“Cooking the Books” on ISIS at Centcom

The New York Times reported, Tuesday, that more details of the allegations that senior intelligence officers at US Central Command are “cooking the books” in the war against ISIS have been provided to the Pentagon Inspector General’s office. According to the report, intelligence analysts have provided specific documents that allegedly show alterations intended to make the war against ISIS look rosier than it really is. Unnamed officials now say that the analysts at the center of the investigation allege that their superiors within Centcom’s intelligence operation changed conclusions about a number of topics, including the readiness of Iraqi security forces and the success of the bombing campaign in Iraq and Syria, the Times reports.

“The senior intelligence officers are flipping everything on its head,” said one government intelligence analyst. The analyst said that the complaints involve the highest-ranking officials in Centcom’s intelligence unit, run by Army Maj. Gen. Steven R. Grove. The Guardian has been reporting that Grove has been in “unusual and frequent” contact with Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, which the analysts see as contributing to the pressure.

The IG investigation into cooked intelligence contributed to the atmosphere of incredulity at the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing today, at which US Central Command chief Gen. Llod Austin III testified.

Committee chairman Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said:

Austin refused to discuss the investigation but promised the senators that “you can be assured I will take the appropriate action,” should the allegations be confirmed by the IG investigation.