Wars in Iraq and Vietnam, Threats Against Iran

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Partner:: Commonwealth Club
Location:: The Commonwealth Club of California
San Francisco, CA
Event Date:: 09.04.08
Speaker:: Daniel Ellsberg
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Summary: Daniel Ellsberg is the author of the Pentagon Papers, which chronicled decades of Defense Department involvement in Vietnam and was one of the turning points in the opposition movement to the Vietnam War.

Today, the war in Iraq is fraught with criticism, but there are fewer protests and no internal leaks have had the impact of the Pentagon Papers.

As operations in Iraq continue and the U.S. threatens to attack Iran, Ellsberg compares the two periods, including constitutional issues, and gives his views on the future - The Commonwealth Club of California

Bio

Daniel Ellsberg

Daniel Ellsberg, a former U.S. military analyst employed by the RAND Corporation, sparked a national controversy in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times.

The Pentagon Papers revealed that the government knew early on that the Vietnam War was not likely winnable and would lead to many times more casualties than ever admitted. After failing to persuade a few U.S. Senators to release the papers on the Senate floor, Ellsberg decided to risk prison and leaked the documents to the New York Times. Ellsberg went underground for 16 days before turning himself in. Fortunately, the charges against him were eventually dropped due to gross government misconduct and illegal evidence gathering by the Nixon administration and the notorious White House "Plumbers Unit."

These efforts included breaking into Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office and were undertaken directly by the Nixon White House to smear and discredit Ellsberg in the news media in retaliation for his Pentagon Papers whistleblowing.

Chapters

: Watch Full Program

01 hr 21 min 26 sec

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01.: Introductions

03 min 47 sec

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02.: A History of Unconstitutional Presidential Actions

06 min 19 sec

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03.: The Illegality of the Iraq War

03 min 07 sec

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04.: English Efforts to Stop the Invasion of Iraq

07 min 08 sec

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05.: Ellsberg's First Day at the Pentagon

02 min 34 sec

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06.: Reports from Tonkin Gulf

05 min 48 sec

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07.: Falsification of the Tonkin Gulf Incident

03 min 58 sec

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08.: Why People Remain Silent

04 min 25 sec

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09.: The Relationship Between Vietnam and Iraq

06 min 01 sec

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10.: Direct Evidence of U.S. Provocation in Vietnam

06 min 52 sec

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11.: The Risks of Invading Iran

03 min 57 sec

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12.: The Importance of Whistle Blowing

03 min 30 sec

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13.: Congress's Support of Bush's Disregard of Laws

03 min 16 sec

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14.: Regaining the Republic

07 min 13 sec

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15.: Q & A

00 min 17 sec

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16.: Q1: The Unlikelihood of a Withdrawal from Iraq

04 min 16 sec

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17.: Q2: The Bush Administration's Motive in Iran

05 min 35 sec

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18.: Q3: Analyzing the Situation in Georgia

03 min 07 sec

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: Watch Full Program

01 hr 21 min 26 sec

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Daniel Ellsberg - British Resistance to the War in Iraq

05 min 25 sec

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Daniel Ellsberg Reveals War Planning for Iraq

05 min 19 sec

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Daniel Ellsberg - Election 2008, Choosing a U.S. King

05 min 27 sec

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Watch Full Program

01 hr 21 min 26 sec

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