The Pentagon Papers were a 7,000-page document commissioned by US Secretary of State Robert McNamara in 1968, analyzing US involvement in Southeast Asian nations. When leaked to the New York Times in 1971, it marked a major shift in American opinion about US involvement in Southeast Asia. The case ended up in the Supreme Court, affirming the right to free speech of journalists and newspapers involved, leading to greater protections for journalists.
In 1968, US Secretary of State Robert McNamara commissioned a study analyzing US involvement in Southeast Asian nations such as Vietnam and Laos. The resulting 7,000-page document later became known as the “Pentagon Papers” when it was leaked to the New York Times in 1971. The release of these documents to the American media marked a major shift in American opinion about US involvement in numerous conflicts of the Southeast Asia and the ensuing legal challenges set several precedents.
The Pentagon Papers examined US domestic policy and planning in Southeast Asia from the end of World War II to 1968. The papers were released internally in 1969 and consisted of a large assortment of original documents, accompanied by thousands of pages of analyzes written by State Department officials. The documents contained a wealth of information that had not been released to the American public, including revelations that the United States had become more deeply involved in Southeast Asia than most citizens realized.
A former State Department official, Daniel Ellsberg, leaked the documents to Neil Sheehan of The New York Times. The journal immediately began publishing excerpts from the Pentagon Papers, along with analytical articles. When President Nixon learned of the publication, he filed for an injunction to stop The Times from printing the papers. A temporary injunction was granted, but The Washington Post also picked up the story and began running supplemental excerpts. Ultimately, the case ended up in the Supreme Court and the injunction was overturned, upholding the right to free speech of the journalists and newspapers involved.
Many historians point to the Pentagon Papers as a watershed moment in American history. Support for the Vietnam War had already largely declined among the American population, but the newspaper revelations aroused great anger and backlash. Along with the Watergate scandal, they also had a major impact on the direction of the Nixon administration.
Even the publication of the top secret documents in major US newspapers ended up leading to greater protections for journalists. The Supreme Court decision affirming the right to publication was later used as a justification for similar cases. However, reporters are still expressing concern over the release of material that could impact national security, pointing to the White House’s treason charges leveled against the editors of the Pentagon Papers. Many journalists continue to fight for more rights and protections under the law, using the Pentagon Papers as an excellent example of the importance of these rights.
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