Daniel Ellsberg

social system doomsday machine one institutional madness

“Yet what seems to me beyond question is that any social system (not only ours) that has created and maintained a Doomsday Machine and has put a trigger to it, including first use of nuclear weapons, in the hands of one human being—anyone, not just this man, still worse in the hands of an unknown number of persons—is in core aspects mad. Ours is such a system. We are in the grip of institutionalized madness.”

—Daniel Ellsberg (1931-2023)

city burning science

“City burning, in other words, was becoming something of a science.”

—Daniel Ellsberg (1931-2023)

Hiroshima Nagasaki nuclear weapon USA Israel Russia Pakistan Kor

“Just like the bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, any future attack by a single tactical nuclear weapon near a densely populated area would kill tens to hundreds of thousands of noncombatants, as those did. Thus, virtually any threat of first use of a nuclear weapon is a terrorist threat. Any nation making such threats is a terrorist nation. That means the United States and all its allies, including Israel, along with Russia, Pakistan, and North Korea.”

—Daniel Ellsberg (1931-2023)

USA war by bombing firebomb nuclear atomic

“Whether rightly or wrongly, we are the only country in the world that believes it won a war by bombing—specifically by bombing cities with weapons of mass destruction, firebombs, and atomic bombs—and believes that it was fully justified in doing so. It is a dangerous state of mind.”

—Daniel Ellsberg (1931-2023)

England blitz USA German civilian

“For every ton of bombs dropped on England in the nine months of the Blitz, England and the United States, mainly England, eventually dropped a hundred tons of bombs on German cities. More than half a million Germans—civilians—were killed.”

—Daniel Ellsberg (1931-2023)

Eisenhower Kennedy eighteen thousand nucclear weapons 18000

“At the end of his two terms, President Eisenhower bequeathed to the Kennedy administration eighteen thousand nuclear weapons.”

—Daniel Ellsberg (1931-2023)

terrorist nuclear bomb USA Israel Russia Pakistan North Korea

“Thus, virtually any threat of first use of a nuclear weapon is a terrorist threat. Any nation making such threats is a terrorist nation. That means the United States and all its allies, including Israel, along with Russia, Pakistan, and North Korea.”

—Daniel Ellsberg (1931-2023)

atom bomb strategy war city fire USA england war 1940

“The atom bomb did not start a new era of targeting or strategy or war making in the world. Annihilation of an urban civilian population by fire had already become the American way of war from the air, as it had been the British way since late 1940.”

—Daniel Ellsberg (1931-2023)

government lie official believe rule

"Look, all administrations, all governments lie, all officials lie and nothing they say is to be believed. That's a pretty good rule."

—Daniel Ellsberg (1931-2023)

Edward Snowdon NSA leak important Pentagon papers

"In my estimation, there has not been in American history a more important leak than Edward Snowden's release of NSA material – and that definitely includes the Pentagon Papers 40 years ago."

—Daniel Ellsberg (1931-2023)

people comfortable trust authority faith question

"It's true that most people find it far more comfortable to trust an authority than to have their faith questioned."

—Daniel Ellsberg (1931-2023)

courage fce truth world doing change

"We need the courage to face the truth about what we are doing in the world and act responsibly to change it."

—Daniel Ellsberg (1931-2023)

nuclear weapon states abolition bomb USA Russia Israel india

"It is time for the rest of the world to join ... in demanding that ALL the nuclear weapons states -including Israel, India and Pakistan, but above all the US and Russia - negotiate concrete steps on a definite time-table toward the global, inspected abolition of nuclear weapons."

—Daniel Ellsberg (1931-2023)

invasion privacy american citizen security liberty protect

"This wholesale invasion of Americans’ and foreign citizens’ privacy does not contribute to our security; it puts in danger the very liberties we’re trying to protect."

—Daniel Ellsberg (1931-2023)

Obama death civilian Afghanistan kill decision

"Obama is making a choice now that will lead to the deaths of many thousands of civilians in Afghanistan by American hands. By ordinary standards of presidents, he is a decent man. But those standards aren't good enough. He's in a position either to kill or not to kill, and he's made the decision to kill."

—Daniel Ellsberg (1931-2023)