More Than 50 U.S. Spies Say ISIS Intelligence Has Been Altered

According to The Daily Beast, dozens of intelligence analysts working out of the U.S. military’s Central Command have complained that their reports have been altered by senior officials to make it look as though the U.S. is winning the war against ISIS. On the 15^th, they provided investigators with documentation showing how senior military officers manipulated the outcome of reports, putting the U.S. in a favorable light.

The Daily Beast’s report states “the fact that so many people complained suggests there are deep-rooted, systemic problems in how the U.S. military command charged with the war against the self-proclaimed Islamic State assesses intelligence.”

In one defense official’s statement:

“The cancer was within the senior level of the intelligence command.”

A written complaint signed by two senior analysts was sent to the Defense Department in July, and was supported by 50 other analysts, some of whom had been complaining for months. According to the complaint, some of the reports in question had been briefed to President Obama, and had been altered to adhere to the administration’s claim that the U.S. is winning the battle against ISIS and al Nusra, which is al Qaeda’s branch in Syria.

On an interesting note, some of the analysts are referring to their stand on the matter as a “revolt” by intelligence professionals who “are paid to give their honest assessment, based on facts, and not to be influenced by national-level policy.” One can only hope agents from other government agencies will follow suit.

The analysts claim that aside from removing portions of their reports, senior leaders at CENTCOM created unprofessional work environments with one person using the word “Stalinist” to describe the tone of the officials. Many described an environment in which they felt they could not give accurate assessments of developments in the Middle East, and it’s believed this resistance is due to their commanders “protecting their career advancement by putting the best spin on the war.”

“While we cannot comment on the specific investigation cited in the article, we can speak to the process. The Intelligence Community routinely provided a wide range of subjective assessments related to the current security environment. These products and the analysis that they present are absolutely vital to our efforts, particularly given the incredibly complex nature of the multi-front fights that are ongoing now in Iraq and Syria,” stated U.S. CENTCOM spokesman, Air Force Col. Patrick Ryder. “Senior civilian and military leadership consider these assessments during planning and decision-making, along with information gained from various other sources, to include the insights provided by commanders on the ground and other key advisors, intelligence collection assets, and previous experience.”

The analysts had initially began to complain in October, however their efforts to resolve the problem internally had failed, and it was only afterwards that they finally approached the inspector general with the issue. Some of those who complained were urged to retire, and in fact, some of them did.

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Sources:

Apuzzo, Matt and Mazzetti, Mark. The New York Times. Sep 15, 2015. (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/16/us/politics/analysts-said-to-provide-evidence-of-distorted-reports-on-isis.html?_r=0)

Syrmopoulos, Jay. The Free Thought Project. Sep 10, 2015. (http://thefreethoughtproject.com/50-u-s-intel-analysts-revolt-exposing-high-level-manipulation-isis-intel-assessments-manipulated-fit-public-narrative/)

Youssef, Nancy A. The Daily Beast. Sep 9, 2015. (http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/09/09/exclusive-50-spies-say-isis-intelligence-was-cooked.html)