Daniel Ellsberg, ‘Pentagon Papers’ Whistleblower, Dies at 92

American Daniel Ellsberg released secret Vietnam War planning documents in 1971 – the “Pentagon Papers”. – He died on Friday, June 16 at the age of 92, his family announced in a press release. “He died of pancreatic cancer, which was diagnosed on February 17. He was not suffering and was surrounded by his loving family.said his wife and children.

The whistleblower, who inspired an American television movie in 2003 and a Steven Spielberg movie in 2017, announced in March that he had terminal cancer and that he had only one. “Three to six months to live”.

“Hot chocolates, croissants, cakes, poppyseed and smoked salmon bagels brought extra joy in her last months.”His family said in the statement. “He had the opportunity to re-watch his favorite films, especially his favorite film, which he replayed many times, Butch Cassidy and the Kid,” they added.

A TV movie and inspiration for a movie

Daniel Ellsberg, a former analyst at the Pentagon-affiliated State Department and Rand Corporation agency, became famous in the early 1970s for leaking 7,000 classified documents, the “Pentagon Papers,” which revealed that several U.S. governments had lied to the public. The Vietnam War. These documents specifically revealed that, contrary to the claims of various US officials, the US could not win the Vietnam War and yet Washington played the card of military expansion.

The revelations changed Americans’ perception of decolonization and the Cold War from 1955 to 1975, a real shock to both countries in which 58,000 American soldiers were killed and an estimated 3.8 million civilians and soldiers were killed in Vietnam. page. In 1969, increasingly agitated by the situation in Vietnam, where he visited the scene of the conflict, Ellsberg procured a 7,000-page report.

DWorking at the Rand Corporation, he copied the report page by page with the help of two friends. The story culminates in the revelation of lies The New York Times Then the The Washington PostAs stated in a movie by Steven Spielberg, Pentagon Papers, Along with Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, she was nominated for an Oscar in 2018. Another film for American television, The Pentagon PapersFollows the journey of Ellsberg, played by actor James Spader, from the Rand Corporation to a dropped case for espionage.

Tea The New York Times The administration of Republican President Richard Nixon (1969–1974) began releasing these documents before obtaining an injunction from a federal court to prevent them from doing so on grounds of national security. The The Washington Post Despite the risks of political, economic and legal reprisals, responsibility was taken. Daniel Ellsberg won the Olof-Palme Human Rights Prize in 2018.