Daniel Ellsberg (center, in cowboy hat) at a 1980 protest blocking the railroad tracks carrying plutonium triggers from the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant northwest of Denver to the Pantex bomb assembly plant in Amarillio, Texas
A one-time hawk whose 1971 release of the Pentagon Papers confirmed what many critics had been saying about the Vietnam War for years and inspired generations of whistleblowers and activists since then, Daniel Ellsberg has announced that he has pancreatic cancer and a short time to live. He has said he is not in physical pain and will not undergo chemotherapy, but he cautions that he’s not dead yet. "As I just told my son Robert: He's long known (as my editor) that I work better under a deadline. It turns out that I live better under a deadline." He is 91.
As a 1996 New York Times article on the 25th anniversary of the release of the Pentagon Papers noted, the Lyndon Johnson administration had "systematically lied, not only to the public but also to Congress" about the war. After the Times in 1971 published the first excerpts from the papers in an article by reporter Neil Sheehan, the Nixon administration worked diligently to keep the Times and The Washington Post from publishing more of the documents, a fight that eventually wound up in the Supreme Court, which ruled 6-3 that prior restraint in the matter was out of bounds.
Ellsberg was brought up on charges and might have spent a lot longer in prison than he did for passing the documents along to media after failing in his attempts to interest Sens. William Fulbright and George McGovern in them. He was charged with conspiracy, espionage, and theft of government property. These charges were dropped after it was learned that the Richard Nixon administration had engaged in illegal searches and other unlawful efforts to discredit Ellsberg.
On Wednesday, Ellsberg released a letter about his situation at the progressive website Common Dreams under the headline, Living on a Deadline in the Nuclear Age. Some Personal News:
Dear friends and supporters,
I have difficult news to impart. On February 17, without much warning, I was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer on the basis of a CT scan and an MRI. (As is usual with pancreatic cancer--which has no early symptoms--it was found while looking for something else, relatively minor). I'm sorry to report to you that my doctors have given me three to six months to live. Of course, they emphasize that everyone's case is individual; it might be more, or less.
I have chosen not to do chemotherapy (which offers no promise) and I have assurance of great hospice care when needed. Please know: right now, I am not in any physical pain, and in fact, after my hip replacement surgery in late 2021, I feel better physically than I have in years! Moreover, my cardiologist has given me license to abandon my salt-free diet of the last six years. This has improved my quality of life dramatically: the pleasure of eating my former favorite foods! And my energy level is high. Since my diagnosis, I've done several interviews and webinars on Ukraine, nuclear weapons, and first amendment issues, and I have two more scheduled this week. [...]
When I copied the Pentagon Papers in 1969, I had every reason to think I would be spending the rest of my life behind bars. It was a fate I would gladly have accepted if it meant hastening the end of the Vietnam War, unlikely as that seemed (and was). Yet in the end, that action—in ways I could not have foreseen, due to [then-President Richard] Nixon's illegal responses—did have an impact on shortening the war. In addition, thanks to Nixon's crimes, I was spared the imprisonment I expected, and I was able to spend the last 50 years with Patricia and my family, and with you, my friends.
Ellsberg has remained a disarmament activist ever since the release of the Pentagon Papers. Brett Atkins at Common Dreams writes:
John Kiriakou, the former CIA case officer and analyst who was jailed after he revealed U.S. torture in the so-called War on Terror, wrote on his Substack that "after my arrest in 2012 after blowing the whistle on the CIA's torture program, it was Dan who talked sense to me and convinced me that I was stronger than I realized."
"It was thanks to him that I didn't do something drastic," he added. "And then when I was serving 23 months in prison, Dan wrote to me religiously, sent books, and offered his friendship and encouragement. I love the guy. This is a blow for all Americans."
In 2006, former Daily Kos Managing Editor Susan Gardner conducted a lengthy interview with Ellsberg. Here are links to all six parts.
The Pentagon Papers and the Overlooked 1968 Leaks: Covers Ellsberg feeling that the Pentagon Papers ultimately proved ineffective in what he was trying to accomplish, but that leaks he did prior to them in 1968 were much more effective.
Judith Miller, the New York Times and Government-Controlled Press: Ellsberg speculates that Miller was "on the team" for the CIA - something he witnessed of several reporters during Vietnam - and that to a greater or lesser extent than the public realizes, we are dealing with a controlled press in this country.
The Cult of Secrecy in Government and Its Undermining of Democracy: Ellsberg discusses the undermining effects of government secrecy on the working of a practicing democracy, overclassification and the problems of signing oaths of secrecy to get clearances, which routinely leads to lying to Congress and courts during the course of investigations.
Whistleblowing and Effective Activism: Ellsberg talks about the hows and whys of whistleblowing - and importantly, when it's NOT worth the personal price - as well as what average American citizens can do to effectively put pressure on the government for change.
Iraq/Vietnam Parallels and Other Foreign Policy Fiascos: Ellsberg analyzes the obvious parallels between Vietnam and Iraq, as well as the two major differences - oil and strategic geographical importance - which he believes will keep us in Iraq for as long as 50 years.
Bush, the Next 9/11 and the Approaching Police State: Ellsberg discusses ... well, the title says it all.
