Daniel Ellsberg, the man responsible for the release of the Pentagon Papers in 1971, spoke at Johnson Chapel on Monday night. The Pentagon Papers uncovered a history of presidential decisions between 1945-1968 to sustain the military campaign in Vietnam despite repeated warnings by advisors that U.S. militarist involvement in Vietnam would most likely only trigger an indefinitely prolonged guerrilla warfare, with no favorable outcome to the U.S. The release of the Pentagon Papers caused a tidal wave of public disillusionment and discontent over U.S. belligerent policies in Vietnam.

The presentation, entitled "What Lies Ahead: Vietnam's Lessons for Iraq and the War on Terrorism," briefly touched upon Ellsberg's experiences at the Pentagon and in Vietnam, and focused on current events.

"[Ellsberg is] a great warrior for peace and liberty in our century," said Professor of History and Women and Gender Studies Margaret Hunt in her introduction. Ellsberg spoke on behalf of the Veterans' Education Program, a local group of war veterans dedicated to education.

"We wanted to bring someone to campus who had played a big role in the Vietnam war," said Hunt. "We also wanted to honor Veteran's Day by working with a local veteran's group."

Ellsberg began with a pun on the lecture's title. "What lies ahead?" Ellsberg asked. "Lies, a lot of lies. Lies about war crimes against the peace … [Lies] define a policy that could not get public support."

Starting in 1964 as an aide to John McNaughton of the Department of Defense, Ellsberg witnessed the government's willingness to lie. "[McNaughton] simply didn't mind looking and sounding like a hick in the interest of deception," Ellsberg said.

But lies were rarely explicitly mentioned in the office. Ellsberg has only one recollection of overt discussion of lies. "We have 10 minutes to make up six alternate lies," Ellsberg recalled McNaughton telling his staff. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara was so pleased with their efforts that he asked them to make up six more fictional scenarios so that he could choose one to release to the public.

A Marine Corps veteran, Ellsberg worked at the U.S. Department of Defense as an analyst for the Rand Corporation until 1967, when he became involved with the McNamara study of U.S. war-time decision-making in Vietnam. The results were written up and were informally known as the Pentagon Papers. The papers detailed a decade-long effort on the part of the U.S. government to conceal body counts and deceive the American public.

In 1969, Ellsberg gave a copy of the 7,000 page report to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations committee, which promptly resulted in the document's classification. Left with the only copy of the papers, Ellsberg distributed it to The Washington Post, The New York Times and other major newspapers.

That distribution discredited the war effort, playing an integral role in the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam and President Nixon's resignation. As a criminal act, it also forced Ellsberg to run. When the FBI finally caught him, he faced 12 felony counts and a 115-year maximum prison sentence for the leak. "[Charges were] dismissed on grounds of government misconduct towards him," Hunt said in her introduction.

Ellsberg equated the government deception of the Vietnam era to current events. "It is exactly as irresponsible as in 1964," he said, referring to the joint Senate resolution that gave President George W. Bush wide-ranging war powers like President Lyndon B. Johnson's "blank check" legislation. "Actually it is more so. In 1964, at least the Senate could say they were deceived."

Ellsberg questioned Bush's claim that Iraqis had weapons of mass destruction. "Is this guy lying or does he really not know any better?" he asked.

Ellsberg did not predict a successful outcome to the war. "Those lies got us into a war and are keeping us in a war where there will never be peace," he said. He explained that the anger of the Iraqi people towards American troops is all too similar to insurgent resistance faced in Vietnam.

He compared the war in Iraq to Hussein's peacetime invasion of Kuwait and Hitler's invasion of Poland.

"Is freedom in our sense in store for Iraq?" Ellsberg asked. "Highly unlikely. There will not be peace or freedom or democracy in Iraq as long as we are there."

Ellsberg closed by urging his audience to push for a new, more truthful administration in the White House. He emphasized each citizen's duty to be a whistleblower, touching on the Enron and Catholic priest scandals. "We can't leave it up to this president or any president," he said. "You are responsible now."

Though impressed by the speech, some students left feeling anxious about those in power in the US. "Hearing Mr. Ellsberg speak was not only awakening, it was alarming," said Jake Maguire '07. "He made me ask a lot of questions ... and I'd be lying if I said I didn't leave a little uncomfortable."