Operation Dark Heart will soon see the light of day (final)

St. Martin's Press is currently negotiating with the Pentagon for the sale of it's entire first printing of "Operation Dark Heart" by Lt. Colonel Anthony Shaffer, formerly of US intelligence in South Asia. At this point, it seems the military has no way to stop publication of the book that promises to blow holes in the public image of US operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan. After the first run of 10,000 copies is gone, the usual thing for a publisher to do is print more.

Having not yet seen the light of day, the book is already headed on it's way up the charts.According to The Guardian:

"Shaffer describes in the book how he was part of the "dark side of the force" that operates outside the usual constraints of the military system...
...He says that US forces were gaining the upper hand until the military brass involved itself, curbing operations in Pakistan and permitting the Taliban to strengthen again.

Shaffer, who used the pseudonym Christopher Stryker, fell foul of his superiors several years ago after claiming that an intelligence programme he was working with identified Mohammed Atta as a terrorist threat to the US before he led the attacks on 9/11."

Similar claims are made by various intelligence agents who were dismissed or silenced in July and August of 2001, including Sibel Edmonds, a translator for the FBI who continues to struggle to make her story known.

St. Martins Press will release "Operation Dark Heart" next week. How soon it will reach the shelves is still an open question.

David Roknich
Galesburg, Illinois