Obama: US intel failed to properly evaluate ISIS ability to capture Mosul

DEBKAfile was founded by a team of journalists in June 2000 as an independent Internet Web site, providing an intelligence and security news service. December 9, 2016, 5:02 PM (IDT)

US President Barack Obama said Thursday that his country’s intelligence networks had not provided him with the information needed to properly assess the threat posed by the Islamic State organization. In an interview with CNN, he said “the ability of ISIL to not just mass inside of Syria, but then to initiate major land offensives that took Mosul, for example, that was not on my intelligence radar screen”. Obama’s critics claimed in response that James Clapper, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, warned in 2014 that Washington had “underestimated” Islamic State’s capabilities, and that some US military reports from forces on the ground had been altered to provide a more rosy assessment of the situation.   

Our unique angle on these subjects – and strong intelligence dimension – has earned DEBKAfile a global reputation and a steady readership – which skyrockets in times of crisis.