Editing Daniel Ellsberg (section)

==Activism and views==
Ellsberg's first published book was ''Papers on the War'' (New York: [[Simon and Schuster]], 1972). The book included a revised version of Ellsberg's earlier award-winning "The Quagmire Myth and the Stalemate Machine", originally published in ''Public Policy'', and ends with "The Responsibility of Officials in a Criminal War".<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1972/9/18/going-public-in-america-pbtbhe-pentagon/ |journal=[[The Harvard Crimson]] |title=Going Public in America |author=Dwight Cramer |date=September 18, 1972}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ellsberg |first1=Daniel |title=Papers on the War |date=1972 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |location=New York |isbn=9781439193761 |url=https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Papers-on-the-War/Daniel-Ellsberg/9781439193761}}</ref>
[[File:Ellsberghq.webm|thumb|Video interview with Daniel Ellsberg at [[Roskilde Universitets Center]], Denmark, October 26, 2004 (unedited; the first 10 seconds are black)]]
After the Vietnam War, Ellsberg continued his political activism, giving lecture tours and speaking out about current events. Reflecting on his time in government, Ellsberg said the following, based on his extensive access to classified material:<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y2wmpxM2VQ "Presidential Decisions and Public Dissent"], ''Conversations with History'', July 29, 1998</ref>

{{blockquote|The public is lied to every day by the President, by his spokespeople, by his officers. If you can't handle the thought that the President lies to the public for all kinds of reasons, you couldn't stay in the government at that level, or you're made aware of it, a week.&nbsp;... The fact is Presidents rarely say the whole truth{{snd}}essentially, never say the whole truth{{snd}}of what they expect and what they're doing and what they believe and why they're doing it and rarely refrain from lying, actually, about these matters.}}

=== Release of classified documents proposing 1958 nuclear attack on China ===
On May 22, 2021, during the [[Presidency of Joe Biden|Biden administration]], ''The New York Times'' reported Ellsberg had released classified documents revealing the Pentagon in 1958 drew up plans to launch a nuclear attack on China amid tensions over the [[Taiwan Strait]]. According to the documents, US military leaders supported a first-use nuclear strike even though they believed China's ally, the Soviet Union, would retaliate and millions of people would perish. Ellsberg told ''The New York Times'' he copied the classified documents about the [[Taiwan Strait crisis of 1958|Taiwan Strait crisis]] fifty years earlier when he copied the Pentagon Papers, but chose not to release the documents then. Instead, Ellsberg released the documents in the spring of 2021 because he said he was concerned about mounting tensions between the U.S. and China over the fate of [[Taiwan]]. He assumed the Pentagon was involved again in contingency planning for a nuclear strike on China should a military conflict with conventional weapons fail to deliver a decisive victory. "I do not believe the participants were more stupid or thoughtless than those in between or in the current cabinet", said Ellsberg, who urged President Biden, Congress and the public to take notice.<ref name=Savage>{{citation |last=Savage |first=Charlie |date=November 3, 2021 |publication-date=May 22, 2021 |title=Risk of Nuclear War Over Taiwan in 1958 Said to Be Greater Than Publicly Known |language=en-US |newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/22/us/politics/nuclear-war-risk-1958-us-china.html |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In releasing the classified documents, Ellsberg offered himself as a defendant in a test case challenging the U.S. Justice Department's use of the [[Espionage Act of 1917]] to punish whistleblowers. Ellsberg noted the Act applies to everyone, not just spies, and prohibits a defendant from explaining the reasons for revealing classified information in the public interest.{{r|Savage}}

===Anti-war activism===
In an interview with ''[[Democracy Now]]'' on May 18, 2018, Ellsberg was critical of U.S. intervention overseas especially in the Middle East, stating, "I think, in Iraq, America has never faced up to the number of people who have died because of [[United States invasion of Iraq|our invasion]], our aggression against Iraq, and Afghanistan over the last 30 years, since we first inspired a [[Operation Cyclone|CIA-sponsored]] [[jihad]] against the Soviets there, and led to the [[Soviet–Afghan War|invasion by the Soviets]]. What we've done to the Middle East has been hell."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.democracynow.org/2018/5/18/whistleblower_daniel_ellsberg_civil_disobedience_against|title=Whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg: Civil Disobedience Against Vietnam War Led Me to Leak Pentagon Papers|website=[[Democracy Now!]]}}</ref>

