Is The Pentagon Copying Rev. Terry Jones?

Not that the Pentagon is taking its cue from Rev. Terry Jones or anything:

Defense Department officials are negotiating to buy and destroy all 10,000 copies of the first printing of an Afghan war memoir they say contains intelligence secrets, according to two people familiar with the dispute.


The publication of “Operation Dark Heart,” by Anthony A. Shaffer, a former Defense Intelligence Agency officer and a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, has divided military security reviewers and highlighted the uncertainty about what information poses a genuine threat to security.

Disputes between the government and former intelligence officials over whether their books reveal too much have become commonplace. But veterans of the publishing industry and intelligence agencies could not recall another case in which an agency sought to dispose of a book that had already been printed.

But if you check out that link to Amazon above, you'll see this:

Important Message for Customers
On Friday, August 13, 2010, just as St. Martin’s Press was readying its initial shipment of Operation Dark Heart, the Department of Defense expressed concern that its publication could cause damage to U.S. national security. The publication of the initial edition was canceled. However, after consulting with the author, Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, St. Martin's Press agreed to incorporate some of the government’s changes, which includes redacting classified text, into a revised edition, which is releasing on September 24.[emphasis added]

Looks like you'll be able to get a copy of the book after all.

Actually, this reminds me of when I was studying at Columbia University. A friend of mine was annoyed by a string of missionaries that were in the predominantly Jewish area giving out Christian Bibles. He decided to spend an hour going around the area, accepting the bibles from any and all missionaries that would offer them to him--and then he disposed of them quietly afterwards.

At least he did not burn them in public.

Technorati Tag: Operation Dark Heart and Pentagon.