Recapping from my previous Whistleblower articles, it’s important to know what a whistleblower is. On the most basic level, a whistleblower is a person that exposes fraud, abuse, corruption, or dangers to public health and safety. This can be exposed to a superior, a government official, the public, or essentially anyone who has the power to change the wrongdoing. Under US law, whistleblowers do have some protections. However, these protections exist at all different levels and have various definitions and procedures. Because of this, many whistleblowers don’t actually get the level of protection they often anticipate, and can often be retaliated against for blowing the whistle.

Last month, one of the most famous whistleblowers in American history sadly passed away, leaving a blazing legacy. Daniel Ellsberg, known for his leak of the infamous Pentagon papers, was a prominent anti-war activist throughout the entirety of his remarkable life. Having risen through military ranks, studying at Harvard, consulting on the Cuban Missile Crisis and the events in the Gulf of Tonkin, and serving as an advisor to then-Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, Ellsberg was in a secure place within the government and a trusted adviser. He was a natural choice for the job when McNamara wanted a history of the Vietnam War compiled. But as Ellsberg searched deeper within the government’s secrets and himself, it became clear to him: the war wasn’t just unwinnable, it was wrong.

What Happened?

Ellsberg first gave the documents to Congress, hoping for change, especially considering the documents proved that the White House had exceeded its authority at the expense of Congress several times. However, the lawmakers refused to act. So in 1971, Ellsberg allowed the New York Times to publish over 7000 pages of government documents that brought light to the dark truths about American actions in the Vietnam war. Later, the documents were published in additional news sources. The documents, which came to be known as the Pentagon Papers, extensively detailed the horrors in Vietnam. Subsequent presidents had widened the war despite increasingly slim chances of success, the government had worked to intentionally mislead the people, the true number of civilian deaths had been covered up, prisoners in Vietnam had been horrifically tortured, and American soldiers had burned the villages of the Vietnamese. As these uncomfortable truths surfaced, the public was outraged at the war and at the government.

Following the leak, the White House took several illegal countermeasures, lashed out at perceived political enemies, and created the infamous Watergate scandal that deeply shook American trust in the government and led to former President Richard Nixon’s resignation from office.

Ellsberg, along with his colleague Anthony Russo, gave themselves up to law enforcement. Ellsberg was charged with espionage and conspiracy, but his case was later dismissed by the judge because of government misconduct – illegal wiretapping, an ordered break-in at Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office, and astonishingly, President Nixon’s offer to appoint the judge head of the FBI in return for a favorable ruling. But Ellsberg’s case was dismissed, and he continued to live his life as an anti-war advocate.

The Supreme Court announced its decision on the Pentagon Papers suit

Societal and Security Implications

Ellsberg, though credited as a major factor in ending the war, initially believed he’d failed because he didn’t completely stop American involvement in Vietnam. However, as the war lost public support and with the truth about American involvement exposed, the Pentagon Papers were imperative in ending the Vietnam war. As such, it helped created a unique aspect of the United States’ legacy as both a Cold War and imperial power.

A young Vietnamese prisoner awaiting interrogation during the war. Ellsberg helped expose inhumane treatment, war crimes committed by American soldiers, and government lies.

Furthermore, the Watergate scandal, coupled with the information in the Pentagon Papers, fundamentally changed the nature of American citizens’ relationship with the government. People questioned the meaning of patriotism, the role of the people in supporting or critiquing government policy, and challenged the legitimacy of government secrecy. Trust had been broken, and public-government relations have never been quite the same in the decades since.

As with any whistleblower, one of the most important facets to analyze its implications for national security. While the Nixon administration considered the publication of the Papers to be damning, it had more to do with Nixon’s own popularity than it ever did with US national security. Ellsberg testified that he knew ‘not a page could injure the national defense of the United States’. Considering the war was already perceived to be unwinnable, even by the military and by several presidential administrations, this was likely true. There’s no question that the Pentagon Papers were damaging. But they damaged US reputation far more than US national security. If anything, US national security was strong for having no longer been implicated in Vietnam.

Legacy

Ellsberg is a remarkable figure in American history, and is considered the ‘father of modern whistleblowing’. Having both inspired and adamantly supported subsequent whistleblowers such as Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning, Ellsberg’s courage has set a rare example of promoting government honesty and citizens’ rights. Ellsberg went on to write several books exposing American horror stories, nuclear plans, and details of his own personal experience inside the American political war machine. In 2018, he won the Olof Palme Prize for ‘profound humanism and exceptional moral courage’.

From a more applicable modern perspective, Ellsberg remained firmly involved in anti-war and government activism. He spoke out against the Afghan and Iraq wars, drawing alarming parallels between those wars and Vietnam, calling them ‘deluded’ and ‘misguided’. Ellsberg published books and spoke the truth about American bombings in foreign nations, particularly the Middle East, which have killed and continue to kill thousands of innocent civilians. In 2021, Ellsberg released a previously classified study he copied in the 1970s detailing US plans for a nuclear strike on China, as a warning as tensions between the two nations continue to mount. And when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, he fiercely defended Ukraine’s independence, warned against escalation, and called the targeting of Russia and China ‘insanity’. He often acted as a voice of warning and reason in an increasingly unsteady era of global conflict.

Bibliography

Daniel Ellsberg and the pentagon papers  :  crime, corruption, and cover-ups  :  explore  :  drawing justice: The art of courtroom illustration  :  exhibitions at the Library of Congress  :  library of Congress (no date) The Library of Congress. Available at: https://www.loc.gov/exhibitions/drawing-justice-courtroom-illustrations/about-this-exhibition/crime-corruption-and-cover-ups/daniel-ellsberg-and-the-pentagon-papers/ (Accessed: 01 August 2023). 

Daniel Ellsberg leaked The pentagon papers to try to stop the Vietnam War (2023) The Economist. Available at: https://www.economist.com/obituary/2023/06/21/daniel-ellsberg-leaked-the-pentagon-papers-to-try-to-stop-the-vietnam-war (Accessed: 01 August 2023). 

McFadden, R. (2023) Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked The pentagon papers, is dead at 92, The New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/16/us/daniel-ellsberg-dead.html (Accessed: 19 July 2023).