====Activism against US-led war against Iraq====
[[File:DanielEllsberg.THF.WH.WDC.3jul06.jpg|thumb|Protesting with anti-war group [[Code Pink]] in 2006]]
During the runup to the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]] he warned of a possible "[[Gulf of Tonkin incident|Tonkin Gulf scenario]]" that could be used to justify going to war, and called on government "insiders" to go public with information to counter the [[George W. Bush administration|Bush administration's]] [[Public relations preparations for 2003 invasion of Iraq|pro-war propaganda campaign]], praising [[Scott Ritter]] for his efforts in that regard.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://logosonline.home.igc.org/ellsberg.pdf|title=IGC.org|access-date=December 8, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218011104/http://logosonline.home.igc.org/ellsberg.pdf|archive-date=December 18, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Jacobsen|first=Kurt|date=Fall 2002|title=Discussing Secrets: An Interview with Daniel Ellsberg|url=http://www.logosjournal.com}}</ref> He later supported the whistleblowing efforts of British [[Government Communications Headquarters|GCHQ]] translator [[Katharine Gun]] and called on others to leak any papers that reveal government deception about the invasion.<ref name="expertwitnessradio.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.expertwitnessradio.org/archives/ellsberg.html |title=The Expert Witness Radio Show with Michael Levine |publisher=Expertwitnessradio.org |access-date=December 2, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724162842/http://www.expertwitnessradio.org/archives/ellsberg.html |archive-date=July 24, 2011 }}</ref> Ellsberg also testified at the 2004 [[conscientious objector]] hearing of [[Camilo Mejia]] at [[Fort Sill|Fort Sill, Oklahoma]].<ref name="expertwitnessradio.org"/>

Ellsberg was arrested, in November 2005, for violating a county ordinance for trespassing while protesting against [[George W. Bush]]'s conduct of the [[Iraq War]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/23/AR2005112302185.html |title=Antiwar Protesters Arrested Near Bush Ranch |newspaper=The Washington Post |date= November 24, 2005|access-date=December 2, 2010 |first=Rosalind S. |last=Helderman}}</ref>

Ellsberg criticized the arrest of [[WikiLeaks]] founder [[Julian Assange]], who had exposed U.S. war crimes in Iraq.<ref>{{cite news |title=Daniel Ellsberg On Assange Arrest: The Beginning of the End For Press Freedom |url=https://therealnews.com/stories/daniel-ellsberg-on-assange-arrest-the-beginning-of-the-end-for-press-freedom |publisher=[[The Real News]] |date=April 11, 2019}}</ref>

====Activism against US military action against Iran====
In September 2006, Ellsberg wrote in ''[[Harper's Magazine]]'' that he hoped someone would leak information about a potential U.S. invasion of Iran before the invasion happened, to stop the war.<ref>{{Citation | title =The Next War | magazine =Harper's Magazine
 | date =October 2006 | volume =October 2006
 | url =http://harpers.org/archive/2006/10/the-next-war/ | access-date=July 9, 2013| last1 =Ellsberg
 | first1 =Daniel
 }}</ref>
 
In a speech on March 30, 2008, in San Francisco's [[Unitarian Universalism|Unitarian Universalist]] church, Ellsberg observed that [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|House Speaker]] [[Nancy Pelosi]] does not have the authority to declare [[Federal impeachment in the United States|impeachment]] "off the table", as she had done with respect to George W. Bush. The oath of office taken by members of congress requires them to "defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic". He also pointed out that under [[Article Six of the United States Constitution|Article VI]] of the [[U.S. Constitution]], treaties, including the [[United Nations Charter]] and international labor rights accords that the United States has signed, become the supreme law of the land that neither the states, the president, nor the congress have the power to break. For example, if the Congress votes to authorize an unprovoked attack on a sovereign nation, that authorization would not make the attack legal. A president citing the authorization as just cause could be prosecuted in the [[International Criminal Court]] for [[war crime]]s.<ref>{{cite web|author=Saryl Weinstein |url=http://warandlaw.homestead.com/files/Ellsnews.htm |title=Congress should probe Bush's Iran attack plan, says Ellsberg, warning of supreme war crime |publisher=Warandlaw.homestead.com |access-date=December 2, 2010}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|date=January 2023}}

====Russian invasion of Ukraine====
In April 2022, Ellsberg said that Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]] "is a bad guy, very clearly. His aggression is murderous and as illegitimate as the [[Soviet invasion of Afghanistan]]. Or the [[US invasion of Afghanistan]] or [[U.S. Invasion of Iraq|Iraq]]. Or [[Hitler]]'s [[German Invasion of Poland|invasion of Poland]]." He compared Putin's [[Nuclear threats during the Russian invasion of Ukraine|nuclear threats]] to [[Richard Nixon]]'s self-proclaimed "[[Madman theory|madman strategy]]". He expressed concern that global cooperation among major powers on [[climate change]] and [[Nuclear disarmament|nuclear arms reduction]] would be impossible.<ref>{{cite news |title=Daniel Ellsberg on the Existential Threat of Global Conflict |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/world/daniel-ellsberg-ukraine/ |work=The Nation |date=April 22, 2022}}</ref>

