This Oscar-nominated documentary looks at the events that compelled Daniel Ellsberg, a former Marine and defense department staffer, to leak the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times in an effort to stop what he deemed an unjust Vietnam War. Ellsberg's articulate first-person narration and unique personal history give the film an intimacy and emotional depth lacking in most political/historical documentaries. Grade: A-.  

Quick: Tell me why U.S. and NATO troops are in Afghanistan. If you say it's to retaliate for the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 and destroy the government that allowed the rural nation to serve as the launching pad for the bloody offensive, well, that's already been accomplished. It's disappointing, then, that President Obama has granted a request from his military commanders to commit another 30,000-35,000 troops to the Afghanistan War for an indefinite time.