DoD OIG investigates skewed intelligence in war against ISIS
We talked about it last month, but it looks like more than 50 intelligence analysts have complained to the Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General that their reports have been skewed to paint a rosy picture of the war against ISIS, according to the Daily Beast;
Two senior analysts at CENTCOM signed a written complaint sent to the Defense Department inspector general in July alleging that the reports, some of which were briefed to President Obama, portrayed the terror groups as weaker than the analysts believe they are. The reports were changed by CENTCOM higher-ups to adhere to the administration’s public line that the U.S. is winning the battle against ISIS and al Nusra, al Qaeda’s branch in Syria, the analysts claim.
That complaint was supported by 50 other analysts, some of whom have complained about politicizing of intelligence reports for months.
From Business Insider;
Former CIA deputy director Michael Morrell explained on “CBS This Morning” how serious these allegations are.
“One of the central tenants, one of the key aspects of the policymaking process in the United States is that analysts get to say what they think without any interference, without anybody changing it, so this is a very, very serious charge. I think it needs to be fully investigated,” Morrell said.
“If there is truth that somebody has been meddling with their analysis, I think somebody needs to lose their job over it, and there needs to be full transparency into this because it is so important that analysts be able to say what they really think.”
Yeah, well, we had Martin Dempsey as the senior military policy adviser to Chuck Hagel until recently, so, really, what did they expect? They downplayed the fall of Mosul, Fallujah and Ramadi as insignificant. You know, even though the whole world saw it differently.
One analyst reportedly used the word “Stalinist” to describe the climate in the intelligence community in regards to the war against ISIS.
Category: Big Pentagon
FIRST!!!!!!!!!
This has always been one of my frustrations with my former MOS in the Army. The people that had a, usually accurate, assessment of what was going on where either not listened to or their assessments changed to meet policy focus/requirements. Not surprised that it’s still happening. This is one of the reasons the MI field, along w/elements of CIA and other IC community orgs get a lot of flack when something goes wrong/gets missed.
Bingo ^^^^^^
Been there seen it and all I want to do is Laugh my Ass Off.
Case in point BergShit or Dall. Talk about skewing the Intel
Skewed reports? Oh, my lilac bushes! Say it ain’t so!!!
This is, however, the same thing that was done during the Vietnam war, but it was skewed to get the opposite effect – stop the war, stir up the public – and it was done by the media far more often than by the DoD.
In regard to that article, quoting Morell, either the reporter made an honest mistake, or he misquoted Morell, as per this: One of the central tenants….
The correct word is ‘tenets’. A tenant is someone who lives in or occupies something, frequently paying a fee of some kind to occupy the space.
A ‘tenet’ is a principle, belief or doctrine, etc.
Huge difference there in the meaning, and it’s the reason I sometimes dive on people who do that kind of thing. In this case, it completely changes the meaning of the sentence.
I is done lecturin’ you heathenses now.
Ex, when you dive on someone, is it a strafing run or just a show of force? I never could understand, when you have a B-1b roar over the battlefield, why not bomb someone?
Shocker. When you have General Dumpsey advising Chuck Obivious, this is what you get. Two career bureaucrats along for the ride looking out for their own jobs like the other sycophants in the administration. Anybody else remember when the harpies on the left were squawking about skewed intel when somebody else was in the White House. It’s always politics with this administration. Politics comes before anything else, even national security.
Looks like the Obama administration hired Baghdad Bob to interpret intelligence reports.
Tell me again why General Flynn was fired?
“We saw all this connective tissue developing between these [proliferating] terrorist groups. So when asked if the terrorists were on the run, we couldn’t respond with any answer but ‘no.’ When asked if the terrorists were defeated, we had to say ‘no.’ Anyone who answers ‘yes’ to either of those questions either doesn’t know what they are talking about, they are misinformed, or they are flat out lying.”
http://breakingdefense.com/2014/08/flynns-last-interview-intel-iconoclast-departs-dia-with-a-warning/
All too true.
Anyone who doesn’t tell King Barry what he wants to hear, doesn’t have a job very long.
agree, but I hate to say this, a lot of people in Bushes inter-circle said the same about him too, and the fact that the Iranians had a inside man giving them bad info and looked what happend.
This has been going on for a very long time.
I heard “that doesn’t brief well” as a response to one of my reports more than once. I even inquired at the time wether this kind of influence was legal.
Funny.
When “intel” was changed to show there were WMDs in Iraq, liberals called for Bush n’ Cheney to be sent to the Hague for War Crimes.
When it happens for Obama “well, those darn intel people…”
Can you elaborate on how you see this as the same thing?
it’s simple Lars. the bad Intel about WMD. and the fallout back in 2004-2005 from the leftist,
in reality there was about 1 million pounds of recent and at least 8 million plus pounds of UN sealed Garbage. in a way kind of like Hillary going after the Bush people for private E-Mails and look what she has managed to do.. compromise our whole Government from personnel files the pentagon, company’s doing business with Uncle Sam, and so on. all thanks to being lazy and trying to hide the Clinton foundation Graft…