These are quotes from reviews of the book, this conspiracy is real:
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By Peter Finn and Greg Miller
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, September 9, 2010; 11:28 PM
The Defense Department is attempting to buy the entire first printing - 10,000 copies - of a memoir by a controversial former Defense Intelligence Agency officer so that the book can be destroyed, according to military and other sources.
"Operation Dark Heart," which was scheduled to be published this month by St. Martin's Press, recounts the adventures and frustrations of an Army reservist, Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, who served in Afghanistan in 2003, a moment when the attention of Washington and the military had shifted to Iraq.
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This review is from: Operation Dark Heart: Spycraft and Special Ops on the Frontlines of Afghanistan -- and the Path to Victory (Hardcover)
This book is excellent. It is a very gripping story that will immediately capture you. I think most will not be able to put it down. You will feel the sweat rolling down your back and the dust in your nose as you read this. The story is about a common mid level Defense Intelligence Operative in Afghanistan. I think reading stories from that level will give you a different flavor. Frequently the guys at the top have agendas;protect their reputations. The guys at the grunt level really miss a lot of the pieces that make up the puzzle. Reading a story from the middle will give you a different perspective.
The story is also heavily redacted all throughout. At times this does take away from the story. At other times the redacted material actually gets you thinking about what they are supposedly hiding. If you track the time line in your head there is also pieces of this he doesn't talk about.
Overall the story isn't too revolutionary. He doesn't shoot Bin Laden or anything like that. The story here tells you something that isn't being told elsewhere. The author has a speckled past. He has both Army experiences plus time in the CIA and time with the DIA. He makes several references to other things too that also peaks your interest to. He mentions how DIA has these recon teams spread out all the country. I found that interesting and wanted to know more.
This book has some stories that will really get you excited. For example he talks about how soldiers captured an intelligence operative from Pakistan. I don't remember that making the news. Also he talks a lot about a mysterious person who they captured. The way he talks about it makes you think the person was an American who was working for the Taliban in Afghanistan. The discussions were between him and the person talked about the the same local references like certain grocery stores. That makes a person think the captured person was a US citizen. That was something to that the press missed.
You also get to go along on a few raids and convoys. He describes his action with the rangers and the seals. His description of those attacks will put you at the edge of your seat.
The book does also talk about the famed internet mining operation before 9/11. The author was one of the people that told the world about it. This project predicted some of the Al Qaeda people were in the country before the attack. The author also talks about how bureaucratic infighting really hampered the war fight. This is the same thing McCrystal recently told a reporter. You also see how bureaucracy extracts it toll from innovators. The author now does not work for DIA.
I think most people will love the book. It won't make you educated but you will get a good feel for how the war against terrorism is being fought
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This review is from: Operation Dark Heart: Spycraft and Special Ops on the Frontlines of Afghanistan -- and the Path to Victory (Hardcover)
Imagine how you'd feel if you were watching the pictures of the 9/11 high-jackers on Television, recognizing at least one of them, from a previous clandestine intelligence operation you were working on, a year earlier. And that intelligence operation had been shut down by your supervisors prematurely. In other words, you were tracking the terrorist cell in the US, which later succeeded in the 9/11 attacks, but you were told to destroy the information one year before the attacks. I honestly don't know how I would have felt, and that's why I read this book. Because that is exactly what happened to Lt. Colonel Anthony Shaffer. It's hard to believe how it could happen in the most technologically advanced nation on the planet, yet Lt. Colonel Shaffer describes in detail how the operation known as "Able Danger" came about, the work he did, and who was responsible for its demise. With a little imagination, anyone can fill in the "redactions" made by the government in this edition... "Operation Dark Heart" is also the vivid story of Anthony Shaffer's time spent in Afghanistan, where he was hunting down members of the Taliban all the way to Pakistan, interrogating terrorist suspects, rebounding from a failed relationship with his fiance back home, and insights into the Pakistani/American political alliance and how it affects the war. He offers insights and advice, that I hope this government takes to heart. He condemns harsh interrogation tactics, and explains why they don't work, in his experience. He explains what needs to be done, and how, to win the war in Afghanistan. I also hope Shaffer's superiors, who clearly failed in Able Danger will take a long, hard look at themselves, and try to learn from their mistakes, as that's the best they can do. This is an exciting read, full of rich descriptions of locations, people, dangerous situations, etc., that you can clearly envision, because Shaffer's memory of details is excellent, and he transports you right into the action. A great writing talent, along with a true story that needed to be told.
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This review is from: Operation Dark Heart: Spycraft and Special Ops on the Frontlines of Afghanistan -- and The Path to Victory (Hardcover)
I just saw elsewhere that the DoD was planning to purchase all printed copies of this book when it is published and/or to allow the publication of a redacted version only.
I have just asked to be e-mailed when this book is available, but would like to add my voice to other posts here that I have no intention of accepting a redacted version or of being told that it is not available before my tax dollars were used to purchase every available copy. What year does the DoD think we're in, and what country do they think they're living in? This is truly insane.
It can, and is happening here.
