40 Intel Analysts At CENTCOM Believe That Intel On The Islamic State Has Been 'Skewed'

Shane Harris and Nancy Youssel, Daily Beast: 400 Intel Pros Warn: ISIS Info Flawed

The “unusually high” number said that there were problems with the “integrity” of their reports as many have accused their bosses for skewing reports on ISIS.

Forty percent of analysts working at the U.S. military’s Central Command, which is running the war against ISIS, think there are problems with “analytic integrity” in their work, a top congressman said on Thursday.

Rep. Devin Nunes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, asked senior intelligence officials about the figure, which was discovered in a recent survey of analysts by the country’s top intelligence office. The survey was first reported by The Daily Beast this month.

“To me, it seems like if 40 percent of analysts are concerned at CENTCOM, that’s just something that can’t be ignored,” Nunes told top intelligence officials testifying before the committee, including Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and CIA Director John Brennan.

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WNU Editor: I gave up reading CENTCOM press releases almost a year ago .... they did not make sense even then .... Are The People Who Run U.S. Central Command Stupid? (April 18, 2015).

Update: This case is now getting interesting .... Lawmaker Accuses Military of Deleting Evidence in Intel Probe (Bloomberg).

Islamic State Intelligence Manipulation Dates Back To At Least 2012

FOX News: Lawmaker: Terror intel manipulation dates back to at least 2012

The alleged manipulation of intelligence to downplay the strength of terror groups is far more extensive than previously reported and goes back to at least 2012, according to the Republican chairman of the House intelligence committee.

The Defense Department inspector general and congressional investigators are reviewing claims that intelligence on the Islamic State was manipulated to present a more positive picture of the U.S. strategy's effectiveness. Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., said these practices, though, extend to how intelligence on Al Qaeda was handled as well.

"I know for a fact this was going on in 2012, because I was told by informants that this was going on back then," Nunes, head of the intelligence committee, told Fox News. "We thought this was foolish, to pull all of our troops out of Iraq, because we thought, just from our own work, that this would be bad, but the administration was able to say, 'No, well, this is what the intelligence says.'"

WNU Editor: Bad intelligence got the U.S. involved in Iraq in the first place .... and it looks like manipulated intelligence is clouding what we should do in Iraq today. But while it is easy to blame the intelligence community for this, the real blame should go to their political masters who should have asked the hard questions in the past, and ask even more so the hard questions today. This story is not over yet, and while President Bush deservedly has been blamed for the debacle in Iraq, this is now shaping up to President Obama's very own Iraq debacle with a foe (the Islamic State) still very much on the ascendency..

Intelligence Failure For Not Detecting The Death Of North Korean Leader Kim Jong-il

Photo: Kim Jong-il reportedly died after suffering a heart attack aboard a train near Pyongyang.

South Korea In Furor Over Intelligence Vacuum On Kim Jong il's Death -- Christian Science Monitor

Getting information out of North Korea is notoriously difficult, but many say South Korea's intelligence service has been embarrassed by playing catch-up on Kim Jong-il's death.

Senior South Korean officials face a barrage of criticism over one question: Why didn't they have an inkling of the death of Kim Jong-il before North Korea’s state media announced it Monday, 50 hours after he died?

After stumbling over questioning from members of the National Assembly, officials were humiliated Wednesday by a report that the Chinese may have known about Mr. Kim’s death within hours after he reportedly collapsed and died on a train.

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More News On Criticisms Of South Korea's Intelligence Agencies In Missing The Death Of North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-il

Seoul Under Fire Over Intelligence Glitch -- Wall Street Journal
Seoul officials rapped for intelligence failure on death of Kim Jong-il -- Korea Herald
In Kim's death, an extensive intelligence failure -- Today Online
In Kim Jong-il’s Undetected Death, An Extensive Intelligence Failure -- Jakarta Globe
South Korean intelligence disputes circumstances of Kim Jong-il's death -- The Guardian
SKorean lawmaker: Intel officials say committee of advisers may help NKorea’s Kim Jong Un -- Washington Post
Kim Jong-il death: Did US intelligence fail? -- BBC

Some Of The Next U.S. President's Challenges

US National Security's Challenge: Communication -- Christian Science Monitor

History shows what happens when agencies don't talk.

Washington - No matter who wins the election this November, the president will have numerous foreign-policy crises on his plate: Russia's assault on Georgia and growing Russia-NATO tensions, the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran, and increasing challenges for the Western coalition in Afghanistan.

Our national security apparatus, largely created on an ad hoc basis over the past six decades, is ill-equipped to handle such multifaceted issues.

When a disaster erupts, there is precious little time for study by the president and his top advisers. They need an integrated system already in place that can guide rapid, informed, and strong responses to today's security challenges. Experience must be institutionalized, and barriers between agencies overcome.

The Project on National Security Reform (PNSR), a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization funded by Congress, seeks to achieve such improvements.

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My Comment: A good summary of major U.S. policy failures are outlined in this report.

Gates Hits Unmet War-Zone Needs

From the Washington Times:

The Pentagon for the first time admonished U.S. forces for not providing troops adequate intelligence resources to combat enemies in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told U.S. and foreign air force student officers at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base in Alabama yesterday that "it's been like pulling teeth" when dealing with military officials. He also criticized the branches for not meeting the resource needs and not utilizing unmanned aerial vehicles for hunting targets and collecting information.

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My Comment: For this to be made public, the U.S. Defense Secretary must be really peeved. U.S. forces are clearly being hurt by inadequate intelligence, I just wish some examples can be given. Where is Congress?