Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked Pentagon Papers on Vietnam war, dead at 92
- The military analyst released thousands of documents showing the US government had lied to its citizens, thus changing public perceptions of the conflict
- Ellsberg continued to speak out against war for the rest of his life, repeatedly criticising US interventions overseas, particularly in Afghanistan and Iraq
Daniel Ellsberg, the whistle-blower who leaked the “Pentagon Papers” about the Vietnam war – changing public perceptions of the conflict – died on Friday, his family announced. He was 92.
Ellsberg was a military analyst when he released thousands of documents to US media in 1971 that revealed successive United States administrations had lied to the public about the Vietnam war.
The 7,000 classified pages determined that, contrary to the public assertions of US government officials, the conflict was unwinnable.
The leak was recounted in the 2017 Hollywood thriller The Post, which detailed the nail-biting behind-the-scenes story of the papers’ publication.
Ellsberg announced in March that doctors had told him on February 17 that he had terminal pancreatic cancer and only around six months to live.