EN BG

Pentagon Papers (1971)

The government knew the Vietnam War was unwinnable — and kept sending people to die anyway.

The Pentagon Papers were a 7,000-page classified study commissioned by the Department of Defense, documenting the history of US involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967. The study revealed that multiple administrations — Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson — had systematically lied to Congress and the public about the war's progress, scope, and prospects. Officials privately acknowledged the war could not be won while publicly insisting victory was around the corner.

Daniel Ellsberg, a military analyst who had worked on the study, leaked it to the New York Times in 1971. The Nixon administration tried to block publication, but the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the press. The documents showed that the government had expanded the war secretly, manipulated intelligence assessments, and continued escalation despite internal evidence that it would fail.

The Pentagon Papers didn't just expose lies about Vietnam. They revealed a pattern: when the gap between what leaders know and what they tell the public becomes wide enough, the public becomes a tool to be managed rather than a citizen body to be informed. The war wasn't just fought abroad. It was also fought against the truth at home.

Transparency isn't a gift from institutions. Sometimes it has to be taken.

References