Vietnam war critic warns of similarities with Iraq conflict (Ellsberg)

[sabra]

http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--ellsbergoniraq1112nov12,0,2682564.story?coll=ny-region-apnewjersey

Vietnam war critic warns of similarities with Iraq conflict



MAPLEWOOD, N.J. -- The man who leaked secret documents about the Vietnam war indicating the federal government had deceived the public, said he sees a lot of similarities between that war and the one being waged in Iraq.

Daniel Ellsberg, who became famous for his release of what became known as the "Pentagon Papers," spoke to a crowd of more than 400 people Saturday at a local high school in Maplewood.

In 1971, Ellsberg, who had worked at both the U.S. departments of state and defense, leaked 7,000 pages of classified documents to the press _ documents that detailed U.S. involvement in Vietnam and indicated that the federal government had deceived the public about whether the war could be won and the extent of casualties.

....

During Saturday's talk, Ellsberg said both the Vietnam war and the war in Iraq were based on lies, referring to the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

[catmother]

1. funny you should post that. i was just thinking earlier -- will our

future generations see a movie about the iraq war secrets in the same way as the pentagon papers (which i recently rented to refresh my memory).

[Judi Lynn]

2. Man who leaked 'Pentagon Papers' warns Iraq war is similar to Vietnam

(Last Updated: 11/12/2005 8:56:16 PM)

Man who leaked 'Pentagon Papers' warns Iraq war is similar to Vietnam

The former Defense Department official who leaked secret and embarrassing documents about the Vietnam War said Saturday that he sees many similarities between that conflict and the one in Iraq.

Daniel Ellsberg, 74, became famous for his release of the Pentagon Papers, which indicated the government had deceived the public about whether the war could be won and the extent of casualties.

He spoke to a crowd of more than 400 people at a New Jersey high school, telling them that the Vietnam War and the war in Iraq were both based on lies, referring to the such as the claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

Ellsberg, who has praised government whistleblowers who leak information about the Iraq war, said he wishes he had leaked the Pentagon Papers earlier so the release could possibly have lead to the war ending sooner.
(snip/...)

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=111152

[psychopomp]

3. Sometimes the good *don't * die young

Mr. Ellsberg has lived quite a life in those seventy-four years of his and he is not going spend the rest of it sitting down, it seems!

[DemoTex]

4. Daniel Ellsberg: Still relevant after all these years.

We sorely need a latter-day equivalent of the Pentagon Papers.