Commissioned in 1967, the Pentagon Papers were a secret government study that revealed a pattern of government deception regarding the scope and purpose of American actions in Vietnam. In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg, a former military analyst who had worked on the report, leaked it to the media. The Pentagon Papers fueled public distrust in the government and intensified opposition to the Vietnam War. For many, the papers underscored the dangers of unchecked government secrecy and the importance of transparency in a democracy. Note: After reading the article in Source A, Ellsberg chose to leak the P