Operation Dark Heart Unredacted ((free)) -

Using federal funds, the DoD purchased and pulped over 9,500 copies of the book. A second edition was quickly released. This is the version you can buy on Amazon today. It is heavily marked with black boxes. In some cases, entire pages are blacked out. The visible text refers vaguely to "sources and methods" that cannot be disclosed.

The redacted sections identified a specific senior al-Qaeda operative (codenamed "Headquarters") who was hiding in a cave complex near the Pakistan border. The unredacted text allegedly included the exact grid coordinates. The Pentagon argued this would "tip off" the enemy. Critics argued the enemy already knew where they lived. operation dark heart unredacted

The book is a fascinating look at bureaucratic infighting, intelligence tradecraft, and the chaos of the early War on Terror. However, it became infamous not for what it said, but for what the government tried to stop. The standard procedure for a CIA or DIA officer publishing a memoir is "pre-publication review." Shaffer submitted his manuscript. The DIA reviewed it and cleared it. The book went to print—over 10,000 copies were already stored in a St. Paul, Minnesota, warehouse. Using federal funds, the DoD purchased and pulped