Did Intelligence Community Underestimate ISIS Risk in Iraq? - East Idaho News
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Did Intelligence Community Underestimate ISIS Risk in Iraq?

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GETTY 92914 JamesClapper?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1412017907438Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Did the White House miss the memo on ISIS, or did the intelligence community fail to assess the risk?

In an interview Sunday on CBS’ 60 Minutes, President Obama said Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and his team “underestimated” the risk that ISIS posed in Iraq and didn’t warn that the Iraq army, marred by sectarian division, would crumble.

“Jim Clapper has acknowledged that I think they underestimated what had been taking place in Syria,” Obama said.

The president also said it’s “absolutely true” that the U.S. overestimated the commitment and strength of the Iraqi army in taking on the militant group.

At Monday’s press briefing, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest cast the net a bit wider, saying the U.S. didn’t see it coming.

“Nobody predicted the speed and pace with which ISIL would advance across the Syrian border with Iraq,” Earnest said, using one of several acronyms for the militant group.

But members of the administration did voice concerns. State Department official Brett McGurk was asked at a House hearing last November whether the administration was underestimating the threat.

“I don’t want to get into whether it was underestimated. I’m really focusing my job on where we are now and we face a real problem,” McGurk said at the time.

Despite Obama’s remarks, Earnest denied Monday that the White House is at odds with the intelligence community.

“The president has confidence in Director Clapper and the president has confidence in the intelligence professionals who are responsible for providing him advice and intelligence about what’s happening on the ground,” Earnest said.


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