The scandal that recently exposed over ISIS intelligence that showed top military advisors fabricating information to more closely align with the story line the administration preferred has just gotten even worse, if that is possible.
When Obama was interviewed on TV recently, he said that top military intelligence told him ISIS was not a threat, and he specifically mentioned General Lloyd Austin, CENTCOM commander at the time. This was meant to show that Obama was not responsible for the terrible analysis of ISIS and the disastrous outcome of our campaign against them. Obama can always be depended on to shift responsibility and blame to someone else when things go wrong, as he did this time.
However, General Austin just retired, and he clearly denied at his retirement ceremony that he provided Obama such analysis, and though he was polite, he made it quite obvious that Obama was simply lying. Now other analysts are saying that they were forced out when they reported information that did not align with Obama’s story line.
Two senior intelligence analysts at U.S. Central Command say the military has forced them out of their jobs because of their skeptical reporting on U.S.-backed rebel groups in Syria, three sources with knowledge of their claim told The Daily Beast. It’s the first known instance of possible reprisals against CENTCOM personnel after analysts accused their bosses of manipulating intelligence reports about the U.S.-led campaign against ISIS in order to paint a rosier picture of progress in the war.
One of the analysts alleging reprisals is the top analyst in charge of Syria issues at CENTCOM. He and a colleague doubted rebels’ capabilities and their commitment to U.S. objectives in the region. The analysts have been effectively sidelined from their positions and will no longer be working at CENTCOM, according to two individuals familiar with the dispute, and who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The analysts’ skeptical views put them at odds with military brass, who last year had predicted that a so-called moderate opposition would make up a 15,000-man ground force to take on ISIS in its self-declared caliphate. An initial $500 million program to train and arm those fighters failed spectacularly. And until the very end, Pentagon leaders claimed the operation was more or less on track. Lawmakers called the plan a “joke” when Gen. Lloyd Austin, the CENTCOM commander, finally testified last September that there were just “four or five” American-trained fighters in Syria.
Earlier allegations from CENTCOM, the military command responsible for overseeing the Middle East, had focused on leaders there fudging intelligence reports about U.S. efforts to attack ISIS and undermine its financing operations. That analysts are now raising red flags around reporting on Syrian rebel groups suggests that, at least from the analysts’ perspective, there is a broader systemic problem than was previously known.
The working environment at CENTCOM has been described as “toxic” and “hostile.” As The Daily Beast previously reported, more than 50 CENTCOM analysts have said that senior officials gave more scrutiny and pushback on reports that suggested U.S. efforts to destroy ISIS weren’t progressing. Analysis that took a more optimistic view of the war effort got comparatively less attention from higher-ups.
In a separate development, the head of Iraq analysis at CENTCOM, Gregory Hooker, is being reassigned to a position in the United Kingdom, three sources knowledgeable of the transfer told The Daily Beast. Hooker was identified last year by The New York Times as leading the group of analysts that raised objections about the ISIS reports.
The Syria analysts spoke out after Austin directed his subordinates last year not to retaliate against anyone who voiced concerns about political influence or bias being brought to bear on intelligence analysis, said one individual knowledgeable of their complaints. More than 1,000 analysts work at CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa, Florida, and their reports are meant to help senior U.S. officials and policymakers understand the facts on the battlefield.
The fact that the administration would punish anyone who dared to provide information that did not align with the preferred narrative is not only outrageous, it should be treasonous. It puts at risk the people of this nation in order to sell a preferred political spin. Obama is not only an egregious liar, he is a dangerous one. Let’s hope he is gone soon enough to not do more serious damage to the nation.
Frightening isn’t it
Obama is a liar and a traitor to America!
Really? Obama is gone guys. All the excuses are gone too. Both Houses of Congress are now Republican, Supreme Court Republican control for last 8 years, next President Republican guaranteeing a super majority (7 out of 9 Supreme Court Justices, first time in history). No more liberals to blame. How are they going to explain to the American People why Roe vs Wade is not reversed, IRS is not closed, no passage of “flat” tax, & no repeal of Obama Care etc. It will be entertaining. The dog just caught the car.