Intel Analysts Say They Were Forced Out of their Jobs for Telling the Truth About Obama's War on ISIS

The latest revelations about skewed ISIS intelligence have revealed possibly the biggest scandal of Obama’s presidency and it may have just gotten worse, according to a new Daily Beast report. Whistleblowers are now saying they’re being retaliated against for not “toeing the Obama administration’s line on the war.”

This development should seem sickeningly familiar to those who pay attention to the way Obama scandals evolve over time. Often (but not this time) there’s an initial shock and anger phase on the part of the president, then almost always the sham internal investigation phase, the denial phase, the stonewall and/or cover-up phase, and finally the dreaded retaliation phase.

The administration quickly tore through the first stages of the “Obama cooked ISIS intel” scandal that erupted last summer, and now appears to be well into the “retaliation phase.”

Via the Daily Beast:

Two senior intelligence analysts at U.S. Central Command say the military has forced them out of their jobs because of their skeptical reporting on U.S.-backed rebel groups in Syria, three sources with knowledge of their claim told The Daily Beast. It’s the first known instance of possible reprisals against CENTCOM personnel after analysts accused their bosses of manipulating intelligence reports about the U.S.-led campaign against ISIS in order to paint a rosier picture of progress in the war.

One of the analysts alleging reprisals is the top analyst in charge of Syria issues at CENTCOM. He and a colleague doubted rebels’ capabilities and their commitment to U.S. objectives in the region. The analysts have been effectively sidelined from their positions and will no longer be working at CENTCOM, according to two individuals familiar with the dispute, and who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The analysts’ skeptical views put them at odds with military brass, who last year had predicted that a so-called moderate opposition would make up a 15,000-man ground force to take on ISIS in its self-declared caliphate. An initial $500 million program to train and arm those fighters failed spectacularly. And until the very end, Pentagon leaders claimed the operation was more or less on track. Lawmakers called the plan a “joke” when Gen. Lloyd Austin, the CENTCOM commander, finally testified last September that there were just “four or five” American-trained fighters in Syria.

According to the Beast, the analysts who accused their bosses of improper behavior now “fear for their jobs” and “are scared all the time.”

This is just the latest example of retaliation against whistleblowers in the Obama administration. Whistleblower complaints (like many other terrible things) have sky-rocketed to record levels during the Obama years.