President Barack Obama got ample early warning about the Islamic State long before its fighters grabbed the world's attention by brutalizing Syria and Iraq, former CIA analyst Lisa Ruth of the global intelligence firm LIGNET told "MidPoint" host Ed Berliner on
Newsmax TV on Monday.
Ruth gave a detailed rebuttal of the
president's "60 Minutes" claim that his intelligence agencies underestimated the Islamic State (ISIS), and were to blame for the slow military response.
Story continues below video.
Note: Watch Newsmax TV now on DIRECTV Ch. 349 and DISH Ch. 223
Get Newsmax TV on your cable system – Click Here Now
"If you look back just over the last year we had an NIO [National Intelligence Estimate] … that came out last year that warned about ISIS," said Ruth. "It also warned about some terrorist groups that were offshoots of al-Qaida being extremely dangerous. And this is just the unclassified parts; I don't even know about the classified parts.
"Back in December, we had more briefings to Congress warning about ISIS and about terrorist groups," said Ruth. "February, the head of DIA [Defense Intelligence Agency] came out and said this is a problem, pay attention here.
"In May, the head of the autonomous Kurdish region [in Iraq] came and talked to [Vice President Joe] Biden personally and warned him," she said. "June, you had Fallujah fall, you had Mosul [fall] and suddenly we're paying attention."
Ruth said the intelligence agencies were providing sound intelligence early and often.
"What the decision makers do what that, that's up to them," she said, "But the information was there."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.