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I am SO sorry that he has cancer, but glad that he has an upbeat attitude.
I just rewatched "The Post" starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks about the Pentagon Papers. Excellent movie.
I think that the U.S. involvement would have continued for a longer time if Ellsberg had not done what he did, so who knows how many lives his actions saved? And he definitely knew that he might be facing a long prison sentence if the Supreme Court decision had gone the other way.
It's quite possible US involvement would have been shorter, had we been able to continue making strikes against the VC supply lines in Cambodia. The idea was to put enough pressure on them so they would come to the table and negotiate, and to protect our troops in the process. Bombing their supply lines helped keep the lead out of our boys, to borrow a line from LBJ. As it was, to get them to the table required even more bombing, in Hanoi. We were in Cambodia by invitation of the president of Cambodia (the one before Pol Pot took over), to remove enemy forces from Cambodia.
I have a low opinion of Ellsberg, he should be living out his last days in Russia alongside Edward Snowden.
I have a low opinion of Ellsberg, he should be living out his last days in Russia alongside Edward Snowden.
Ellsberg revealed classified information. He did not sell it to America's enemies or weaken our defenses. What he did was selfless and I was surprised when the breakins put the kibosh on any attempt to prosecute him. He would have been out by now, anyway.
Thus he is far different than Snowden, John Walker or Jonathan Pollard.
It's quite possible US involvement would have been shorter, had we been able to continue making strikes against the VC supply lines in Cambodia. The idea was to put enough pressure on them so they would come to the table and negotiate, and to protect our troops in the process. Bombing their supply lines helped keep the lead out of our boys, to borrow a line from LBJ. As it was, to get them to the table required even more bombing, in Hanoi. We were in Cambodia by invitation of the president of Cambodia (the one before Pol Pot took over), to remove enemy forces from Cambodia.
I have a low opinion of Ellsberg, he should be living out his last days in Russia alongside Edward Snowden.
Apparently, you still haven't figured out that the Vietnamese were not fighting a pro-communist war, they were fighting a war of national liberation.
"come to the table and negotiate"
Negotiate what? That's what happened in the end. If 'negotiating' the end of South Vietnam is the end goal, why bother at all? You're really so naive that you think a few more bombs would have made the North Vietnamese leave South Vietnam alone in the end?
Apparently, you still haven't figured out that the Vietnamese were not fighting a pro-communist war, they were fighting a war of national liberation.
"come to the table and negotiate"
Negotiate what? That's what happened in the end. If 'negotiating' the end of South Vietnam is the end goal, why bother at all? You're really so naive that you think a few more bombs would have made the North Vietnamese leave South Vietnam alone in the end?
It wasn't known in 1971, that North Vietnam would not honor an agreement, if we could get one. The first step was getting an agreement that would give us a way out, and build up ARVN so South Vietnam could defend themselves. We wanted our POW's back, we needed an agreement, it was more bombing, not less bombing, that brought them to the table, and got them to sign an agreement in 1973. Ellsberg impeded and delayed the force necessary to bring forth an agreement. As I recall, the Pentagon Papers also leaked sensitive information about fallback positions, and stuff which interfered with the SALT-1 talks that were about to take place when Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers.
Ellsberg set off a chain of events that led to the president feeling he needed an investigative body to find leakers like Ellsberg and stop them. The Plumbers unit was born. Had Ellsberg not done what he did, and got Nixon's underwear all bunched up, men like Liddy and Hunt would not be hired and allowed to seduce key people in the administration, with the gemstone plans, the lies, the misleading they did, concerning how they would conduct operations, like recruiting the white house security chief to use in Watergate, ect ect. Ellsberg led us down this road and indirectly brought down a great president. I really believe without Ellsberg, the Watergate affair never happens, and history plays out for the better, all the way around.
It's quite possible US involvement would have been shorter, had we been able to continue making strikes against the VC supply lines in Cambodia. ********
I have a low opinion of Ellsberg, he should be living out his last days in Russia alongside Edward Snowden.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mofford
It wasn't known in 1971, that North Vietnam would not honor an agreement, if we could get one.
I think Nixon, Haldemann, Erhlichmann, Liddy, Nixon and Ellsberg were a bunch of sleazebags that deserved each other, though I didn't think so at the time. Mofford has me somewhat convinced.
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