The head of U.S. forces in the Middle East sought to reassure lawmakers Wednesday about the integrity of intelligence produced by analysts under his command amid allegations that they are under political pressure to change their conclusions.
“I welcome the [Defense Department inspector general’s] oversight. And once the investigation is complete, based on the findings, you can be assured I will take appropriate action,” Gen. Lloyd Austin, head of Central Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee in his first public comments on the issue.
The hearing was the first of two hurriedly planned for Wednesday over concerns that the U.S. isn’t taking an active enough role in the situation in Syria. Hundreds of thousands of refugees are fleeing the country’s civil war amid reports that Russia is building up forces there to bolster the regime of President Bashar Assad.
The administration is accused of pressuring intelligence analysts to change their conclusions in order to make the Islamic State look weaker than it is.
“We are currently investigating these allegations, which we take with the utmost seriousness,” Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said at the hearing.
