The Pentagon Papers is the colloquial term for United States-Vietnam Relations, 1945-1967: A Study Prepared by the Department of Defense, a 47 volume, 7,000-page, top-secret United States Department of Defense history of the United States' political and military involvement in the Vietnam War from 1945 to 1971, with a focus on the internal planning and policy decisions within the U.S. Government. The study was commissioned in 1967 by Robert McNamara, then Secretary of Defense. McNamara appointed Leslie H. Gelb, who was also director of policy planning at the Pentagon, as director of the project. Gelb hired 36 military officers, civilian policy experts, and historians to write the monographs that constituted the content of the project. The Papers included 4,000 pages of actual documents from the 1945-1967 period, and 3,000 pages of analysis. Look up top secret in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The United States Department of Defense, abbreviated as DoD or DOD and sometimes called the Defense Department, is a civilian Cabinet organization of the United States government. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... 1945 (MCMVL) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... Robert Strange McNamara (born June 9, 1916) is an American business executive and a former United States Secretary of Defense. ... The United States Secretary of Defense is the head of the United States Department of Defense, concerned with the armed services and The Secretary is a member of the Presidents Cabinet. ... Leslie Howard Gelb (born March 4, 1937) is a former correspondent for The New York Times and is currently President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations. ...

Most, but not all of the Pentagon Papers were given ("leaked") to The New York Times in early 1971 by a former State Department official Daniel Ellsberg, with his friend Anthony Russo assisting in copying them. The Times began publishing excerpts as a series of articles on June 13. ^[1]. Controversy and lawsuits followed. On June 29, U.S. Senator Mike Gravel of Alaska entered 4,100 pages of the Papers into the record of his subcommittee on Buildings and Grounds. These portions of the Papers were subsequently published by Beacon Press. ^[2] The full papers have never been published; they are locked in the classified vault of the LBJ Presidential Library. The New York Times is a newspaper published in New York City by Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... Daniel Ellsberg ©1990 Jock McDonald Daniel Ellsberg (born April 7, 1931) is a former American military analyst employed by the RAND Corporation who precipitated a national uproar in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers, the US militarys account of activities during the Vietnam War, to The New York... Left: Photo of Anthony Russo early in his career. ... June 13 is the 164th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (165th in leap years), with 201 days remaining. ... June 29 is the 180th day of the year (181st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 185 days remaining. ... Seal of the U.S. Senate The United States Senate is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress, the other being the House of Representatives. ... Maurice Robert Gravel (born May 13, 1930) better known as Mike Gravel, was a Democratic U.S. Senator from Alaska for two terms, from 1969 to 1981. ... Official language(s) English Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Area  Ranked 1st  - Total 663,267 sq mi (1,717,855 km²)  - Width 808 miles (1,300 km)  - Length 1,479 miles (2,380 km)  - % water 13. ... Beacon Press, founded in 1854 and a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association, operates as a book publisher in the United States of America. ... Lyndon B. Johnson library in Austin, Texas. ...

The Papers revealed, among other things, that the government had deliberately expanded its role in the war by conducting air strikes over Laos, raids along the coast of North Vietnam, and offensive actions taken by U.S. Marines well before the American public was told about the actions, and while President Lyndon Johnson had been promising not to expand the war. The document increased the credibility gap for the U.S. government, and was seen as hurting the efforts by the Nixon administration to fight the war. Lyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908–January 22, 1973), often referred to as LBJ, was an American politician. ... Alternate meaning: The Credibility Gap, comedy team Credibility gap is a political slogan, originally used in the New York Herald Tribune in March of 1965, to describe then-president Lyndon Johnsons handling of the escalation of American involvement in the Vietnam War. ...

According to Anthony Lewis's contribution in the coursepack from James Goodale's (former inhouse counsel to the Times) law school course on Old Media, New Media the NY Times received advice from inhouse counsel not to publish. Goodale counseled otherwise. Anthony Lewis (born March 27, 1927, New York City) is a prominent liberal intellectual, writing for the New York Times op-ed page and the New York Review of Books, among other publications. ... James Goodale is the former General Counsel and Vice Chairman of The New York Times. ...

