WASHINGTON (AP) – The Pentagon’s inspector general is investigating an allegation that the military command overseeing the anti-Islamic State campaign distorted or altered intelligence assessments to exaggerate progress against the militant group, a defense official said Wednesday.
The official was not authorized to discuss the probe publicly and so spoke on condition of anonymity.
The investigation was first disclosed by The New York Times. The paper reported that the investigation began after at least one civilian Defense Intelligence Agency analyst told authorities that he had evidence that officials at U.S. Central Command were improperly reworking conclusions of assessments prepared for policy makers, including President Barack Obama.
Details of the allegations were not available. A spokeswoman for the inspector general’s office, Bridget Serchak, declined to comment.
Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said he could not confirm the probe. The Pentagon typically does not publicly comment on the work of the inspector general’s office, which is an independent arm of the Defense Department.