Last week the U.S. House of Representatives Joint Task Force released their initial findings on the intelligence analysis of the U.S. Military’s Central Command (CENTCOM). The report found that, among other things, CENTCOM leaders “distorted, suppressed, or substantially altered analytic products” to paint U.S. efforts to combat ISIS in a more positive light. Moreover, 50% of analysts within CENTCOM said that the “procedures, practices, processes and organizational structures hampered objective analysis” while another 40% said they had experienced attempts to “distort or suppress intelligence” within the past year.
The annual Analytic Objectivity and Process Survey , directed by the ODNI, was conducted from August through October 2015, and included responses from 125 analysts and managers within CENTCOM. The survey results were significantly worse than those of other IC agencies or COCOMs, and showed that a substantial number of CENTCOM respondents felt their supervisors distorted, suppressed, or substantially altered analytic products. Over 50% of analysts responded that CENTCOM procedures, practices, processes and organizational structures hampered objective analysis, and 40% responded that they had experienced an attempt to distort or suppress intelligence in the past year. Yet despite receiving these results in December 2015, CENTCOM and IC leaders did not take corrective actions to address many of the issues identified in the survey results