Details Removed from Book at Request of U.S. Department of Defense
From the AFP:
A publisher has agreed to remove US intelligence details from a memoir by a former army officer in Afghanistan after the Pentagon raised last-minute objections, officials said Friday.
The book, “Operation Dark Heart,” had been printed and prepared for release in August but St. Martin’s Press will now issue a revised version of the spy memoir after negotiations with the Pentagon, US and company officials said.
In an unusual step, the Defense Department has agreed to reimburse the company for the cost of the first printing, spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan told AFP.
The original manuscript “contained classified information which had not been properly reviewed” by the military and US spy agencies, he said.
St. Martin’s press will destroy copies from the first printing with Pentagon representatives observing “to ensure it’s done in accordance with our standards,” Lapan said.
The second, revised edition would be ready by the end of next week, said the author’s lawyer, Mark Zaid.
EDITED TO ADD (9/30): An analysis of the redacted material—obtained by comparing the two versions—is amusing.
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Christof • September 23, 2010 7:42 AM
From the article: “But with copies of the original manuscript already circulating, the Pentagon’s move may backfire and end up calling more attention to intelligence details that the government wanted to keep quiet, said Steven Aftergood, who runs the project on government secrecy for the Federation of American Scientists.”