Army Reserve officer's memoir destroyed to protect state secrets, Pentagon says

[t0dd]

Source: CNN

The Department of Defense recently purchased and destroyed thousands of copies of an Army Reserve officer's memoir in an effort to safeguard state secrets, a spokeswoman said Saturday.

"DoD decided to purchase copies of the first printing because they contained information which could cause damage to national security," Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. April Cunningham said.

In a statement to CNN, Cunningham said defense officials observed the September 20 destruction of about 9,500 copies of Army Reserve Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer's new memoir "Operation Dark Heart."

Shaffer says he was notified Friday about the Pentagon's purchase.

"The whole premise smacks of retaliation," Shaffer told CNN on Saturday. "Someone buying 10,000 books to suppress a story in this digital age is ludicrous."

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/09/25/books.destroyed/index.html?hpt=T1

[gateley]

1. Dylan Ratigan said the copies that did make it out there are selling for

thousands $$$ on the internet (and he said he knew what he was going to do with his copy when he finished reading it :7). I'm sure someone with one of the hot ones will post the stuff the Pentagon felt they had to remove.

[Duer 157099]

2. Um, I suppose the DoD never heard of a 2nd printing?

WTF, I mean, WTF? What a fucking waste of OUR money!

Assholes.

[F. Kafka]

3. There is a new printing, BUT...

...it's a censored version. On the book's Amazon page you'll find the following:

Based on Department of Defense security concerns, sections of Operation Dark Heart have been redacted in the published edition. The newly revised book keeps our national interests secure, but this highly qualified warrior's story is still intact. Shaffer's assessment of successes and failures in Afghanistan remains dramatic, shocking, and crucial reading for anyone concerned about the outcome of the war.

"While I do not agree with the edits in many ways, the DoD redactions enhance the reader's understanding by drawing attention to the flawed results created by a disorganized and heavy handed military intelligence bureaucracy." --Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer

The government buying (and pulping) the entire print run of a book, and then working with the publisher to produce a "corrected" version...?

Yikes.

[SoapBox]

4. Something really, really smells about this whole thing...

And thanks for running up that deficit, Pentagon.

[UpInArms]

5. Defense Department Cannot Account For 25% Of Funds — $2.3 Trillion

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/01/29/eveningnews/main325985.shtml

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 29, 2002

(CBS) On Sept. 10, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld declared war. Not on foreign terrorists, "the adversary's closer to home. It's the Pentagon bureaucracy," he said.

He said money wasted by the military poses a serious threat.

"In fact, it could be said it's a matter of life and death," he said.

Rumsfeld promised change but the next day – Sept. 11-- the world changed and in the rush to fund the war on terrorism, the war on waste seems to have been forgotten.

Just last week President Bush announced, "my 2003 budget calls for more than $48 billion in new defense spending."

More money for the Pentagon, CBS News Correspondent Vince Gonzales reports, while its own auditors admit the military cannot account for 25 percent of what it spends.

"According to some estimates we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions," Rumsfeld admitted.

$2.3 trillion — that's $8,000 for every man, woman and child in America. To understand how the Pentagon can lose track of trillions, consider the case of one military accountant who tried to find out what happened to a mere $300 million.

"We know it's gone. But we don't know what they spent it on," said Jim Minnery, Defense Finance and Accounting Service.

...more...

[bluesmail]

6. I gotta thank you for the reminder. The NWO has won. Because it is so

secretive, so very very VERY secretive, I doubt I'll be around for the expose. :thumbsup: