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    Pentagon Papers
    Pentagon Papers
    Pentagon Papers
    Ebook132 pages1 hour

    Pentagon Papers

    By J.M. Powers

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    About this ebook

    The Pentagon Papers is one of the greatest works of American letters. It is great because of its sheer size and the manner in which it was created. When it was completed, the Papers totaled about 7,000 pages. Three-dozen analysts worked on the text, each of them writing their separate volumes in the same conference room in the Pentagon. It was completed in less than one year.
    The Papers is particularly great because it provides insight to the inner workings of the highest levels of American power during the course of 23 years. A cast of characters is ever-changing, but the processes, decisions, and deceits remain the same. The document reveals how that power actually operates.
    If you are someone who came of age after the Carter Administration (1977-81), it is unlikely that you know about the Pentagon Papers except as it has been referenced during massive WikiLeaks disclosures. This recently abridged edition has been conceived specifically so that you can experience the broad scope of that entire original work in one or two sittings. In addition, there are online resources included to expand your experience.
    The aim of this publication, drawn exclusively from the original work, is to restore the currency of the Papers to a new generation who find their nation engaged in another “endless war.” This new generation will discover that we have been here before and that it will not end without concerted effort to impose transparency and accountability on our leaders.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJ.M. Powers
    Release dateJul 18, 2012
    ISBN9780985917517
    Pentagon Papers
    Author

    J.M. Powers

    John Powers (a.k.a. J.M. Powers and J-Powers) has had the uncommon experience of growing up in urban Los Angeles at a time of great upheaval. “My coming of age impelled me to strive to make a difference with my life,” notes Powers. His chosen field when he entered the University of Southern California was theater, specifically writing. He has employed theater, writing, and video intensively in recent years to bring to life some of the most compelling experiences that our nation has witnessed. “People are hungry for discovery and meaningful engagement with others,” observes Powers. “Through theater and publications that explore compelling experiences, we can begin our own search in an environment that assures us that we are not alone.”

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    Book preview

    Pentagon Papers - J.M. Powers

    Acknowledgements

    Pentagon Papers began as a stage work in 2011. I am grateful to the many people and organizations that have helped me bring this vital information into currency for a new generation.

    To the people of Torrance, California, and their elected officials for supporting the theater series Works in Progress in which this endeavor was first developed to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the publication of the Pentagon Papers.

    To the actors who participated in bringing that developmental project to life: Tom Brewer, Mike Campbell, John Crowther, Perry Daniel, Pat Furey, Michael Grenie, Jenny Kang, Emily Kuroda, Diana Mann, Joseph Murray, Paul Nowatka, VyVy Nguyen, Frank Pepito, Joel Polis, Ken Seeraty, Perry Shields, Bill Sutherland, Ann Song, John Wong, Jani Wang, Bill Wolski, and Michael Yama.

    To Vietnam Veterans of America for its association with this project at that early stage, in particular the members of Chapter 53.

    To the cast, crew, and theater staff of Santa Monica Playhouse for the 2012 production from which the text of this publication is derived: Robert Adams, Jeffrey Ashkin, Chris DeCarlo, Caroline Do, Serena Dolinsky, Mark Jacobson, Stephen Juhl, Dave Kirkpatrick, Paul Linke, JR Mangels, Diana Mann, Amanda Martindale, Cricket S. Myers, Evelyn Rudie, Brian Sounalath, George Vennes III, and Sandra Zeitzew.

    To the Center for Cultural Innovation for support of that 2012 production through its Artists’ Resource Completion grant.

    To USA Projects for its assistance in fund development for this publication that serves as a completion project to that production.

    To Pat Acosta, Barbara Barker, Ruth Brugger, Anna Gee, Eileen Haussmann, Elsie Inase, Bernice Joffe, Gretchen Kanne, Richard Lerner, Cheryl Lyons, Christine Mei, Claudia Mullin, Sheri Lee Myers, James Powers, Carole Ross, John Spokes, and Moe Stavnezer for funding support of this publication.

    To Paul Glickler for editing assistance and valuable suggestions.

    To Daniel Ellsberg and Anthony Russo for bringing this information into the light of day.

    To my wife DeBorah Green for enduring love and support.

    To view a video, the first of four parts, documenting a performance of this material, go to: Pentagon Papers - Part One on Vimeo

    TOC

    Foreword

    The Pentagon Papers is one of the greatest works of American letters. It is great because of its sheer size and the manner in which it was created. When it was completed, the Papers totaled about 7,000 pages. Three-dozen analysts worked on the text, each of them writing their separate volumes in the same conference room in the Pentagon. It was completed in less than one year.

    The Papers is particularly great because it provides insight to the inner workings of the highest levels of American power during the course of 23 years. A cast of characters is ever-changing, but the processes, decisions, and deceits remain the same. The document reveals how that power actually operates.

    If you are someone who came of age after the Carter Administration (1977-81), it is unlikely that you know about the Pentagon Papers except as it has been referenced during massive WikiLeaks disclosures. This recently abridged edition has been conceived specifically so that you can experience the broad scope of that entire original work in one or two sittings. In addition, there are online resources included to expand your experience.

    The aim of this publication, drawn exclusively from the original work, is to restore the currency of the Papers to a new generation who find their nation engaged in another endless war. This new generation will discover that we have been here before and that it will not end without concerted effort to impose transparency and accountability on our leaders.

    J-Powers

    Los Angeles

    TOC

    Introduction

    The Pentagon Papers, or the Vietnam Study as it was know among a very small circle of people within the U.S. Defense Department, was a reconstruction in narrative form of the step-by-step decisions that brought America to have a half-million military personnel in that Southeast Asian nation during the mid-1960s. The history of this decision making began in the aftermath of World War II and extended to 1968. America’s role in the conflict continued, however, until 1975.

    The study was commissioned by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara in 1967, as he was having grave doubts about America’s ability to succeed militarily in Vietnam. While classified, the project was given a relatively low-level security clearance: top secret-sensitive. McNamara did not want his boss, President Lyndon Johnson (1963-68), to know that this study being written; he was certain that the President would put a stop to it. McNamara initiated this project because he wanted to leave a record of how the U.S. got into the predicament of a seemingly endless war. His aim may have been to prevent such an experience in the future.

    One of the few people who read the study in its entirety was Daniel Ellsberg, a defense analyst who wrote about the early years of President John Kennedy’s administration (1961-63) for the Study. By his own account, Ellsberg was undergoing a personal transformation with regard to the Vietnam War. He was growing increasingly skeptical. As any person working in the upper echelons of government, he was aware that lying was a commonplace occurrence when dealing with the press, the public, and other government officials. Reading the entire work and searching for patterns while later employed at the RAND Corporation, a defense think-tank located in Santa Monica, California, he realized that the level of deceit and betrayal was extraordinary and profoundly self-defeating. Furthermore, the lying

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