# Trying to by up an author's book -What a colossal & stupid waste of money by the US Military **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 27, 2010, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-by-up-an-authors-book-what-a-colossal-stupid-waste-of-money-by-the-us-military/555201 "2010-09-27T11:24:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-by-up-an-authors-book-what-a-colossal-stupid-waste-of-money-by-the-us-military/555201/1 "2010-09-27T11:24:26Z")
It’s hard to believe how stupid this was. [Pentagon aims to buy up book](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/09/AR2010090907747.html) This cunning plan might have worked … if the unredacted first edition wasn’t [already being sold on eBay.](http://cgi.ebay.com/Operation-Dark-Heart-1stEd-Anthony-Shaffer-2010-/160483733849?pt=US_Nonfiction_Book&hash=item255d937159) > [@](#): > > 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. > > Shaffer, who is now a senior fellow at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies in Washington, describes a number of planned covert operations, including an aborted cross-border surveillance operation using sophisticated eavesdropping technology that targeted high-level al-Qaeda operatives based in the tribal areas of Pakistan [Amazon listing here](http://www.amazon.com/Operation-Dark-Heart-Frontlines-Afghanistan/dp/031260369X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1285586688&sr=1-1) ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-by-up-an-authors-book-what-a-colossal-stupid-waste-of-money-by-the-us-military/555201/2 "2010-09-27T11:45:22Z")
by=buy:o ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-by-up-an-authors-book-what-a-colossal-stupid-waste-of-money-by-the-us-military/555201/3 "2010-09-27T12:45:17Z")
Any evidence that the ebay version really is the unredacted version? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-by-up-an-authors-book-what-a-colossal-stupid-waste-of-money-by-the-us-military/555201/4 "2010-09-27T14:04:24Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Any evidence that the ebay version really is the unredacted version? Other than the fact the buyer paid $ 2000 for it, and it’s advertised as the unredacted version? None whatsoever.( see the link) There were several 1st editions on eBay that had been sold for 1000 - 2000+. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-by-up-an-authors-book-what-a-colossal-stupid-waste-of-money-by-the-us-military/555201/5 "2010-09-27T14:05:44Z")
Isn’t this a SOP? Preserves secrecy,adds another volume to military libraries around the world, and gives the author a nice pay-off. All nice and legal. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-by-up-an-authors-book-what-a-colossal-stupid-waste-of-money-by-the-us-military/555201/6 "2010-09-27T14:13:54Z")
> [@astro](#): > > > [@steronz](#): > > > > Any evidence that the ebay version really is the unredacted version? > > Other than the fact the buyer paid $ 2000 for it, and it’s advertised as the unredacted version? None whatsoever.( see the link) > > There were several 1st editions on eBay that had been sold for 1000 - 2000+. Seems like a quick way to make 2 grand for an unscrupulous seller. I’ll wait for confirmation from the buyers. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-by-up-an-authors-book-what-a-colossal-stupid-waste-of-money-by-the-us-military/555201/7 "2010-09-27T14:35:30Z")
Does anyone know how I can make the military want to suppress all information on Gorgons? ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-by-up-an-authors-book-what-a-colossal-stupid-waste-of-money-by-the-us-military/555201/8 "2010-09-27T15:48:37Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Does anyone know how I can make the military want to suppress all information on Gorgons? [ol] [li]Commission a series of sculptures, such as _Confused Soldier_, _Curious Soldier_ and _Soldier Running Away While Looking Over His Shoulder_.[/li][li]Have these sculptures delivered to Pakistan.[/li][li]Leak the locations of these sculptures to the US military.[/li][li]Profit?[/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-by-up-an-authors-book-what-a-colossal-stupid-waste-of-money-by-the-us-military/555201/9 "2010-09-27T15:50:59Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Does anyone know how I can make the military want to suppress all information on Gorgons? Threaten to publicize the military’s botched anti-gorgon campaign. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-by-up-an-authors-book-what-a-colossal-stupid-waste-of-money-by-the-us-military/555201/10 "2010-09-27T16:10:13Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Does anyone know how I can make the military want to suppress all information on Gorgons? I believe you’d want to be contacting Bob Howard, c/o The Laundry, about that.