Daniel Ellsberg to speak at UW Tacoma event

Political activist Daniel Ellsberg, the man who precipitated a national uproar when he released the Pentagon Papers, will speak at the Washington State History Museum at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 19. The event is sponsored by the University of Washington Tacoma.

Ellsberg's talk, titled "Lt. Watada's Duty to the Constitution: An Officer's Honor," will focus on the case of Lt. Ehren Watada, who will face court-martial in February after refusing to go to Iraq with his unit because he believes the war is illegal.

"As I see it, Lt. Ehren Watada is the only officer in the U.S. Armed Services who is taking seriously his oath to support and defend the Constitution," Ellsberg said.

The event is sponsored by UW Tacoma's Peace and Justice Advocacy Group and Arts and Lecture Committee and is being held in connection with a weekend citizens' tribunal on Watada's case. The event is free and open to the public. Space is limited, and seats will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

"Daniel Ellsberg is a national hero who helped bring to a close the disastrous Vietnam War," said UW Tacoma Associate Professor Robert Crawford, one of the event's organizers. "He inspired a generation of principled anti-war activism and his comments on the 19th will be especially significant on the eve of Lt. Watada's court martial for refusing deployment to Iraq."

In 1971, Ellsberg, a former U.S. military analyst, leaked the military's classified account of the Vietnam War to The New York Times, revealing to the nation that official U.S. accounts of decision-making in Vietnam were falsified. Ellsberg's act ultimately helped bring an end to the Vietnam War.

Since then, Ellsberg has served as a lecturer, writer and activist on the dangers of the nuclear era, government wrongdoing and the urgent need for patriotic whistleblowing. In 2004, he launched the Truth-Telling Project, which aims to convince government insiders, journalists, lawyers, lawmakers, and the American public to reveal the truth about government cover-ups.

Ellsberg was invited to Tacoma to participate in The Citizens' Hearing on the Legality of U.S. Actions in Iraq: The Case of Lt. Ehren Watada, a weekend event bringing together experts and Iraq War veterans to discuss and examiner Watada's upcoming trial. Learn more about the event at www.wartribunal.org.

This event is free and open to the public. For information on Ellsberg's lecture at the Jan. 19 event, contact the Office of Public Relations and Communications at (253) 692-4536.