Daniel Ellsberg (USA)

Kushal Das | CC BY-SA 4.0

DANIEL ELLSBERG (1931 - 2023) - Whistleblower, Military Analyst, Anti-War & Peace Activist

Discover the inspiring legacy of antiwar activist Daniel Ellsberg and his fearless commitment to truth. Our guide offers essential insight into the inspiring work of whistleblowers, our right to governmental transparency, and the ongoing battle for nuclear disarmament.

Connect with valuable resources, historical archives, and moving obituaries for a man who fought for genuine democratic accountability, press freedom, and a safer future.

Jump straight to our resources on ➡️ Daniel Ellsberg

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General Information

“There are two types of courage involved with what I did. When it comes to picking up a rifle, millions of people are capable of doing that, as we see in Iraq or Vietnam. But when it comes to risking their careers, or risking being invited to lunch by the establishment, it turns out that’s remarkably rare.” – Daniel Ellsberg.

In his earlier career, Ellsberg was a firm supporter of U.S. foreign policy. His close exposure to the harsh realities of the Vietnam War, however, was an integral turning point in his life.

His work with the Pentagon Papers set a new precedent in the U.S. for press freedom and the protection of whistleblowers. He soon after dedicated his life to advocating for nuclear disarmament, raising awareness of the catastrophic risks posed by nuclear policy, and promoting transparency in U.S. governance.

Ellsberg has received numerous awards for his commitment to peace, human rights, and literacy.

Some of his most notable prizes include the Gandhi Peace Award (1978), the Right Livelihood Award (2006), the Olof Palme Prize (2018), and the Blueprint for Free Speech Lifetime Achievement Award (2021).

Just before his passing, he approved the creation of the Ellsberg Whistleblower Award. It was established in 2024 to continue his mission for peace and democratic and political empowerment. The award is backed by international journalism and transparency organisations.

It “honours whistleblowers whose efforts have revealed information that significantly enhances public or scientific debate, strengthens the public’s right to know, and thus supports democracy.”

Picryl | Public Domain

Early Career & The Vietnam War

With a PhD in economics from Harvard University, Ellberg started his career as a U.S. Marine Corps officer. He then went on to become a strategic analyst for the RAND Corporation and the U.S. Department of Defence.

He worked as a government consultant and was involved in strategic planning initiatives, including nuclear war policies. In the mid-1960s, Ellsberg began working as an advisor in South Vietnam, where, on a special assignment, he travelled more than 10,000 miles throughout the country. He witnessed firsthand the cruel realities of the conflict.

The Vietnam War took place between 1955 and 1975; it was fought between communist North Vietnam (allied with the Soviet Union and China) and South Vietnam (allied with the United States). The goal of the U.S. was to prevent communist expansion.

U.S. containment policies were unrelenting, devastating, and dehumanising. They used brutal methods such as carpet bombing, Agent Orange, and free-fire zones, ultimately leading to the deaths of over two million civilians. The atrocities of the Mỹ Lai massacre left a deep scar in Vietnam and are now a historical symbol of systemic moral failure.

Ellsberg quickly concluded that the war was unwinnable and that the U.S. government had been deliberately misleading the public.

“By two years in Vietnam, I was reporting very strongly that there was no prospect of progress of any kind, so the war should not be continued." - Daniel Ellsberg

By the late 1960s, the public began to strongly question the morality of the war. Public sentiment shifted dramatically, and there was widespread opposition to the rising number of casualties, the military draft, and government policy. This had no effect on President Nixon, who believed that withdrawal would damage his credibility.

When Ellsberg was granted access to the top-secret Pentagon Papers, he realised the full scale of government deception and had hopes of putting a swift end to the war.

Flickr | LBJ Library

The Pentagon Papers Leak

“Government officials should not be allowed to indiscriminately classify information to cover up their own mistakes” - Daniel Ellsberg.

In 1967, Ellsberg made contributions to a huge top-secret Pentagon study which was officially titled ‘United States–Vietnam Relations, 1945–1967: A Study Prepared by the Department of Defence’. It was a detailed history of U.S. decision-making in Vietnam.

Ellsberg first attempted to persuade members of Congress to put the papers in the public domain; this failed. With the help of a friend's photocopier, his 13-year-old son, 10-year-old daughter, and Anthony Russo, a colleague from RAND, he spent 8 months making duplicates of the 7,000-page report.

In 1971, he sent it to the New York Times, the Washington Post, and 16 other major newspapers. The Nixon administration obtained a court order to prevent the Times from releasing further documents. The battle went up to the Supreme Court, which ruled 6-3 in favour of press freedom and permitted further publications.

