January 20 is the inauguration day of US President-elect Biden, and it is also the day when Trump officially "exited". Given that Trump still refuses to admit defeat, the outside world is worried: in the last ten days, will he make a little "out of line" big things?
According to the British "Independent" reported on the 5th, Daniel Ellsberg, a well-known Leaker in the United States who became famous for providing confidential documents of the Pentagon's Vietnam War to the media, warned that Trump may be planning a secret plan to trigger a military conflict with Iran.
He believed the information existed in documents marked "confidential or top secret" and urged relevant government officials to share them with the public to "avoid conflict." "He (Trump) has 17 to 18 days left, more than enough time."
Daniel Ellsberg, video screenshot
Ellsberg made the remarks at an online event for the Courage Foundation, a foundation that supports leakers, on Monday that Trump plans to continue provoking Iranian retaliation against the United States, which would provide an excuse for the attacks he has "wanted to do for years."
He said at the time: "I have almost no doubt about that. He still has 17 to 18 days, which is more than enough time. If the information leaks out, there will be enough time for an informed public to stop him. ”
Notably, Ellsberg did not provide any evidence to support his claim that the United States may be seeking to provoke Iran. But he stressed that he believed the information existed in documents labeled "secret or top secret" and called on informed officials to share it with the public.
"I think, for those who have the opportunity to learn about this information, I would encourage you to share this information." Not only with Congress, especially with the House of Representatives, but also with the media, so that we have a chance to avoid conflict ...
In the next few weeks, I'm going to say to people, do it now. Don't repeat my mistakes, don't wait until the bombs start to fall. Post this information today, this week, or next week. ”
Ellsberg also said he believed the Justice Department would equate the act with "treason," but he believed "it was in the interest of the United States, the Middle East, and the world."
The Independent mentioned in the report that during Trump's presidency, he single-handedly led the United States to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear agreement and re-impose sanctions on Iran; the US government also launched a propaganda offensive against the Iranian government, often threatening the Iranian government. In January last year, The commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, Sulaimani, was assassinated, and Trump admitted that the US military was involved.
On the first anniversary of Soleimani's assassination, tensions between Iran and the United States have risen. Sam Vinograd, a former national Security Council (NSC) official, has said: "It's no secret that a strike against Iran has been on Trump's wish list for a long time." Now that he is still a dozen days away from office, he may want to make a splash. ”
Matthew Reese as Ellsberg, stills from the film The Washington Post
Ellsberg, a well-known U.S. leaker, is 90 years old and a former analyst for the U.S. military. In 1971, Ellsberg, who worked at the RAND Corporation, leaked thousands of classified documents to several newspapers, which came to be known as the Pentagon Papers. The experience was recreated in Spielberg's 2018 film The Washington Post.
The documents reveal that, contrary to what senior U.S. government and military officials have said, the U.S. knew early on that it was unlikely to win the conflict with Vietnam. Nevertheless, the conflict continued for several years. The Independent said the U.S. military died 59,000 in the Vietnam War.
At Monday's online event, Ellsberg said he didn't regret leaking the documents, regretting that he didn't make them public as soon as they were discovered. In addition, he expressed support for WikiLeaks founder Assange.
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