In May 2015 the watchdog group Judicial Watch published declassified Defense Intelligence Agency reports from 2012. In one of these reports, the DIA experts proposed that if ISIS governed an area in eastern Syria it could be a valuable asset to the U.S. in the Mideast. However, the DIA said, "ISIS could also declare an Islamic state through its union with other terrorist organizations in Iraq and Syria, which will create grave danger in regard to unifying Iraq and the protection of its territory."

This report did not fit into the narrative that was U.S. policy, and it was discounted or ignored. ISIS was regarded as a minor player among the anti-government elements in the Syrian civil war.

Our politicians and military and intelligence agencies have a history of adapting intelligence to fit the political goals of the U.S. government. In the early years of the Vietnam War, intelligence was tailored to fit the goals of the Johnson administration. This behavior was repeated in the buildup to the invasion of Iraq and during the first months of the occupation there. If the actual situations in war really do fit into the politics, then the intelligence personnel will be praised for providing valuable help in defeating an enemy.

When intelligence is corrupted, it can cause tactical mistakes that result in military casualties. We have also seen government officials distributing news releases that are tailored to show success in meeting the stated goals. President Obama this week stated, "We can't make good policy unless we've got good, accurate, hardheaded, clear-eyed intelligence Â…" The president also stated that intelligence agencies may interpret intelligence differently and the opposing conclusions should be presented to decision-makers.

On Oct. 22, USA Today reported that one example of tailored intelligence was when "intelligence analysts reported on the retreat of Iraqi forces in the face of the Islamic State takeover of parts of northwestern Iraq. But those reports were softened to put the fight in a more optimistic light, saying the Iraqi forces merely 'redeployed ..."

These situations where the truth is sacrificed for image have cost the lives of too many troops. They must end.

Jack Dragoni attended Boston College and served in the U.S. Army in Berlin and Vietnam. He lives in Chaffee, Missouri.