One of the "credibility gaps" that the Times wrote of was that a consensus to bomb North Vietnam had developed in the Johnson administration on September 7, 1964, before the U.S. presidential elections. ^[3] However, according to the same Papers, none of the actions recommended by the consensus on September 7 involved bombing North Vietnam. [1] On June 14, 1971 the Times declared that the Johnson administration began the last rounds of planning for a bombing campaign on November The Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN), or less commonly, Vietnamese Democratic Republic (Vietnamese: Việt Nam Dân Chủ Cộng Hòa), also known as North Vietnam, was proclaimed by Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi, September 2nd1945 and was recognized by the Peoples Republic of China and the... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ...

Another controversial issue was the implication by the Times that Johnson had made up his mind to send U.S. combat troops to Vietnam by July 17, and this became the basis for an allegation that he only pretended to consult his advisors from July 21-27. This was due to the presence of a cable which stated that "Vance informs McNamara that President has approved 34 Battalion Plan and will try to push through reserve call-up." [2] When the cable was declassified in 1988, it was revealed that it read "there was a continuing uncertainty as to his [Johnson's] final decision, which would have to await Secretary McNamara's recommendation and the views of Congressional leaders particularly the views of Senator Russel." ^[4] 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

When the Times began publishing its series, President Nixon became incensed. His words to National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger that day included "people have gotta be put to the torch for this sort of thing..." and "let's get the son-of-a-bitch in jail." ^[5] After failing to get the Times to voluntarily stop publishing, Attorney General John Mitchell and President Nixon requested and obtained a federal court injunction that the Times cease the publication of excerpts. The Times appealed the injunction that was issued, and the case began (quickly) working its way through the court system. Order: 37th President Vice President: Spiro Agnew (1969–1973), Gerald R. Ford (1973–1974) Term of office: January 20, 1969 – August 9, 1974 Preceded by: Lyndon B. Johnson Succeeded by: Gerald R. Ford Date of birth: January 9, 1913 Place of birth: Yorba Linda, California Date of death: April 22... Henry Alfred Kissinger (born Heinz Alfred Kissinger on May 27, 1923) is a German-born American diplomat, Nobel laureate and statesman. ... Mitchell (far left) meeting with Nixon, J. Edgar Hoover, and John Ehrlichman on May 26, 1971. ...

On June 18th, the Washington Post began publishing its own series of articles. Ben Bagdikian, a Post editor, had obtained portions of the Papers from Ellsberg. That day the Post received a call from the Assistant Attorney General, William Rehnquist, asking them to stop publishing the documents. When the Post refused, the Justice Department sought another injunction. The U.S. District court judge refused, and the government appealed. ... Ben H. Bagdikian Ben Haig Bagdikian (born 1920, Maraş, Ottoman Empire; now in Turkey) is an American educator and journalist of Armenian descent. ... Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice are headed by an Assistant Attorney General. ... William Hubbs Rehnquist (October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005) was an American lawyer, jurist, and a political figure, who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the Chief Justice of the United States. ... The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is a Cabinet department in the United States government designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans. ...

On June 26 the Supreme Court of the United States agreed to take both cases, merging them into the case New York Times Co. v. U.S. ( 403 US 713^[6]). On June 30th, the Supreme Court held in a 6-3 decision that the injunctions were unconstitutional prior restraints and that the government had not met the heavy burden of proof required for prior restraint. The justices wrote nine separate opinions, disagreeing on significant substantive issues. While it was generally seen as a victory for those who claim the First Amendment enshrines an absolute right to free speech, many felt it was a lukewarm victory at best, offering little protection for future publishers when claims of national security are at stake. June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 188 days remaining. ... The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and is the only part of the judicial branch of the United States federal government explicitly specified in the United States Constitution. ... New York Times Co. ... Prior restraint is a legal term referring to a governments actions that prevent materials from being published. ... In the common law, burden of proof is the obligation to prove allegations which are presented in a legal action. ... The first ten Amendments to the U.S. Constitution make up the Bill of Rights. ...

