Daniel Ellsberg, the former military analyst who became a household name in the 1970s for leaking the Pentagon Papers, has passed away at the age of 92. Ellsberg was a renowned whistleblower who risked his career and freedom to expose the truth about the Vietnam War.
Ellsberg was born in Chicago in 1931 and grew up in Detroit. He attended Harvard University, where he earned a PhD in economics. After graduation, he worked as a strategic analyst for the RAND Corporation, a think tank that advised the US government on military strategy.
In 1964, Ellsberg was recruited by the Pentagon to work on a top-secret study of the Vietnam War. The study, which became known as the Pentagon Papers, revealed that the US government had been lying to the American people about the war for years. It showed that the government knew the war was unwinnable but continued to send troops and resources to Vietnam anyway.
Ellsberg was horrified by what he saw in the Pentagon Papers and decided to leak them to the press. In 1971, he gave a copy of the papers to The New York Times, which began publishing excerpts from them. The government tried to stop the publication, arguing that it would harm national security, but the Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of The Times.
Ellsberg was charged with espionage and theft for leaking the papers, but the charges were eventually dropped due to government misconduct. His actions helped to expose the lies and corruption of the US government and played a role in ending the Vietnam War.
After his whistleblowing, Ellsberg became an activist and continued to speak out against government secrecy and militarism. He was arrested numerous times for his activism and spent time in jail.
Ellsberg’s legacy as a whistleblower and activist has inspired generations of activists and journalists. His courage and commitment to truth-telling will be remembered for years to come.
