Originally posted by mdiehl
MacArthur's army G2 section in SWPac dismissed, on several occasions, intelligence distributed from higher sources. The intel that he was given was accurate but he chose to ignore it in favor of his local friends. IIRC, Biak was one of these locations.
I believe it was Nimitz who insisted on the Palau operation even after Mac and crew suggested it be bypassed. US intel grossly underestimated enemy strength there, resulting in a bloody 8 week struggle to secure Peleliu. Also US intel failed to observe large enemy build up on Leyete after the initial landings. US intel also made inaccurate assessments of Yamashitas force deployments on Luzon and failed to forsee his defend the interior highlands strategy.
Yes US intel was very good, but No, it was not all seeing and all knowing even at this late stage of the war.