In April 2022, during the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]], Ellsberg appeared on [[Al Jazeera English|Al Jazeera]]'s ''Upfront'' and stated that major [[Arms industry|arms manufacturers]], such as [[Boeing]], [[Lockheed Martin]] or [[General Electric]], were [[War profiteering#War in Ukraine|profiting from the war in Ukraine]] and from the [[Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen]], saying that "A failing war is just as profitable as a winning one," "It's the old Latin slogan, ''Cui Bono'', who benefits?", "We're not after all a European nation and we have no particular role in the [[European Union]]. But in [[NATO]]{{Snd}}that's as the [[Mafia]] says [[Cosa Nostra]], our thing{{Snd}}we control NATO pretty much and NATO gives us an excuse and a reason to sell enormous amounts of arms to now to the formerly [[Warsaw Pact]] nations," and, "Russia is an indispensable enemy." He said both the United States and Russia have their [[Military–industrial complex|military-industrial complexes]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Who really benefits from war? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/program/upfront/2022/4/29/who-really-benefits-from-war |access-date=January 15, 2023 |publisher=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Who really benefits from war? {{!}} UpFront | date=April 29, 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPSGNwv1ptc |language=en |access-date=January 15, 2023}}</ref>

In June 2022, he said that "The Russian invasion of Ukraine has made the world far more dangerous, not only in the short run, but in ways that may be irreversible. It is a tragic and criminal attack. We are seeing humanity at its almost worst, but not quite the worst{{Snd}}so far, since 1945 we haven't seen [[nuclear war]]."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Siemaszko |first1=Corky |title=Daniel Ellsberg, Pentagon Papers whistleblower, dies at 92 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/daniel-ellsberg-pentagon-papers-whistleblower-dies-92-rcna73171 |publisher=NBC News |date=June 16, 2023}}</ref>

[[File:Daniel Ellsberg Speaking (2545923457).jpg|thumb|Ellsberg speaking in 2008]]
[[File:Daniel Ellsberg, Mike Myatt, & Robert Rosenthal (15180381714).jpg|thumb|Ellsberg with [[Robert Jon Rosenthal|Robert Rosenthal]] in 2008]]
[[File:Daniel Ellsberg at San Francisco Pride Parade 2013..JPG|thumb|At San Francisco Pride Parade 2013]]

===Support for American whistleblowers===
Ellsberg said that in regard to former FBI translator turned whistleblower [[Sibel Edmonds]], what she has is  "far more explosive than the Pentagon Papers".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Friedman|first1=Brad|author-link=Brad Friedman|title=Sibel Edmonds: The Traitors Among Us|url=https://www.larryflynt.com/?p=693|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100224061838/https://www.larryflynt.com/?p=693|archive-date=February 24, 2010|access-date=June 20, 2023|work=Hustler}}</ref> He also participated in the [[National Security Whistleblowers Coalition]] founded by Edmonds,<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Rose|first1=David|author-link=David Rose (journalist)|title=An Inconvenient Patriot|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2005/09/edmonds200509|access-date=March 20, 2023|magazine=Vanity Fair|date=October 1, 2005}}</ref> and in 2008, he condemned many U.S. media outlets for purportedly ignoring articles about Edmonds's allegations regarding [[nuclear proliferation]] published in ''[[The Sunday Times]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Greenslade|first1=Roy|author-link=Roy Greenslade|title=US Journalists Ignore Sunday Times Scoop on FBI Nuclear Scandal|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2008/jan/22/usjournalistsignoresundayt|access-date=March 20, 2023|work=The Guardian|date=January 22, 2008}}</ref>

On December 9, 2010, Ellsberg appeared on ''[[The Colbert Report]]'' where he commented that the existence of [[WikiLeaks]] helps to build a better government.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/368131/december-09-2010/international-manhunt-for-julian-assange---daniel-ellsberg|title=The Colbert Report|website=Comedy Central}}</ref>

On March 21, 2011, Ellsberg, along with 35 other demonstrators, was arrested during a demonstration outside the [[Marine Corps Base Quantico]], in protest of [[Chelsea Manning]]'s current detention at [[Marine Corps Brig, Quantico]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.sky.com/story/843636/arrests-at-wikileaks-marine-base-protest|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714183731/http://news.sky.com/story/843636/arrests-at-wikileaks-marine-base-protest|url-status=dead|title=Arrests At WikiLeaks Marine Base Protest|date=July 14, 2012|archive-date=July 14, 2012|publisher=Sky News|access-date=November 14, 2017}}</ref>

