According to a congressional report, data on ISIS was manipulated in order to make the progress appear more impressive. Yet, only CBS This Morning on Thursday bothered to cover this development. Despite five hours of combined air time, ABC’s Good Morning America and NBC’s Today skipped it.
Co-host Charlie Rose explained, “We have learned that a hard-hitting report by congressional Republicans accuses U.S. Central Command, also known as CENTCOM, of manipulating or repressing intelligence about ISIS.”
Reporter Jim Axelrod added, “According to the report set to be released today, senior leaders at CENTCOM manipulated intelligence paint a far rosier picture of the U.S. effort to combat ISIS.”
It’s not as though there wasn’t time to cover this. GMA spent 7 minutes and 44 seconds on co-host Lara Spencer’s hip replacement surgery. The Today show devoted almost the entire program to the Olympics.
On CBS, Axelrod noted, “While the report found intelligence was, in fact, manipulated by CENTCOM, the task force found no evidence that orders for those changes came from the White House.”
A transcript of the CBS This Morning segment, which aired at 7:14am ET, is below:
CBS TM
8/11/16
7:14am ETCHARLIE ROSE: We have learned that a hard-hitting report by congressional Republicans accuses U.S. Central Command, also known as CENTCOM, of manipulating or repressing intelligence about ISIS. The military CENTCOM is responsible in 20 nations stretching from Egypt through the Arabian gulf region and into central Asia. Jim Axelrod is here with what’s in the revealing report. Jim, good morning.
JIM AXELROD: Well, good morning. According to the report set to be released today, senior leaders at CENTCOM manipulated intelligence paint a far rosier picture of the U.S. effort to combat ISIS. The report finds that beginning in mid-2014, final intelligence reports issued by CENTCOM contradicted the initial internal assessments made by its own analysts. Representative Mike Pompeo, a Republican from Kansas, was a member of the task force.
<<< Please consider helping NewsBusters financially with your tax-deductible contribution today >>>
REP. MIKE POMPEO: The facts on the ground didn't match what the intelligence was saying out of the U.S. Central command.
AXELROD: The task force stemmed from a whistle-blower complaint filed in 2015 by a senior analyst at CENTCOM alleging that intel had been manipulated. The complaint is under active investigation by the Defense Department Inspector General.
POMPEO: There is enormous evidence about how this information from talented career professionals inside the analytic arm at CENTCOM did their job and accurately depicted what was going on the ground but when it got to very senior levels that information was changed.
AXELROD: But It wasn't just classified intelligence. The task force also found that CENTCOM’s public statements were far more positive than events on the ground warranted, such as in March of 2015 when CENTCOM General Commander Lloyd Austin testified to Congress.
GENERAL LLOYD AUSTIN: The fact is that he can no longer do what he did at the outset which is to seize and hold new territory. He has assumed a defensive crouch in Iraq.
AXELROD: As of today, more than a year later, the Iraqi city of Mosul still remains under ISIS control. Now, while the report found intelligence was, in fact, manipulated by CENTCOM, the task force found no evidence that orders for those changes came from the White House. Dana?
