The Pentagon Papers

Vietnam War
Presidents involved with the war : -Dwight Eisenhower (sent advisers 195561) John F. Kennedy (increased involvement of CIA and US ambassadors) Lyndon Johnson (after Tonkin Gulf incident, sent US combat troops 1964) Richard Nixon (negotiated treaty 1973, withdrew troops, allowing collapse of the South) Gerald Ford (with funds cut off, declared the US war ended April 23, 1975)

The RAND Corporation

Was a think-tank
Organizations that research: social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and culture

Focused on military research Located in Santa Monica, California founded in 1948 Asked by the U.S. government to study its involvement in Korea

Daniel Ellsberg
Born April 7th 1931 Studied at Harvard and the University of Cambridge Joined the Marine Corps in 1954
platoon leader and company commander in the Marine 2nd Infantry Division Discharged in 1957

Became a strategic analyst for RAND in 1954 (focused on nuclear strategy) Worked in pentagon in 1964 under Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara Served t2 years in Vietnam,, worked for General Edward Lansdale as a civilian in State Department

The papers
The RAND corporation had been asked to work on a top secret study of classified documents regarding the Vietnam war that had been commissioned under McNamara
This report is commonly known as The Pentagon Papers Officially known as the United States Vietnam Relations, 19451967: A Study Prepared by the Department of Defense

U.S. Department of Defense history of the U.S.s political and military involvement in Vietnam from 1945-1967

Leaking the Papers

Ellsberg had changed after attending a rally against the Vietnam war
Specifically August 1969: attended a conference at Haverford College where draft resistor named Randy Kehler

Ellsberg and Anthony Russo (RAND employee) photocopied the 47 volumes (3,000 pages and 4,000 pages of amended documents) Ellsberg approached New York times reporter Neil Sheehan
New York Times started publishing on June 13, 1971

June 29- U.S. Senator Mike Gravel entered 4,100 pages of the Papers to the records of his Subcommittee on Public Buildings and Grounds He leaked the papers in an attempt to end a wrongful war
Leaked to 13 newspapers

The papers included Lies presidents used to engender public acceptance of war The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution Truman administration gave military aid to France in colonial war against communist Vietminh, directly involving us in Vietnam LBJ administration intensified covert warfare, and began planning overt war in 1964 U.S. expanded bombings of Cambodia and Laos, along with coastal raids on North Vietnam and Marine Corps attack that were not reported by Media in U.S. JFK had planed to overthrow South Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem before the 1963 Coup Reasons for American persistence under LBJ 70% - To avoid a humiliating U.S. defeat. 20% - To keep [South Vietnam] (and the adjacent) territory from Chinese hands. 10% - To permit the people [of South Vietnam] to enjoy a better, freer way of life. ALSO - To emerge from the crisis without unacceptable taint from methods used. NOT - To 'help a friend

Legal Case
Nixon administration argued that both Ellsberg and Russo had committed felony under the Espionage Act of 1917
they had no authority to publish classified documents Ellsberg faced 115 years in prison

Nixon pushed for an injunction against the New York times to stop publication Federal District Judge William Mathew Byrne Jr. declared a mistrial and dismissed all charges on May 11, 1973 The full documents were not released until 2011