What is the 7,000-page top-secret U.S. government report on the history of policy-making concerning the Vietnam War called?

• A. Pentagon Papers
• B. National Security Report
• C. Vietnam Documents
• D. War History Volume

Answer: (A)

The name you’re looking for is The Pentagon Papers. This was a top-secret Department of Defense study, written to lay out how U.S. policy decisions in Vietnam were made from the end of World War II up through 1967. Its sheer length—about 7,000 pages—and its confidential nature meant it was intended to reveal the thinking, assumptions, and missteps behind decisions to escalate and conduct the war. When portions were leaked by Daniel Ellsberg and published in 1971, it sparked a major controversy about government transparency and credibility, showing that leaders sometimes presented one picture publicly while pursuing a different course privately. The Pentagon Papers gained their name because the material originated in the Pentagon, the Defense Department, making it the famous label that stuck. The other titles listed aren’t the official designation for this collection, which is why the Pentagon Papers is the correct reference.