Deception

One of the main drivers that led to the Pentagon Papers was the deception that Daniel Ellsberg observed while he worked as a research analyst at the Pentagon. Ellsberg was described as very bright with a somewhat fragile nature. He had a military background having served as a lieutenant in the Marines after graduating from Harvard. He supported the Vietnam war and was a vocal cheerleader for a U.S. victory. But things changed for him when he was able to contrast reality with perception.

In his position at the Pentagon, Ellsberg was privy to the majority of cables that were received at the Pentagon from the war front in Vietnam. Time and again, he would read the cables from commanders who describes the lack of progress in the war with the press releases and public statements from the Pentagon and the White House that the war was...