Authors wanting to write bestsellers can only hope their book gets censored. “Operation Dark Heart” is the latest title to benefit from the press involved. The Pentagon is the benefactor on this occasion. Military intelligence officials said “Operation Dark Heart,” the memoir by a former intelligence officer in Afghanistan, reveals classified info damaging to national security. Drawing from its endless stream of government funding, the Government aims to corner the market on the publication for the purpose of burning each and every last copy.
Government wants second opportunity at suppression
Anthony A. Schaffer, a lieutenant colonel in the Army reserve, penned “Operation Dark Heart” to tell the story of his adventures as a Defense Intelligence Agency officer in Afghanistan. It’s a first-person account of five months Shaffer spent in 2003 as a DIA officer based upon at Bagram Air Base near Kabul in Afghanistan. The New York Times reports that Army reviewers approved “Operation Dark Heart” in January. As prepared, publisher St. Martin’s Press proceeded with a release date of Aug. 31. However, “Operation Dark Heart” didn’t cross a DIA desk until July. Only then was it determined that classified information was revealed in its pages. By then, various dozen copies of the book had already been sent out to reviewers and online booksellers.
Book’s content material questioned
A DIA operation recounted within the publication dubbed “Able Danger,” carried out prior to the September 11 attacks, bothered Government censors. In his book, Shaffer claims the operation identified Mohammed Atta long before. A Fox News article said that DIA reviewers ordered that Shaffer’s claims to the 9/11 Commission that Able Danger ousted Atta in 2000 must be removed. Atta was considered to be the ringleader of the September 11 hijackers. He was at the controls of, American Airlines Flight 11, which crashed into the World Trade Center. Shaffer’s story lacked conclusive evidence, according to a Defense Department report written as the official response.
Burning fans flames for bestselling book
The Pentagon is negotiating with Shaffer’s publisher to purchase the entire initial printing of “Operation Dark Heart”. The Washington Post said the Pentagon would like to ensure the book does no damage by feeding all 10,000 copies to the fire. A 2nd printing is already in progress at St. Martin’s press-sans the sensitive passages. For the time being, the initial printing sits away from prying eyes in a warehouse, awaiting execution. “Operation Dark Heart” is presently #19 on Amazon’s bestseller list but listed as “temporarily out of stock”.
Further reading
New York Times
nytimes.com
Fox News
foxnews.com
Washington Post
washingtonpost.com
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