On June 10, 2013, Ellsberg published an editorial in ''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper praising the actions of former [[Booz Allen Hamilton|Booz Allen]] worker [[Edward Snowden]] in revealing top-secret surveillance programs of the [[NSA]]. Ellsberg believed that the United States had fallen into an "abyss" of total tyranny, but said that because of Snowden's revelations, "I see the unexpected possibility of a way up and out of the abyss."<ref>{{cite news|author=Daniel Ellsberg |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jun/10/edward-snowden-united-stasi-america |title=Edward Snowden: saving us from the United Stasi of America |work=The Guardian |access-date=June 10, 2013 |location=London |date=June 10, 2013}}</ref>

In June 2013, Ellsberg and numerous celebrities appeared in a video showing support for Chelsea Manning.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/celebrity-bradley-manning-video-93041.html|title=Celeb video: 'I am Bradley Manning'|website=[[Politico]]|date=June 19, 2013 }}</ref><ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/UFFkcCh-pCc Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20130619051931/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFFkcCh-pCc&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFFkcCh-pCc|title=I am Bradley Manning (full HD)|last=I am Bradley Manning|date=June 18, 2013|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In June 2010, Ellsberg was interviewed regarding the parallels between his actions in releasing the ''Pentagon Papers'' and those of Manning, who was arrested by the U.S. military in Iraq after allegedly providing to [[WikiLeaks]] a classified video showing [[July 12, 2007, Baghdad airstrike|U.S. military helicopter gunships strafing and killing Iraqis]] alleged to be civilians. Ellsberg said that he fears for Manning and for Julian Assange, as he feared for himself after the initial publication of the ''Pentagon Papers''. WikiLeaks initially said it had not received the cables, but did plan to post the video of an [[Garani airstrike|attack that killed 86 to 145 Afghan civilians]] in the village of Garani. Ellsberg expressed hope that either Assange or President Obama would post the video, and expressed his strong support for Assange and Manning, whom he called "two new heroes of mine".<ref>[http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/17/wikileaks_whistleblowers "With Rumored Manhunt for Wikileaks Founder and Arrest of Alleged Leaker of Video Showing Iraq Killings, Obama Admin Escalates Crackdown on Whistleblowers of Classified Information"] democracynow.org, June 17, 2010</ref><ref>[http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-06-15/wikileaks-founder-has-garani-massacre-video-according-to-new-email/ "WikiLeaks Founder to Release Massacre Video"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619124459/http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-06-15/wikileaks-founder-has-garani-massacre-video-according-to-new-email/ |date=June 19, 2010 }} http://www.thedailybeast.com, Philip Shenon, June 16, 2010</ref>

''[[Democracy Now!]]'' devoted a substantial portion of its July 4, 2013, program to "How the Pentagon Papers Came to be Published By the Beacon Press Told by Daniel Ellsberg & Others." Ellsberg said there are hundreds of public officials right now who know that the public is being lied to about Iran. If they follow orders, they may become complicit in starting an unnecessary war. If they are faithful to their oath to protect the [[Constitution of the United States]], they could prevent that war. Exposing official lies could however carry a heavy personal cost as they could be imprisoned for unlawful disclosure of classified information.<ref>{{Citation |last=Goodman |first=Amy |author-link=w:Amy Goodman |title=How the Pentagon Papers Came to be Published By the Beacon Press Told by Daniel Ellsberg & Others |publisher=Democracy Now! |date=July 4, 2013 |url=http://www.democracynow.org/2013/7/4/how_the_pentagon_papers_came_to |access-date=July 9, 2013}}</ref>

In 2012, Ellsberg co-founded the [[Freedom of the Press Foundation]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Recording offers rationale of WikiLeaks defendant |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/honolulu-star-advertiser-recording-offer/125308802/ |access-date=May 25, 2023 |work=[[Honolulu Star-Advertiser]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=March 13, 2013 |page=A11 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref name="eff">{{cite web |url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/12/eff-helps-freedom-press-foundation |title=EFF Helps Freedom of the Press Foundation |last=Cohn |first=Cindy |date=December 17, 2012 |publisher=[[Electronic Frontier Foundation]] |access-date=February 4, 2013}}</ref> In September 2015, Ellsberg and 27 members of the [[Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity]] steering group wrote a letter to the president challenging a recently published book that claimed to rebut the report of the [[United States Senate Intelligence Committee]] on the [[Central Intelligence Agency]]'s use of torture.<ref name="AndyWorthington2015-09-15"/>{{Self-published inline|date=January 2023|certain=yes}}

