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Kredo: Intelligence on ISIS Has 'Become Politicized' Under Obama

December 13, 2016

The Washington Free Beacon's senior writer, Adam Kredo, discussed Monday night the Obama administration's efforts to confront the Islamic State, arguing that intelligence on the terrorist group has been politicized under the president.

Kredo, appearing on One America News Network's show "Tipping Point," explained how the Obama administration has underplayed and ignored the actions of ISIS at home and abroad.

Mentioning the multitude of brutal videos of beheadings, burnings, and stonings that ISIS has produced, host Liz Wheeler asked Kredo how it was possible that no one advised President Obama on the potential growth and spread of ISIS before the group swept into Iraq in 2014.

"It was on the radar of the entire intelligence community. I'm sure you remember as well as I do," Kredo said. "Early on President Obama referred to the Islamic State as the JV team, which was absurd on its face at the time."

"It is mind-boggling to me that this could come as a surprise to President Obama," Wheeler remarked. She added that Obama has surrounded himself with advisers who will only reaffirm his beliefs and created the environment that has allowed him to underestimate the ISIS threat.

Kredo agreed with Wheeler and explained how Obama has insulated himself from intelligence reports that challenge his own worldview.

"Under the Obama administration, we've seen intelligence manipulated at an increasingly higher and higher percentage," Kredo said. He suggested that someone should be held accountable for these kinds of actions but did not express optimism that anyone would be held responsible.

"I think this is a case where nobody wants to tell the boss the bad news but that's when the responsibility lies on the boss to say, 'I need to hear the truth,'" Wheeler responded.

She went on to say that the administration has tried to cover up instances of ISIS-inspired attacks and suggested that the Obama administration chose to be willfully ignorant of the threats posed by ISIS. Kredo agreed with Wheeler's assessment and described how "the intelligence had become politicized."

To end the segment, Kredo talked about Obama's foreign policy legacy, stating that all U.S. alliances in the Middle East have been damaged during the president's eight years in office.

"From a foreign policy standpoint, the legacy is not one that I would be so proud to go do news interviews about," Kredo said.