FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 13, 2004      File #
Contact: Barbara Brooks, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, (707) 664-2691

“Vietnam and Iraq: Secrecy, Democracy, and Presidential Lies”
Subject of Daniel Ellsberg Lecture, May 19

“Vietnam and Iraq: Secrecy, Democracy and Presidential Lies”is the subject of a lecture by Daniel Ellsberg, author and political activist, at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 19 in the Evert B. Person Theatre on the Sonoma State University campus.

The event is sponsored by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at SSU and there is no charge to Osher LLI or SSU students. A donation of $8 is suggested for the general public.

Ellsberg is best known for leaking a 7,000-page document, which became known as the "Pentagon Papers," that revealed that victory in Vietnam was far from certain, despite government assurances to the contrary.

The publication of the documents in the New York Times and the Washington Post was a turning point in public opinion against the war.
This landmark freedom-of-the press case changed journalism forever, ushering in an era of "leaks," whistle-blowers, and general skepticism about official statements.

Ellsberg will be talking about what he sees as the dangerous parallels between Vietnam and the current war in Iraq.

Chief among these parallels, he says, is the staggering amount of presidential lying that he sees driving public support for entering and continuing both wars.

Ellsberg is uniquely qualified to address the issue of the media and war and the haunting similarities between U.S. involvement in Vietnam and Iraq. He was a former Marine, a RAND Corp. analyst, and an adviser to Robert McNamara, Clark Clifford, and Henry Kissinger on Vietnam.

In addition to his latest book, "Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers," he is the author of "Risk, Ambiguity, and Decision." His scholarly articles have also appeared in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, Economic Journal, and American Economic Review.

For more information, contact Barbara Brooks, OLLI Coordinator at (707) 664-2691.