"I felt that as an American citizen, as a responsible citizen, I could no longer cooperate in concealing this information from the American public. I did this clearly at my own jeopardy and I am prepared to answer to all the consequences of this decision" - Daniel Ellsberg
The Pentagon Papers
The release of the Pentagon Papers to the NY Times had a major impact on the public view of the war. The Pentagon papers contained U.S. military account of activities during the Vietnam war. Daniel Ellsberg, a former U.S. Marine released the papers to the New York Times. The release of the papers eroded public support for the war and eventually led to the resignation of President Nixon. The Pentagon papers contained plans to invade Vietnam even though President Johnson told the people that he had no intentions in staging an invasion. It revealed the conduct of the war and showed the public that the U.S. government knew that the Vietnam War would not likely be won and that the number of casualties were many times higher than reported to the public. The Pentagon Papers were regarded as the turning point of the Vietnam War for public support. Before the release of the Pentagon Papers, the public had figured out that the government was hiding things and the Pentagon Papers just confirmed the belief and offered irrefutable proof that the government was lying to its people. [23]
http://academics.wellesley.edu/Polisci/wj/Vietnam/pentagonpapers.htm (picture)
http://www.gwu.edu/%7Ensarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB48/ (info)
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/us/2011_PENTAGON_PAPERS.html?ref=pentagonpapers&_r=0 (info)
http://www.gwu.edu/%7Ensarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB48/ (info)
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/us/2011_PENTAGON_PAPERS.html?ref=pentagonpapers&_r=0 (info)
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/02/daniel-ellsberg-limitations-knowledge (right)
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB359/ (Pic)
http://thecenterforthestudyofthepresidencyandcongress.wordpress.com/2010/08/03/65/ (pic)
http://revolutionaryfrontlines.wordpress.com/2010/06/17/wikileak-case-echoes-pentagon-papers/ (pic)
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB359/ (Pic)
http://thecenterforthestudyofthepresidencyandcongress.wordpress.com/2010/08/03/65/ (pic)
http://revolutionaryfrontlines.wordpress.com/2010/06/17/wikileak-case-echoes-pentagon-papers/ (pic)
Very few people ever read the collection of documents known as the “Pentagon Papers.” While versions of them were released by both the NY Times and the government, they are dry, obtuse, bureaucratic pieces of intellectual quicksand. Almost impossible to wade through. What the public read in the NY Times version was the commentary on the documents by biased, left-wing reporters who had an antiwar agenda and who “interpreted” the documents with a strong anti-American slant. These NY Times articles were full of biases regarding the Vietnam War and showed strong anti-war support. These papers contributed to the decline of public support for the war. [25]