In 1971, the American Daniel Ellsberg made headlines by disclosing confidential documents concerning the planning of the war in Vietnam. The man behind the scandal, nicknamed Pentagon Papers, died on Friday June 16 at the age of 92, his family announced in a statement.
“He died of pancreatic cancer which he was diagnosed with on February 17th. He did not suffer and was surrounded by his beloved family,” his wife and children said. Former military analyst Daniel Ellsberg rose to fame in the early 1970s after leaking 7,000 classified documents, the “Pentagon Papers”, which revealed that several US governments had lied to the public about the Vietnam War.
These documents revealed in particular that, contrary to the assertions of various American officials, the war in Vietnam could not be won by the United States and that Washington had nevertheless played the card of military escalation. Revelations that helped change American public opinion on the subject. Daniel Ellsberg announced in March that he had incurable cancer and said he only had “three to six months left to live”.
“Hot chocolates, croissants, cakes, poppyseed and smoked salmon bagels gave her extra pleasure during her final months,” her family said in the statement. “He also took the opportunity to rewatch his favorite movies, including rewatching his favorite movie, Butch Cassidy and the Kid, several times,” they added.