In 2020, Ellsberg testified in defense of Assange during Assange's extradition hearings.<ref>{{Cite web|date=September 16, 2020|title=Pentagon Papers leaker comes to the defense of Assange|url=https://apnews.com/article/julian-assange-daniel-ellsberg-archive-extradition-united-states-2fe79f6b7e3171b3865cdccc3ecce822|access-date=October 7, 2020|website=AP NEWS}}</ref> Ellsberg spoke out vociferously against the threats to press freedom from such whistleblower prosecution.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.truthdig.com/articles/daniel-ellsberg-assanges-arrest-is-the-beginning-of-the-end/|title=Daniel Ellsberg: Assange's Arrest Is the Beginning of the End|last=Pireres|first=Sharmini|date=April 12, 2019|website=Truthdig: Expert Reporting, Current News, Provocative Columnists|access-date=May 24, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://therealnews.com/stories/daniel-ellsberg-on-julian-assanges-espionage-charges|title=Daniel Ellsberg on Julian Assange's Espionage Charges|date=May 23, 2019|website=The Real News Network|language=en-US|access-date=May 24, 2019}}</ref>

In a December 2022 interview with [[BBC News]], Ellsberg said that he was given all of the Manning information before it came out in the press by Assange.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pentagon Papers whistle-blower Daniel Ellsberg was Wikileaks' secret back-up |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-63832899 |work=BBC News |access-date=December 7, 2022}}</ref>

===Support for Occupy Movement===
On November 16, 2011, Ellsberg camped on the [[UC Berkeley]] [[Sproul Plaza]] as part of an effort to support the [[Occupy Cal]] movement.<ref>[http://www.sacbee.com/2011/11/16/4059116/daniel-ellsberg-part-of-uc-berkeley.html Daniel Ellsberg part of UC Berkeley Occupy protest]{{dead link|date=May 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

===''The Doomsday Machine''===

In December 2017, Ellsberg published ''The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner''.  He said that his primary job from 1958 until releasing the ''[[Pentagon Papers]]'' in 1971 was as a [[Nuclear warfare|nuclear war]] planner for United States presidents [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower]], [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]], [[Lyndon Baines Johnson|Johnson]], and [[Richard M. Nixon|Nixon]]. He concluded that United States nuclear war policy was completely crazy and he could no longer live with himself without doing what he could to expose it, even if it meant he would spend the rest of his life in prison. However, he also felt that as long as the U.S. was still involved in the Vietnam War, the United States electorate would not likely listen to a discussion of nuclear war policy. He therefore copied two sets of documents, planning to release first the ''Pentagon Papers'' and later documentation of nuclear war plans. However, the nuclear planning materials were hidden in a [[landfill]] and then lost because of the [[Tropical Storm Doria|tropical storm Doria]].<ref>Kevin Canfield, [http://www.sfgate.com/books/article/The-Doomsday-Machine-by-Daniel-Ellsberg-12413956.php 'The Doomsday Machine,' by Daniel Ellsberg] ''San Francisco Chronicle''. Retrieved December 21, 2017.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Davies |first=Dave |date=23 June 2023 |title=Remembering Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/06/23/1183973731/remembering-daniel-ellsberg-who-leaked-the-pentagon-papers |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=[[NPR]]}}</ref>

His overriding concerns were as follows:  
# As long as the world maintains large nuclear arsenals, it is not a matter of if, but when, a nuclear war will occur.  
# The vast majority of the population of an initiator state would likely starve to death during a "nuclear autumn" or "[[nuclear winter]]" if they did not die earlier from retaliation or fallout.  If the nuclear war dropped only roughly 100 nuclear weapons on cities, as in a [[war between India and Pakistan]], the effect would be similar to the "[[Year Without a Summer]]" that followed the [[1815 eruption of Mount Tambora]], except that it would last more like a decade, because soot would not settle out of the [[stratosphere]] as quickly as the volcanic debris, and roughly a third of the people worldwide not killed by the nuclear exchange would starve to death, because of the resulting crop failures.  However, if more than roughly 2 percent of the U.S. nuclear arsenal were used, the results would more likely be a [[nuclear winter]], leading to the deaths from starvation of 98 percent of people worldwide not killed by the nuclear exchange.  
# To preserve the ability of a [[List of states with nuclear weapons|nuclear-weapon state]] to retaliate from a [[Decapitation strike|"decapitation" attack]], every country with nuclear weapons seems to have delegated broadly the authority to respond to an apparent nuclear attack.<ref>{{citation |publisher=Bloomsbury |date=December 5, 2017 |isbn=978-1608196708 |chapter=chapter 3. Delegation |author=Daniel Ellsberg |title=The Doomsday Machine}}</ref>

