If you opened the the New York Times this morning in 1971, you would have seen the first part of the secret ”Pentagon Papers” that the newspaper published—without authorization from the government.
One year ago, the National Archives and the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon Presidential Libraries released the entire official Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force (commonly referred to as the Pentagon Papers).
So what were the Pentagon Papers?
Photo: LBJ at the Honolulu Conference on the Vietnam War, 2/7/66.
Source: blogs.archives.gov
If you opened the the New York Times this morning in 1971, you would have seen the first part of the secret ”Pentagon Papers” that the newspaper published—without authorization from the government. Today in 2011, the National Archives and the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon Presidential Libraries will release the entire official Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force (commonly referred to as the Pentagon Papers). Although the unauthorized publication of the Papers fueled opposition to the Vietnam War and provided historians with unique insight into the U.S. policymaking apparatus, today’s release will finally provide the American public with unimpeded access to this historic text. The release will feature over 2,300 pages of previously undisclosed material not included in the Senator Gravel Edition of the Pentagon Papers, the most commonly referenced compilation of the Papers. So what were the Pentagon Papers? Read more about them here. This post reblogged via NARA’s Prologue: Pieces of History. The Pentagon Papers are now available online, and hard copies of the papers are available for review at:
John F. Kennedy Library: Lyndon Johnson Library Richard Nixon Library National Archives at College Park Photo image above: Joint Chiefs of Staff meet at the LBJ Ranch, 12/22/1964.
Boston MA
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Austin, Texas
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Yorba Linda, California
www.nixonlibrary.gov/
College Park, MD
http://www.archives.gov/
