April 1, 2003

‘Pentagon Papers’ figure talks on
democracy during war

Daniel Ellsberg, who in 1971 gave the so-called “Pentagon Papers” to the New York Times and 18 other newspapers, will talk at California State University, Sacramento at 7 p.m., Friday, April 4 in the University Union Ballroom.

His talk is titled “Democracy and Dissent in Time of War” and is part of an ongoing series of campus forums and lectures related to the war with Iraq. It will be moderated by CSUS graduate student Kevin Hockmuth.

Ellsberg has been a lecturer, writer and activist on the dangers of the nuclear era and unlawful interventions since the end of the Vietnam War. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps and in 1964 went to work for the U.S. Defense Department in Vietnam. Later, as a researcher with the RAND Corporation, he helped with the top secret study of three decades of decision-making in Vietnam that later became known as the Pentagon Papers.

Ellsberg photocopied the 7,000 page report in 1969 and gave it to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Two years later he gave copies to the media, and the New York Times began publishing a series of articles about it.

The government charged Ellsberg with espionage, theft and conspiracy, but the charges were dismissed on grounds of governmental misconduct. The government also lost a Supreme Court case on its attempt to bar the media from publishing parts of the Pentagon Papers.

The talk is free and open to the public. Free parking the evening of the talk will be available in the lots near the University Union.

Ellsberg’s website is at www.ellsberg.net. Campus information related to the war in Iraq is available at www.csus.edu/news. Media assistance is available by contacting CSUS public affairs at (916) 278-6156.

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