WikiLeaks / Pentagon Papers = Nixon / Obama. Four decades ago, a young analyst leaked a top-secret study packed with damaging revelations about America's conduct. Does any of this this sound familiar?
That study, dubbed the Pentagon Papers, has been released in complete form. It's a touchstone for whistleblowers everywhere and just the sort of leak that gives presidents fits to this day.
The documents show that almost from the opening lines, it was apparent that the authors knew they had produced a hornet's nest.
In a 1969 confidential memo introducing the report, the chairman of the task force that produced the study hinted at the explosive nature of the contents. "Writing history, especially where it blends into current events.... is a treacherous exercise.