McChrystal memoir delayed by DOD security review

“We are currently working together
with Gen. (Ret) McChrystal within the security review process,” Pentagon
spokesman Lt. Col. Todd Breasseale said in an email to The Hill.

{mosads}The delay of McChrystal’s “My
Share of the Task” was first reported Wednesday by Foreign
Policy magazine.

McChrystal was the U.S. commander
in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010, but he resigned after making disparaging
comments about Obama administration officials in a Rolling Stone article.

Will Weisser, a spokesman for the publisher Portfolio, said
in a statement that the book continues to undergo a Department of Defense security review and the
Nov. 12 release date has been pushed back.

“General McChrystal has spent 22 months working closely with
military officials to make sure he follows all the rules for writing about the
armed forces, including special operations,” Weisser said.

“The clearance process has been detailed and time consuming.
General McChrystal was extremely careful not to include information that would
endanger any military personnel or their mission, and he’s confident the book
does not do so. Even so, he remains committed to securing official clearance from
DOD,” he said.

McChrystal’s unlikely timing may have contributed to the delay.

The Defense Department had to deal with the fallout last month from retired Navy SEAL Mark Bissonnette’s book, which the Pentagon did not have the chance to vet before it was released. In “No Easy Day,” Bissonnette
gives a firsthand account of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

The Pentagon says that Bissonnette disclosed sensitive and
classified material and has threatened legal action against him for violating a
non-disclosure agreement.