of U.S. history.
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goatchurch