As an example of the third concern, Ellsberg discussed an interview he had in 1958 with a major, who commanded a squadron of 12 [[North American F-100 Super Sabre|F-100]] fighter-bombers at [[Kunsan Air Base]], South Korea.  His aircraft were equipped with [[B28 nuclear bomb|Mark 28]] [[thermonuclear weapons]] with a yield of 1.1 [[TNT equivalent|megatons]] each, roughly half the explosive power of all the bombs dropped by the U.S. in [[World War II]] both in Europe and the Pacific.  The major said his official orders were to wait for orders from his superiors in [[Osan Air Base]], South Korea, or in Japan before ordering his F-100s into the air.  However, the major also said that standard military doctrine required him to protect his forces.  That meant that if he had reason to believe that a war had already begun when his communications with Osan and Japan were broken, he was required to launch his dozen F-100s with their thermonuclear weapons.  They never practiced that launch, because the risk of an accident was too great.  Ellsberg then asked what might happen if he gave such launch orders and the sixth plane succumbed to a thermonuclear accident on the runway.  After some thought, the major agreed that the five planes already in the air would likely conclude that a nuclear war had begun, and they would likely deliver their [[warhead]]s to their preassigned targets.<ref>{{cite Q|Q63862699}}<!--Doomsday Machine-->, pp. 52ff.</ref>

According to Ellsberg the "[[nuclear football]]" carried by an aide near the U.S. president at all times is primarily a piece of [[Political drama|political theater]], a hoax, to keep the public ignorant of the real problems of nuclear command and control.<ref>{{cite Q|Q63862699}}<!--Doomsday Machine-->, p. 69.</ref>

In Russia, this included a semi-automatic "[[Dead Hand]]" system, whereby a nuclear explosion in Moscow, whether accidental or by a foreign state or terrorists, would induce low-level officers to launch [[ICBM]]s toward targets in the U.S., presumed to be the origin of such attacks.  The first ICBMs launched in this way "would beep a Go signal to any ICBM sites they passed over", which would launch those other ICBMs without further human intervention.<ref>{{cite Q|Q63862699}}<!--Doomsday Machine-->, p. 303</ref>

