Daniel Ellsberg shares Pentagon stories

No sooner did he walk on stage than did Daniel Ellsberg receive a standing ovation Friday at the IU Auditorium. \nHe spoke to the audience about both the risks he took in leaking the Pentagon Papers and the state of the modern world.\nEllsberg is the man responsible for leaking the infamous Pentagon Papers in 1971, helping to end the Vietnam War by exposing secrets and illegalities of former president Richard Nixon’s administration. In leaking the more than 7,000-page-long document, Ellsberg not only gained the title “the most dangerous man in America” but was also put at risk for treason charges and secret murder attempts by the Nixon administration. \n“What he did was extremely brave,” said professor Donald Warren. Warren is the faculty adviser of the IU American Civil Liberties Union student chapter at IU, the group that hosted the event.\n“The President had sent burglars into my former psycho-analyst’s office,” Ellsberg said after explaining Nixon’s attempt at preventing further damage to his administration. \nHe continued to state more on leaking the Pentagon Papers and the fear, courage and necessity of doing so, telling the audience it would have been against his morals not to. \n“I really appreciated hearing (Ellsberg’s experiences),” Warren said, explaining the difference in understanding the situation when hearing about it firsthand as opposed to reading about it in a textbook. He went on to say that he couldn’t imagine what students thought of the lecture, because they had not lived through it. \nThe focus did not stay on the Pentagon Papers for long, however. \n“There comes a time when silence is betrayal,” Ellsberg said, quoting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in remembrance of the 40th anniversary of King’s assassination. \nStressing the importance of patriotism, he quoted the oath taken by all government employees: “to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” \n“He was one of them, but didn’t always agree with their actions,” Bloomington activist Margo Blackwell said of Ellsberg. She added that she thinks Ellsberg is a role model because of the risks he took.\nTouching on a variety of topics, Ellsberg related his situation to the current Bush administration, stating that Bush is a domestic enemy of the constitution while discussing the consequences of some of his actions: vetoing bills banning torture, the possibility of engaging in a war with Iran, the Patriot Act and the lies Ellsberg believes Bush told Americans even before his presidency. \n“Going into my doctor’s office? Legal. CIA profile? No problem ... The president now doesn’t have to obstruct justice anymore,” Ellsberg said, as these few offenses, in addition to many more, are now legal under the Patriot Act. \nAt one point in the lecture Ellsberg stopped and asked, “How many of us are not surprised by living to the day where the president would veto a bill banning torture?” \nHands flew up immediately. \nIn addition, Ellsberg touched on the current election, stating his support for Barack Obama, but also the importance of researching and listening to the way words are twisted in deceptive ways. \nHe also identified flaws in Obama’s plans as well as those in Hillary Clinton’s and John McCain’s. Among these was the withdrawal of soldiers from Iraq. Ellsberg stated the ambiguity of the word “withdrawal,” as it could mean reducing the number of troops or removing them completely. Ellsberg said this mostly pertains to “combat troops.” \nAs time woumd down, Ellsberg reiterated the importance of the will to act and the necessity of commitment to the Constitution, not a person or figure.