Circumstances of going to work on what later became known as the Pentagon Papers; the study to answer questions about the Vietnam War; granting of authority to requisition files within the Pentagon; CIA provides materials; White House material; staff who worked on study; study plan; lack of direction or certainty of what was expected reflections on the need for historians to do the study; role of Robert McNamara; speculation about the purpose of study; reaction to publication in the New York Times; order of battle controversy; reflections on JFK and the Vietnam War; present and past views about the Vietnam War
Oral history transcript, Leslie H. Gelb, interview 1 (I), 4/30/1984, by Ted Gittinger
Citation
Oral history transcript, Leslie H. Gelb, interview 1 (I), 4/30/1984, by Ted Gittinger, LBJ Presidential Library, accessed August 29, 2025, https://discoverlbj.org/item/oh-gelbl-19840430-1-86-26