Thomas Tedford and Dale Herbeck summed up the reaction of editors and publishers at the time:

"As the press rooms of the Times and the Post began to hum to the lifting of the censorship order, the journalists of America pondered with grave concern the fact that for fifteen days the 'free press' of the nation had been prevented from publishing an important document and for their troubles had been given an inconclusive and uninspiring 'burden-of-proof' decision by a sharply divided Supreme Court. There was relief, but no great rejoicing, in the editorial offices of America's publishers and broadcasters." (Tedford and Herbeck, pp. 225–6 ^[7])

Bibliography

• _____ (1971). The Pentagon Papers. New York: Bantam Books. As published in The New York Times. ISBN 0-552-64917-1.
• _____ (1971–1972). The Pentagon Papers: The Defense Department History of United States Decisionmaking on Vietnam. Boston: Beacon Press. 5 vols. "Senator Gravel Edition"; includes documents not included in government version. ISBN 0-8070-0526-6 & ISBN 0-8070-0522-3.
• Daniel Ellsberg (2002). Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers. New York: Viking. ISBN 0-670-03030-9
• George C. Herring, ed. (1993). The Pentagon Papers: Abridged Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-028380-X.
• George C. Herring, ed. (1983). Secret Diplomacy of the Vietnam War: The Negotiating Volumes of the Pentagon Papers. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-77573-3.
• David Rudenstine. (1998). The day the presses stopped: A history of the pentagon papers case. University of california press. ISBN 0-520-21382-3.
• Thomas Tedford and Dale Herbeck (2001). Freedom of Speech in the United States, fourth edition'. State College, Pennsylvania: Strata Publishing, Inc. ISBN 1-891136-04-6.
• U.S. Congress, House Committee on Armed Services (1971). United States-Vietnam Relations, 1945-1967: A Study Prepared by The Department of Defense. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. 12 vols.

1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Daniel Ellsberg ©1990 Jock McDonald Daniel Ellsberg (born April 7, 1931) is a former American military analyst employed by the RAND Corporation who precipitated a national uproar in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers, the US militarys account of activities during the Vietnam War, to The New York... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... This article is about the year 2001. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ...

External links

• Official website for "Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers" by Daniel Ellsberg
• Pentagon Papers
• Nixon Tapes & Supreme Court Oral Arguments
• Podcast of a live panel discussion moderated by Jill Abramson, New York Times managing editor and former Washington bureau chief, marking the 35th anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling.

• Article at Ed Moise's Vietnam Bibliography

Daniel Ellsberg ©1990 Jock McDonald Daniel Ellsberg (born April 7, 1931) is a former American military analyst employed by the RAND Corporation who precipitated a national uproar in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers, the US militarys account of activities during the Vietnam War, to The New York...

Notes

1. ^ INTRODUCTION TO THE COURT OPINION ON THE NEW YORK TIMES CO. V. UNITED STATES CASE. Retrieved on December 5, 2005.
2. ^ The Pentagon Papers, Senator Mike Gravel, Beacon Press. Retrieved on December 5, 2005.
3. ^ Edward Jay Epstein, Between Fact and Fiction (New York: Vintage, 1975) p. 82
4. ^ John Burke and Fred Greenstein, How Presidents Test Reality: Decisions on Vietnam, 1954 and 1965 (1989) p. 215 n. 30
5. ^ The Pentagon Papers Case. Retrieved on December 5, 2005.
6. ^ New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713 (1971). Retrieved on December 5, 2005.
7. ^ Tedford & Herbeck, Freedom of Speech in the United States, 5 ed.. Retrieved on December 5, 2005.