Page 209 - Stand Down Vietnam

“Pentagon Papers

The Pentagon Papers, officially titled "Report of the
Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force",
was commissioned by Secretary of Defense Robert
McNamara in 1967.

In June of 1971, small portions of the report were

leaked to the press and widely distributed. However,
the publications of the report that resulted from these
leaks were incomplete and suffered from many quality
issues.

On the 40th anniversary of the leak to the press, the
National Archives, along with the Kennedy, Johnson, and
Nixon Presidential Libraries, has released the complete
report. There are 48 boxes and approximately 7,000
declassified pages. Approximately 34% of the report is
available for the first time.

What is unique about this, compared to other versions,
is that:

• The complete report is now available with no redactions
compared to previous releases
• The Report is presented as Leslie Gelb presented it to
then Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford on January 15,
1969

• All the supplemental back-documentation is included. In
the Gravel Edition, 80% of the documents in Part V.B.
were not included
• This release includes the complete account of peace
negotiations, significant portions of which were not
previously available either in the House Armed Services
Committee redacted copy of the Report or in the Gravel
Edition”
National Archives Catalog