What are the Pentagon Papers?

The Pentagon Papers is the informal name for the Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force published in 1967. The report was never intended to be seen by the general public, but it was leaked to the New York Times by military analyst Daniel Ellsberg.

The report revealed that the United States had been engaging in military action that was intentionally kept from the media. It also revealed the real initial intent of the war was to check the growing power of China, and the United States primarily continued to maintain a presence to avoid the humiliation of defeat. The report was declassified in May 2011.