RT: The Pentagon burned 9,500 copies of a book it deemed a threat to national security. The US government paid the publisher nearly $50,000 dollars in printing costs, had the books pulled and destroyed. A government approved censored version of US Army Lt. Col Anthony Shaffer’s “Operation Dark Heart: Spycraft and Special Ops on the Frontlines of Afghanistan” was then released. Shaffer said he worked with the Army to ensure the information in the book was in line with the required procedures. He said he was careful to ensure the information in the book would not endanger US troops. During the process over the past two years he did remove items from the book when asked by the Army. Shaffer described the whole process as “collaborative”. After that the manuscript was passed to the publisher in January 2010, and the whole time there was public awareness of the book and what it entailed. In fact, Shaffer appeared on a number of media outlets discussing the book and what it would reveal. The Pentagon was fully aware of the book and what was contained within it. “Two major events happened which changed the atmosphere regarding my book,” said Shaffer. First, WikiLeaks. Shaffer said the WikiLeaks issues lead to a leak of information that confirmed a lot of the things that had been in the press previously. The second impactful event was the firing of General Stanley McChrystal. “Those two events changed the very fabric of the Pentagon and their concerns, and their attitude towards me,” said Shaffer. MORE