The Pentagon said Wednesday it couldn’t confirm if the inspector general was investigating whether officials skewed intelligence to make the fight against the Islamic State look more successful than it was.
Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, stressed that the inspector general is an independent organization from the Defense Department and, as a result, the military can not say whether an investigation is ongoing.
“We’re limited in what we’re allowed to say about IG investigations,” he said. “We’re not able to confirm that there is one.”
Davis was reacting to a Tuesday story by The New York Times, which quoted sources saying officials at U.S. Central Command allegedly were “improperly reworking” intelligence reports on the fight against the Islamic State before delivering them to key policymakers, including the president. This alleged skewing of intelligence could explain why, in multiple instances, coalition forces suffered major losses shortly after high-ranking military officials said the campaign was going well, the article said.
All intelligence is subject to personal judgments and is rarely clear-cut and definitive, Davis agreed. The defense secretary also gets his intelligence from multiple sources to get a more complete view of a certain issue, he added.
“The secretary counts on independent intelligence analysis from a variety of sources that help him make critical decisions about the nation’s security,” Davis said.
Davis said he has not faced any political pressure to sugarcoat operations against the Islamic State as a key spokesman for the department.
“I think we have been very candid about the situation there.” Davis said of the fight in Iraq and Syria.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter, in remarks to reporters last week, was measured in his language on the fight against the Islamic State, which government officials refer to as ISIL.
“I’m confident we will defeat ISIL,” he said. “It is hard work, it’s difficult work, I think we have the right strategy.”
