Julian Assange, Militarism, Pentagon, Press Freedom, U.S., Vietnam

Rest in Peace Daniel Ellsberg

Save

One of America’s most courageous men, who took on the most powerful government in the world to expose its lies about the Vietnam war, has died at 92. 

Daniel Ellsberg on March 19, 2011, speaking at a rally near the White House to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and other potential fronts, such as Libya. (Photo courtesy of Ben Schuman/Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0)

 

By Consortium News

Daniel Ellsberg died at 92 on Friday in hospice care after a battle with pancreatic cancer. 

Ellsberg was considered the greatest whistleblower of certainly his generation if not in U.S. history.  His decision to leak the top-secret government study of the Vietnam war to the press was clearly one of the most courageous acts in the nation’s history. 

The decision by the Nixon administration’s Department of Justice to order the press to stop publishing the Pentagon Papers led to a landmark Supreme Court decision against the government’s use of prior restraint.

Then President Richard Nixon had Ellsberg charged under the Espionage Act nonetheless. Ellsberg gained his freedom only after gross prosecutorial misconduct was revealed. 

In his later years, Ellsberg continued to speak out against injustices and supported a new generation of whistleblowers such as Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning. 

He was also a fearless advocate for WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange as he battles against his own Espionage Act case. 

Dan was a friend of Consortium News, served on our board and appeared on many of our CN Live! webcasts. We extend our condolences to his family and his many friends.  

Post Views: 11,475

Memories of Dan Ellsberg


CN Editor Joe Lauria recalls several significant interactions with one of America’s most courageous men. Read here…

 

“The Doomsday Machine”: Confessions of Daniel Ellsberg, Former Nuclear War Planner
Democracy Now!
Excerpt: “Daniel Ellsberg was best known for leaking the Pentagon Papers, but he was also a lifelong anti-nuclear activist.”
READ MORE

 

Months Before Death, Daniel Ellsberg Warned Crisis over Ukraine & Taiwan Could Lead to Nuclear War

Over the past 50 years Daniel Ellsberg remained an antiwar and anti-nuclear activist who inspired a new generation of whistleblowers. In his last interview with Democracy Now! in April, he spoke about the war in Ukraine and why it required a diplomatic solution, and about the latest leak of Pentagon documents by Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira, who has been indicted on six counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information. We asked Ellsberg about what the leaks say about the war in Ukraine, and discussed his decision in 2021 to leak a classified government report that he had kept in his possession for decades, which revealed the U.S. had drawn up plans to attack China with nuclear weapons during the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis. Ellsberg warned the possibility of a nuclear first strike by the United States was an “insane” policy that would end most life on Earth. “The belief that we can do less bad by striking first than if we strike second is what confronts us in Ukraine with a real possibility of a nuclear war coming out of this conflict,” Ellsberg said.
 

Daniel Ellsberg’s Dying Wish: Free Julian Assange, Encourage Whistleblowers & Reveal the Truth

Whistleblower Dan Ellsberg joined us after the Justice Department charged WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with 17 counts of violating the Espionage Act for publishing U.S. military and diplomatic documents exposing U.S. war crimes. Assange is locked up in London and faces up to 175 years in prison if extradited and convicted in the United States. Ellsberg died Friday, and as we remember his life and legacy, we revisit his message for other government insiders who are considering becoming whistleblowers: “My message to them is: Don’t do what I did. Don’t wait ’til the bombs are actually falling or thousands more have died.”
 

_________________________________________________________________________