# RIP Daniel Ellsberg, Pentagon Papers whistleblower, dies aged 92 {2023-06-16}

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-daniel-ellsberg-pentagon-papers-whistleblower-dies-aged-92-2023-06-16/985643>\
**Category:** Politics & Elections\
**Created:** [June 16, 2023, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-daniel-ellsberg-pentagon-papers-whistleblower-dies-aged-92-2023-06-16/985643 "2023-06-16T18:55:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\
**Post date:** [June 16, 2023, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-daniel-ellsberg-pentagon-papers-whistleblower-dies-aged-92-2023-06-16/985643/1 "2023-06-16T18:55:09Z")

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> Daniel Ellsberg, a US government analyst who became one of the most famous whistleblowers in world politics when [he leaked the Pentagon Papers](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/13/daniel-ellsberg-interview-pentagon-papers-50-years), has died. He was 92. His death was confirmed by his family on Friday.  
> [  
> ‘I’ve never regretted doing it’: Daniel Ellsberg on 50 years since leaking the Pentagon Papers  
> ](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/13/daniel-ellsberg-interview-pentagon-papers-50-years)  
> [  
> ](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/13/daniel-ellsberg-interview-pentagon-papers-50-years)  
> In March, Ellsberg [announced](https://twitter.com/danielellsberg/status/1631381696661827584?s=46&t=-BkwBSl55nwuSiuR29lBDw) that he had inoperable pancreatic cancer. Saying he had been given three to six months to live, he said he had chosen not to undergo chemotherapy and had been assured of hospice care.
> 
> “I am not in any physical pain,” Ellsberg wrote, [adding](https://twitter.com/danielellsberg/status/1631381696661827584?s=46&t=-BkwBSl55nwuSiuR29lBDw): “My cardiologist has given me license to abandon my salt-free diet of the last six years. This has improved my life dramatically: the pleasure of eating my favourite foods!”

> **[Daniel Ellsberg, Pentagon Papers whistleblower, dies aged 92](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/16/daniel-ellsberg-pentagon-papers-whistleblower-dies)**
>
> Analyst who leaked studies showing US government knew the Vietnam war was un-winnable became activist and writer

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**Author:** ![Lantern2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lantern2/32/3010_2.png) [@Lantern2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern2)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-daniel-ellsberg-pentagon-papers-whistleblower-dies-aged-92-2023-06-16/985643/2 "2023-06-21T20:13:38Z")

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> **[Whistleblower Who Changed the Course of U.S. History Dies at 92](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/06/daniel-ellsberg-dead-pentagon-papers-vietnam-war.html)**
>
> In the end, Daniel Ellsberg’s leak had more dramatic consequences than he’d envisioned.

Excellent article by Fred Kaplan, a foreign policy analyst who knew him well.

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**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2023, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-daniel-ellsberg-pentagon-papers-whistleblower-dies-aged-92-2023-06-16/985643/3 "2023-06-24T20:41:43Z")

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I said it in the death pool thread, but Ellsberg’s memoir is one of the most compelling books I’ve ever read. He was a former marine who went on the ground in Vietnam to observe how the war was going, and also rubbed shoulders with its architects, like Nixon and Robert McNamara. His conscience is what led to the Pentagon Papers, and the Pentagon Papers led to Watergate (Nixon’s plumbers were assembled to ‘stop the leaks’, which was precipitated by Ellsberg’s act).

I daresay he was one of the most pivotal Americans of the 20th century.