The Pentagon Burns 10,000 Books

My husband and I saw the above title as a news ticker on CNN this morning while we were working out.  Honestly, I about fell off the treadmill.  I had to make sure he read it because I thought I had to be seeing things.  Unfortunately, I read the ticker correctly.  Upon doing a Google search I have learned that this dismal act has indeed occurred.

Yes, in the year 2010 the American government is burning books! Appalling, disgusting and illegal are three words that immediately run through my mind, heart and soul about this act.  As Americans we have a constitutional right to free speech and yet this atrocity has occurred.

Here's a link to the article on Fox News.  I couldn't find anything at the CNN website, even though their channel is where we saw the news this morning.  The book is called Operation Dark Heart by Lieutenant Colonel Tony Shaffer.  Here is a blurb from the Fox News article about the book:

In a letter obtained by Fox News, the DIA says national security could be breached if "Operation Dark Heart" is published in its current form. The agency also attempted to block key portions of the book that claim "Able Danger" successfully identified hijacker Mohammed Atta as a threat to the United States before the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

I can honestly say that I understand and appreciate that the military works hard to keep American citizens safe.  I also understand that they were concerned about certain security breeches within this book.  However, the Pentagon approved the printing of this book.  If they had concerns about the content, why wasn't it dealt with before the book went to print?

Now the answer given by Obama and the Departement of Defense is to buy the first printing of the books - BURN them - then change the content and allow a second, new printing.  We do not live in Nazi-era Germany! WHY is the United States of America burning books? If the act itself isn't insulting enough - they've done this during the American Library Associations Banned Books Week.  As I said, appalling!