'Delivered with hubris': Retired general warns Trump’s misuse of intel 'gets people killed'

Retired Lt. Gen Mark Hertling tells the Bulwark he’s seen enough misuse of ‘intelligence’ during his stint in the Iraq War to see echoes of Iraq in President Donald Trump’s hasty assessments of Iran bombings.

The intelligence is still coming in on Trump’s claim of Iran’s nuclear program being “obliterated,” said Hertling. This includes the leak of an intercepted phone call between two alleged Iranian officials expressing relief the American strike ignored prime targets. Trump may yet be proven right, but Hertling warns “the rush by so many leaders” to accept first reports as the whole truth is “deeply disconcerting.”

“In war, acting on bad intelligence isn’t just an embarrassment,” Hertling said. “It gets people killed.”

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During the Iraq War, the general says he chased sources promising the locations of bogus “yellow cake” all over northern Iraq. At one point, his “intelligence” even determined U.S. forces had effectively sealed off a safe zone from al Qaeda terrorists—only to discover an empty fuel truck containing “20 terrorists hiding inside” barricades.

“I had learned — often the hard way — that actionable intelligence requires corroboration, cross-checking, and a healthy dose of skepticism,” in addition to “pattern analysis, secondary sources, and sometimes, the patience to wait,” Hertling said.

In war, governmental and military leaders may never get the full picture, but he said that should never justify “acting on and proclaiming what you want to be true.”

“Leaders must not be wedded to their desired outcomes, especially when intelligence is involved,” Hertling said. “They must remain open to re-evaluation, flexible in their planning, and brutally honest about what they don’t know.”

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This, says Hertling, does not appear to be what happened recently in Iran.

“When I told my intel teams in Iraq to avoid single-source assessments, it wasn’t just about accuracy — it was about leadership,” Hertling said. “ … Responsible leaders ask the hard questions, even when the pressure to act or publicly state certainties is enormous.”

“Good intelligence informs decisions; it does not justify them,” concludes Hertling. “And it should never be delivered — or received — with hubris.”

Read the full report at the Bulwark.