50 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF PUBLICATION OF PENTAGON PAPERS
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On June 13, 1971, fifty years ago today, the New York Times began publication of the Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense's Vietnam Task Force, better known as the Pentagon Papers.
The report was a top secret study of the American government's involvement in Vietnam authorized by Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara in 1967.
The papers were kept in a safe at the Pentagon but were smuggled out in parts by anti-war DOD employee Daniel Ellsberg*. The report covered America's political and military role in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967.
The report exposed the fact that four presidential administrations (Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy & Johnson) had misled the public regarding their intentions in Vietnam.
The New York Times reported that the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson "systematically lied" about U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
The Pentagon Papers were declassified and released to the public in June 2011.
*Daniel Ellsberg was born in Chicago in 1931 & earned his A.B. & PhD. at Harvard University. DE was employed by RAND corporation.
