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article_snippet: The images emerged as U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said that an American military official who briefed news media about Iraq's upcoming offensive to retake Mosul provided inaccurate information but should never have publicly discussed war plans.
article_snippet: U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter's criticism of the February news briefing by an official from the U.S. military's Central Command was accompanied by an assurance from the top U.S. military officer to Congress that the matter was subject to an internal inquiry. '
article_snippet: That clearly was neither accurate information, nor had accurate information been accurate, would have accurate information been information that should have been blurted out to the press.
article_snippet: So it's wrong on both scores,' Carter, who took over as defense secretary in February, told a hearing by the Senate Armed Services Committee.
article_snippet: Two influential Republican senators on the Senate Armed Services Committee, John McCain and Lindsey Graham, sent a letter to the White House on Feb. 20, complaining about the briefing, which predicted a Mosul offensive likely to start in April or May, involving 20,000 to 25,000 Iraqi and Kurdish forces.