Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War

Most Dangerous explores the ethics of whistleblowing by questioning whether an individual has the right to release government secrets to the American public. When Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers, he was simultaneously celebrated as a hero and condemned as a traitor. The book examines the complex dynamics of how, on the one hand, the government is entitled to keep secrets in the name of national security, but on the other hand, there must be a level of transparency between the government and the American people—this is necessary to allow for a properly functioning democracy and avoid the abuse of power.

When Ellsberg began working at the Pentagon, he knew that the government must keep some secrets as a matter of national security. Furthermore, he understood that exposing government secrets was considered fundamentally unpatriotic. As part of his job, he quickly recognized that the government was “telling Congress and the public only part of the story” regarding Vietnam (31). However, he knew “secrecy was an essential element of military operations” (310). President Johnson argued that an individual “had every right to make his case within the government” (134), but after “a decision has been made, he has an equal obligation to carry it out with all his energy and wisdom” (134). Particularly in times of war and crisis, the American public is expected to rally around their president since doing otherwise would weaken the nation on the international stage and make it more vulnerable to enemies.

On the other hand, Ellsberg came to believe that patriotism does not imply a blind allegiance to one’s country. In fact, he felt that not exposing the Pentagon Papers was “a betrayal of the country he loved” (184). He believed unequivocally that leaking the documents was morally the right thing to do. This belief stemmed from the fact that the study in the Pentagon Papers had very little information related to national security. Rather, it revealed the “pattern of deception” behind the Vietnam War (156); the government was repeatedly lying to the American public and continuing to escalate a deadly war with no path to victory in order to “save face” and avoid admitting defeat. Upon releasing the papers, Ellsberg reminded the American public that the US “is a self-governing country” (244). Government officials, including the president, are elected to represent the people’s will, but this system cannot function effectively if the public doesn’t know what the government is doing. To Ellsberg, the Vietnam War was not the will of the American people, and the government had no justification for continuing the conflict.

Ellsberg believed that the American people and the free press are responsible for monitoring the government and ensuring it continues to do the will of the people. As a teenager, Ellsberg’s father fell asleep at the wheel and drove the car off the road, killing Ellsberg’s mother and sister. Ellsberg used this example as a parallel to show that authority figures sometimes have to be “watched” because they might be “inattentive […] to the risks” (116). This is why he felt his decision to leak the Pentagon Papers was morally right and fully justified.