Is CENTCOM Whitewashing Intelligence on ISIS?

by Deacon Blues

The New York Times reports late today that CENTCOM is being investigated over allegations that their senior intelligence staff manipulated intelligence reports by Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) analysts on the Islamic State, and the effect of Pentagon efforts against ISIS. The impression one gets from reading this story is that CENTCOM commanders were whitewashing analyst reports to paint a rosier picture to the White House and Congress of the effects of America's military response to ISIS than the facts on the ground warranted.

The Bush Administration twisted intelligence or ignored it outright to justify the Iraq invasion of 2003. Despite recent claims by Jeb Bush and former CIA Deputy Director Mike Morrell that all intelligence agencies got it wrong about Saddam's WMD capabilities and alleged ties to Al Qaeda, such claims are bald faced lies. The CIA's Tyler Drumheller, foreign intelligence agencies, the IAEA, the DIA, and our own outgoing CENTCOM commander before Tommy Franks (Anthony Zinni) knew the Neocon narrative from Dick Cheney and his fellow war criminals were utter BS well before 2003.

Now here we are more than a decade later, and CENTCOM commanders are accused of politicizing intelligence themselves. The big questions are for whom, and why?