The main findings of the Pentagon Papers were:

• Four successive governments had lied to the public and Congress about the scale and true intentions of American involvement in the Vietnam War.
• The U.S. covertly expanded military operations into Laos and Cambodia, and escalated troops long before informing the public.
• The U.S. used and manipulated events such as the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin naval confrontations to secure Congressional authorisation for full-scale war.
• U.S. officials realised early in the war that it was very likely unwinnable, motivations for continuing the war were primarily to avoid a humiliating U.S. defeat. Helping the people of South Vietnam was a very low priority.
• The U.S. were directly involved in political engineering in South Vietnam, including promoting the rise of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem and then later sanctioning the 1963 military coup.

Initially, the newspapers were disappointed in the lack of attention that the release received. However, the incredibly high-profile Supreme Court trial ensured that the findings stayed firmly in the headlines.

This was one of the most significant leaks in American history. It completely shattered public trust in the government, had far-reaching implications, and ultimately helped end the war.

Ellsberg says that at the time, “The effect on Nixon’s policy was zero. The war went on: a year later, the biggest bombing of the war and then, at the end of that year, 18 months later, the heaviest bombing in human history."

A panicked President Nixon, wanting to protect his reputation, formed the White House Special Investigations Unit - known as the Plumbers. It was created as an attempt to prevent further security leaks and to ruin Ellsberg's reputation.

Henry Kissinger, the U.S. National Security Adviser at the time, publicly described Ellsberg as “the most dangerous man in America.”

Public Domain Pictures | CC0

Nixon vs Ellsberg

Ellsberg was indicted on 12 felony counts, the most serious of which were theft and violation of the Espionage Act. He faced up to 115 years in prison.

Before the trial, Nixon gave the Plumbers orders to dig up dirt on Ellsberg. They broke into the office of Ellsberg’s psychiatrist to steal medical files. As part of a separate operation, they broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate complex. They wired the office phones and copied campaign documents in an effort to help Nixon get re-elected.

During Ellsberg's trial, investigations into the Watergate break-in exposed the burglary of his psychiatrist's office. The judge was forced to dismiss all charges against Ellsberg due to government misconduct and illegal evidence gathering.

In his attempt to destroy Ellsberg, Nixon became the cause of his own downfall. Facing certain conviction in an impeachment trial, Nixon resigned in August 1974. With this, his pledge to renew the bombing in South Vietnam was never fulfilled, and the war officially ended on April 30, 1975.

Ellsberg never spent any time in jail and today is an internationally celebrated guardian of the truth.

Flickr | Steve Rhodes

Daniel Ellsberg - Activism

“War should always be a last resort, and the decision should never be made lightly” - Daniel Ellsberg.

Since the release of the Pentagon Papers, Ellsberg became a lifelong champion of press freedom, whistleblowers, peace, nuclear disarmament, and government transparency.

He has supported fellow whistleblowers Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange, Edward Snowden and others who have been charged under the Espionage Act for their commitment to the truth. In his long career, he notes that the climate for journalism has become more restrictive and criminalised than ever before.

Over the decades, Ellsberg worked closely with the executive editor of the Washington Post, Ben Bradlee; the celebrated intellectual Noam Chomsky; the prominent peace activists Dan Berrigan & Philip Berrigan; and the co-founder of the anti-war organisation CODE PINK, Medea Benjamin.

He was also closely associated with Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS), serving as a member emeritus and prominent supporter of the group.

His activism at protests has led to his arrest dozens of times.

He also became an acclaimed and successful author. He wrote several memoirs and books, including his best-selling ‘Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers’ and ‘The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner.’

Of note, many comparisons have been drawn between Ellsberg's stance on nuclear weapons and the Bulletin Of The Atomic Scientists' Doomsday Clock. The annual adjustment of the Doomsday Clock is a symbolic representation used to convey the urgency of existential threats to humanity, particularly nuclear warfare and climate change.

On January 27, 2026, citing a failure of leadership, the Doomsday Clock was set to 85 seconds to midnight - the closest it has ever been to midnight since its creation in 1947.

Ellsberg vocally condemned Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine as a "tragic and criminal attack". Before his death in June 2023, he repeatedly warned that the conflict dramatically escalated the risk of a global nuclear war.

Flickr | Elvert Barnes

Inspiring A New Generation Of Whistleblowers

“Every citizen has a responsibility to question the actions of their government” - Daniel Ellsberg.

Fifty years later, in an interview in 2021 referring to the release of the Pentagon Papers, Ellsberg said, “I’ve never regretted doing it.” He urged fellow whistleblowers, “Don’t wait years till the bombs are falling and people have been dying”.

Ellsberg will be remembered for his profound impact on U.S. policy, public opinion, and press freedom. His case before the Supreme Court set a precedent regarding the public's right to know the truth, even in the face of state concealment.

His lifelong dedication has inspired others to challenge government secrecy and deception and to stand up for what they believe in, even against the greatest of odds.

Author: Rachael Mellor, 08.08.26, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0