Theodore Roethke
American poet (1907-1963)
Daniel Ellsberg was an American political activist and military analyst who famously leaked the Pentagon Papers, exposing the U.S. government’s deception about the Vietnam War. Despite facing charges under the Espionage Act, Ellsberg was ultimately acquitted due to governmental misconduct. He is widely recognized for his moral courage and contributions to decision theory and nuclear policy.
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About the Daniel Ellsberg
Daniel Ellsbergwas an American political activist, economist, and United States military analyst. While employed by the RAND Corporation, he precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret Pentagon study of U.S. government decision-making in relation to the Vietnam War, to The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other newspapers.
In January 1973, Ellsberg was charged under the Espionage Act of 1917 along with other charges of theft and conspiracy, carrying a maximum sentence of 115 years. Because of governmental misconduct and illegal evidence-gathering (committed by the same people who would later be involved in the Watergate scandal), and his defense by Leonard Boudin and Harvard Law School professor Charles Nesson, Judge William Matthew Byrne Jr. dismissed all charges against Ellsberg in May 1973.
Ellsberg was awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 2006. He was also known for having formulated an important example in decision theory, the Ellsberg paradox; for his extensive studies on nuclear weapons and nuclear policy; and for voicing support for WikiLeaks, Chelsea Manning, and Edward Snowden. Ellsberg was awarded the 2018 Olof Palme Prize for his “profound humanism and exceptional moral courage”.
Frequently Asked Questions
Daniel Ellsberg was an American political activist, economist, and United States military analyst who worked for the RAND Corporation. He is best known for leaking the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret study of U.S. government decision-making during the Vietnam War, to the media in 1971.
In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers, a classified study of the U.S. government’s decision-making process during the Vietnam War, to The New York Times and other newspapers. The documents revealed the government’s deception about the war’s progress and its true motivations, sparking a national controversy.
After leaking the Pentagon Papers, Daniel Ellsberg was charged under the Espionage Act of 1917, as well as with theft and conspiracy, with a maximum sentence of 115 years. However, the charges were ultimately dismissed due to governmental misconduct and illegal evidence-gathering.
Daniel Ellsberg was awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 2006 and the Olof Palme Prize in 2018 for his ,profound humanism and exceptional moral courage., He was also known for his work in decision theory and his advocacy for whistleblowers such as Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden.
Daniel Ellsberg’s release of the Pentagon Papers exposed the U.S. government’s deception about the progress and motivations of the Vietnam War. This sparked a national controversy and damaged the credibility of the Nixon administration, ultimately contributing to the Watergate scandal and Nixon’s resignation.
13 Quotes by Daniel Ellsberg
- 1.
Obama is making a choice now that will lead to the deaths of many thousands of civilians in Afghanistan by American hands. By ordinary standards of presidents, he is a decent man. But those standards aren’t good enough. He’s in a position either to kill or not to kill, and he’s made the decision to kill.
Daniel EllsbergAmerican whistleblower (1931-2023)
- 2.
We were young, we were foolish, we were arrogant, but we were right.
Daniel EllsbergAmerican whistleblower (1931-2023)
- 3.
If there’s another 9/11 or a major war in the Middle-East involving a U.S. attack on Iran, I have no doubt that there will be, the day after or within days an equivalent of a Reichstag fire decree that will involve massive detentions in this country.
Daniel EllsbergAmerican whistleblower (1931-2023)
- 4.
There should be at least one leak like the Pentagon Papers every year.
Daniel EllsbergAmerican whistleblower (1931-2023)
- 5.
Only we, the public, can force our representatives to reverse their abdication of the war powers that the Constitution gives exclusively to the Congress.
Daniel EllsbergAmerican whistleblower (1931-2023)
- 6.
If monarchy is corrupting – and it is – wait till you see what overt empire does to us.
Daniel EllsbergAmerican whistleblower (1931-2023)
- 7.
The fact is that when it comes to judgment as to what should be secret and what should not be secret, Julian Assange’s judgment has been pretty good so far.
Daniel EllsbergAmerican whistleblower (1931-2023)
- 8.
There are two types of courage involved with what I did. When it comes to picking up a rifle, millions of people are capable of doing that, as we see in Iraq or Vietnam. But when it comes to risking their careers, or risking being invited to lunch by the establishment, it turns out that’s remarkably rare.
Daniel EllsbergAmerican whistleblower (1931-2023)
- 9.
Nixon did have a secret plan, and I knew that it involved making threats of nuclear war to North Vietnam.
Daniel EllsbergAmerican whistleblower (1931-2023)
- 10.
I agree that there are things that should be kept secret.
Daniel EllsbergAmerican whistleblower (1931-2023)
- 11.
President Johnson put destroyers in harm’s way in the Tonkin Gulf not only once, but several times, with the, with a lot of his people hoping that it would lead to a confrontation and claiming that it had. And could have resulted in the lost of many lives in the course of it.
Daniel EllsbergAmerican whistleblower (1931-2023)
- 12.
It was a good 15 or 20 years before anyone at Rand would be in the same room with me. They didn’t want the question raised, ‘What’s your relationship with Daniel Ellsberg?’ And not one of them wrote me a letter because they didn’t want a letter of theirs to show up in my trash – which the FBI had been going through.
Daniel EllsbergAmerican whistleblower (1931-2023)
- 13.
Look, all administrations, all governments lie, all officials lie and nothing they say is to be believed. That’s a pretty good rule.
Daniel EllsbergAmerican whistleblower (1931-2023)