==== Nuclear threats by the United States ====
Ellsberg wrote in his 1981 essay ''Call to Mutiny'' that, "every president from Truman to Reagan, with the possible exception of Ford, has felt compelled to consider or direct serious preparations for possible imminent U.S. initiation of tactical or strategic nuclear warfare".<ref>{{citation |last=Betts |first=Richard K. |page=7 |title=Nuclear Blackmail and Nuclear Balance |date=December 1, 2010 |publisher=Brookings Institution Press |isbn=978-0-8157-1708-9}}</ref> Some of these threats were implicit; many were explicit.  Many governmental officials and authors claimed that those threats made major contributions to achieving important policy objectives. Ellsberg's examples are summarized in the following table:<ref>For more on this, see especially {{cite Q|Q63874626}}<!--Call to Mutiny-->;  {{cite Q|Q63874634}}<!-- Force without War:  U.S. Armed forces as a political instrument -->;  {{cite Q|Q63874641}}<!--Empire and the bomb:  How the U.S. uses nuclear weapons to dominate the world -->;  {{cite Q|Q63874649}}<!-- U.S. Nuclear Threats:  A documentary history -->;  {{cite Q|Q63874665}}<!-- Nuclear Blackmail and Nuclear Balance -->, cited from {{cite Q|Q63862699}}<!--Doomsday Machine-->, especially the second-to-last chapter.</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
! President !! Target !! Incident
|- 
| rowspan="2" | [[Presidency of Harry S. Truman|Truman (1945–1953)]]
| {{flagu|Soviet Union}}
| [[Berlin Blockade]] (June 24, 1948{{Snd}}May 12, 1949).<ref>At the outset of this incident, Truman deployed B-29s similar to those that dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but not the nuclear-capable [[Silverplate]] version, [[Strategic Air Command in the United Kingdom#Berlin Blockade|to bases in Britain and Germany]] to deter the Soviet Union from officially transferring to East Germany control of the land corridor to Berlin, an explicit part of the Soviet plan. {{cite Q|Q63873810}}<!-- The Winning Weapon -->, pp. 256–274, cited from {{cite Q|Q63862699}}<!--Doomsday Machine-->, pp. 319, 378.</ref>
|- 
| {{flagu|China}}
| [[Korean War#China intervenes (October–December 1950)|Chinese intervention in the Korean War (October 1950)]].
|- 
| rowspan="4" | [[Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower (1953–1961)]] 
| {{flagu|China}}
| Korean War,<ref>For Eisenhower's secret nuclear threats against China to force and maintain a settlement in Korea in 1953, see {{cite Q|Q61945939}}<!-- Mandate for change-->, pp. 178–181, and {{cite Q|Q63874409}}<!-- Deterrence in American Foreign Policy -->, pp. 237–241, cited from {{cite Q|Q63862699}}<!--Doomsday Machine-->, pp. 319, 378.</ref> and Taiwan Strait crises of [[First Taiwan Strait Crisis|1954–55]] and [[Second Taiwan Strait Crisis|1958]].<ref name='Halperin1966'>{{cite Q|Q63874609}}<!-- The 1958 Taiwan Straits Crisis:  A documentary history-->, cited from {{cite Q|Q63862699}}<!--Doomsday Machine-->, pp. 320, 378.</ref>
|-
| {{Flagicon image|Flag of North Vietnam (1945–1955).svg}} [[Viet Minh|Vietnamese communists]]
| U.S. offers nuclear support to the French at [[Battle of Dien Bien Phu|Dien Bien Phu (1954)]].<ref>''[[Hearts and Minds (film)|Hearts and Minds]]'';  {{cite Q|Q63874430}}, pp. 121–122; see also {{cite Q|Q63874435}}<!--Memoirs of Richard Nixon -->, pp. 150–155; cited from {{cite Q|Q63862699}}<!--Doomsday Machine-->, pp. 319, 378.</ref>
|- 
| {{flagu|Soviet Union}}
| 1956 [[Suez Crisis]] and the [[Berlin Crisis of 1958–1959|1958–59 Berlin crisis]].<ref name='Nixon1985'>{{cite Q|Q63885038}}<!-- Nixon:  A nation coming into its own, July 29, 1985-->, cited from {{cite Q|Q63862699}}<!--Doomsday Machine-->, pp. 320, 379.</ref>
|- 
| {{flagcountry|Iraqi Republic (1958–1968)|1958}}
| To deter an invasion of [[Sheikhdom of Kuwait|Kuwait]] during the [[1958 Lebanon crisis]].<ref>{{cite Q|Q63874634}}<!-- Force without War:  U.S. Armed forces as a political instrument -->, pp. 238, 256, cited from {{cite Q|Q63862699}}<!--Doomsday Machine-->, pp. 320, 379.</ref>
|- 
| [[Presidency of John F. Kennedy|Kennedy (1961–1963)]] 
| {{flagu|Soviet Union}}
| [[Berlin Crisis of 1961]]<ref>{{cite Q|Q63862699}}<!--Doomsday Machine-->, ch. 10, "Berlin and the Missile Gap"; also {{cite Q|Q63874634}}<!-- Force without War:  U.S. Armed forces as a political instrument -->, pp. 343–439;  cited from {{cite Q|Q63862699}}<!--Doomsday Machine-->, pp. 320, 379.  Note:  On p. 176, Ellsberg mentioned "ending the Berlin Crisis in 1961".  Later, on p. 321, he mentioned "the 1961–62 Berlin crisis."  There is a Wikipedia article on "Berlin Crisis of 1961".  I therefore decided to ignore the reference to 1962 in this context, as I have not seen other references to Berlin crisis in 1962 and mentioning it would produce an apparent conflict with the title of the existing Wikipedia article on that.</ref> and 1962 [[Cuban Missile Crisis]].<ref>{{cite Q|Q63862699}}<!--Doomsday Machine-->, ch. 12. "My Cuban Missile Crisis" and ch. 13. "Cuba: The real story".</ref>
|- 
| [[Presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson (1963–1969)]] 
| {{flag|North Vietnam}}
