The interim report, issued by the House of Representatives Joint Task Force on U.S. Central Command Intelligence Analysis, said CENTCOM's releases on the progress against iSIL have been disputed by whistleblowers and media reports. The report found that CENTCOM's releases were significantly more optimistic than information provided by analysts from other corners of the intelligence community.
“This interim report released by the Joint Task Force is alarming and fuels my concerns that we may not be receiving a clear picture of our ongoing fight against ISIS," Ernst said. "As the report states, ‘Analytic integrity is crucial to good intelligence, and good intelligence is crucial to making informed policy judgments.’ Any actions or structural or cultural deficiencies resulting in an inaccurate picture of the situation on the ground would prevent Congress and our military leaders from making the best decisions possible in our continued fight against ISIS."
The senators have called on the Department of Defense's (DOD) inspector general (IG) to investigate allegations that the military intelligence reports provided to Congress by the Joint Task Force are not accurate portrayals of current events.
“The fact that intelligence reports were apparently manipulated to paint a rosy picture of the war against ISIS is unacceptable,” Johnson said. “The job of intelligence analysts is to produce objective, fact-based assessments, which then serve as a basis for informed national security and foreign policy decisions. Doctoring and denying reality has no place in national and military intelligence, which require objectivity and candor."
Ernst is a member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and Senate Armed Services Committee. Johnson is chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
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