Book revised after initial print run destroyed

March 31, 2011 at 9:10 pm | Posted in Book Review | 1 Comment
Tags: 9/11, Afghanistan, Army, intelligence, operation dark heart, shaffer

"Operation Dark Heart" released after initial release purchased and destroyed.

After an All Fired Up Military Monday podcast by Betty Kilbride with her guest author, Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, I became aware of the book, “Operation Dark Heart.” Shaffer spoke of the difficulties with various U.S. defense and intelligence agencies in getting the book on the market after its publication.

Shaffer worked closely with the Department of the Army to make sure they approved of the information he disclosed, but in a Note From the Publisher, St. Martin’s Press informs the reader that the initial shipment of the book never left the warehouse because “the Department of Defense contacted us to express its concern that our publication of ‘Operation Dark Heart’ could cause damage to U.S. national security.”

This concern led to the destruction of the initial copy of the book and a revised edition with redacted text approved by Shaffer. The book remains a fascinating read on the intelligence operations that transpired during Shaffer’s time in Afghanistan from the recollections of the author and members of his team as suggested in the Author’s Note.

Shaffer writes of his life and how he got into the intelligence field. He outlines his assignments and how his work affected his personal life. During his time in intelligence, he also worked on the Able Danger task force.

Shaffer writes, “In 2000, while targeting al Qaeda, our Able Danger task force had discovered two of the three cells that later conducted the 9/11 attacks. Including Mohamed Atta, the lead hijacker.”

At the end of the book, Shaffer gives his own version of How to Win in Afghanistan. He writes an interesting scenario.

The revelations Shaffer makes in his book give the reader reason to understand why the Department of Defense, the Defense Intelligence Agency and other U.S. intelligence agencies wanted revisions made to his book as stated in the Note From the Publisher. I asked the question, is the book damaging to U.S. national security or to the departments that called for the revision and redacted text in the book? Read the book and draw you own conclusions.

Oh, and interestingly, some copies from the original publishing run still exist without the revisions or redacted text, but they bring a hefty price on online markets.