| [[Battle of Khe Sanh]], Vietnam, 1968.<ref>{{cite Q|Q63887635}}<!-- The Unmaking of a President -->, pp. 89–91; also {{cite Q|Q63888313}}<!-- William C. Westmoreland (1976) A Soldier Reports -->, p. 338; cited from {{cite Q|Q63862699}}<!--Doomsday Machine-->, pp. 320, 379.</ref>
|-
| rowspan="3" | [[Presidency of Richard Nixon|Nixon (1969–1974)]] 
| {{flagu|Soviet Union}}
| To deter an attack on Chinese nuclear capability, 1969–70, or a Soviet response to possible Chinese intervention against India in the [[Indo-Pakistan War of 1971]], or an intervention in the [[Yom Kippur War|1973 Arab-Israeli War]].<ref name='Nixon1985'/><!-- Nixon:  A nation coming into its own, July 29, 1985--> 
|-
| {{flagu|North Vietnam}}
| Secret threats of massive escalation of the [[Vietnam War#Vietnamization, 1969–1972|Vietnam War]], including possible use of nuclear weapons, 1969–1972.<ref>{{cite Q|Q63888819}}<!-- H. R. Haldeman, The Ends of Power-->, pp. 81–85, 97–98;  {{cite Q|Q63874435}}<!--Memoirs of Richard Nixon -->, pp. 393–414;  {{cite Q|Q42194571}}<!-- Seymour Hersh, The Price of Power:  Kissinger in the Nixon White House-->;  {{cite Q|Q58522397}}<!--Larry Berman, No Peace, No Honor:  Nixon, Kissinger, and betrayal in Vietnam-->;  {{cite Q|Q63889289}}<!-- John A. Farrell, Richard Nixon:  The Life -->;  cited from {{cite Q|Q63862699}}<!--Doomsday Machine-->, pp. 320, 379.</ref>
|- 
| {{flagu|India}}
| [[Indo-Pakistan War of 1971]]<ref name='Nixon1985'/><!-- Nixon:  A nation coming into its own, July 29, 1985-->
|- 
| [[Presidency of Gerald Ford|Ford (1974–1977)]] 
| {{flagu|North Korea}}
| [[Korean axe murder incident]], in which two US army officers were killed while trying to trim a tree blocking open observation of the [[Korean Demilitarized Zone|Demilitarized Zone]].  Two days later, the tree was cut to a stump 6 meters tall in a massive show of force that included a [[B-52]] nuclear-capable bomber flying straight toward [[Pyongyang]] escorted by high performance fighter aircraft, while a US aircraft carrier task force moved into station just offshore.  Ellsberg noted that it might be more accurate to classify this incident {{em|not}} as  "nuclear threat" but a "show of force".<ref>{{cite Q|Q62111338}}<!-- Norris and Kristensen, U.S. Nuclear Threats-->;  {{cite Q|Q63892384}}<!-- John K. Singlaub, Hazardous Duty:  An American soldier in the twentieth century-->; {{cite Q|Q63893129}}<!-- Richard A. Mobley, Revisiting the Korean Tree-Trimming Incident-->, pp. 110–111, 113–114; consistent with {{cite Q|Q63874634}}<!-- Force without War:  U.S. Armed forces as a political instrument -->;  cited from {{cite Q|Q63862699}}<!--Doomsday Machine-->, pp. 321, 379.</ref>
|- 
| [[Presidency of Jimmy Carter|Carter (1977–1981)]]
| rowspan="2" | {{flagu|Soviet Union}}
| rowspan="2" | The [[Carter Doctrine]] on the Middle East to deter the Soviets, already in [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan|Afghanistan]], from moving next door into Iran to try to control the [[Persian Gulf]], through which the majority of the world's oil flowed at that time.<ref>This event was virtually unknown at the time outside secret government circles.  It was discussed six years later by {{cite Q|Q63917293}}<!--Schemmer (Sept. 1986) "Was the US ready to resort to nuclear weapons for the Persian Gulf in 1980?", Armed Forces Journal International --> and picked up by {{cite Q|Q63916660}}<!-- Halloran, "Washington Talk;  How leaders think the unthinkable", NYT, Sept 2, 1986-->.  It was described by Carter's Press Secretary Jody Powell as "the most serious nuclear crisis since the Cuban Missile Crisis."  See also {{cite Q|Q63862699}}<!--Doomsday Machine-->, pp. 321, 380.</ref>
|- 
| [[Presidency of Ronald Reagan|Reagan (1981–1989)]] 
|- 
| [[Presidency of George H. W. Bush|G. H. W. Bush (1989–1993)]]
| {{flagcountry|Ba'athist Iraq|1963}}
| [[Gulf War|Operation Desert Storm]].<ref>{{cite Q|Q62111338}}<!-- Norris and Kristensen, U.S. Nuclear Threats-->, p. 71;   {{cite Q|Q63919049}}; cited from {{cite Q|Q63862699}}<!--Doomsday Machine-->, pp. 321, 380.</ref>  
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Presidency of Bill Clinton|Clinton (1993–2001)]]
| {{flagu|North Korea}}
| Secret threats in 1995 on its nuclear reactor program.<ref>{{cite Q|Q62111338}}<!-- Norris and Kristensen, U.S. Nuclear Threats-->, p. 70, citing testimony by General [[Eugene E. Habiger]] before the [[United States Senate Committee on Armed Services|U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee]], March 13, 1977; cited from {{cite Q|Q63862699}}<!--Doomsday Machine-->, pp. 321, 380.</ref>  
|- 
| {{Flagicon image|Flag of Libya (1977–2011).svg}} [[History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi|Libya]]
| Public warning of a nuclear option against Libya's underground chemical weapons facility in 1996.<ref>{{cite Q|Q62111338}}<!-- Norris and Kristensen, U.S. Nuclear Threats-->, citing {{cite Q|Q63919240}}; cited from {{cite Q|Q63862699}}<!--Doomsday Machine-->, pp. 322, 380.</ref> 
|- 
| [[Presidency of George W. Bush|G. W. Bush (2001–2009)]] and all presidents and leading candidates since 
| {{flagu|Iran}}
| Threats of a nuclear attack against Iran's nuclear program.<ref>{{cite Q|Q63862699}}<!--Doomsday Machine-->, pp. 327–332, 380–381</ref>
|}