Though the spy agencies have refused public comment after President Obama said they “underestimated what had been taking place in Syria,” privately officials are lashing the White House for the comments.

The officials say they repeatedly warned the president and other officials about the growing risks of ISIS, and that the White House is trying to scapegoat them for ISIS’ growth.

Interestingly, White House spokesman Josh Earnest seemed contrite about the president’s comments, insisting he had never meant to fault them in any way or to suggest he had anything but a “high degree of confidence” in the assorted spy agencies.

Yet Obama’s comments were just a paraphrase of National Intelligence Director James Clapper’s own comments on intelligence failures in the lead up to the war, which sought to placate Congressional hawks who wanted the war to start earlier.