The Pentagon is drawing up plans for a large scale air assault on ISIS forces in Libya based on faulty and overestimated intelligence reports. Top Washington officials and analysts warn against military escalation in Libya, saying that it is based on overblown estimates of the Islamic State’s strength and would in fact add more fuel to the jihadists’ fire. They say it is reminiscent of the disastrous decision to invade Iraq in 2003 which was based on faulty intelligence. That decision consequently led to the birth of ISIS in the Middle East and its expansion into north Africa. The Telegraph reports: American intelligence agencies have said the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group has doubled in size in the country recent months, putting the numbers of fighters at between 5,000 and 6,500. But, in a warning that carries historical echoes of the 2003 Iraq invasion, a range of top analysts, sources on the ground and –speaking privately – US officials have said they believe these estimates to be wildly overblown. “The estimates of the number of jihadists is grossly exaggerated,” said Karim Mezran, a Washington based Libya expert with the Atlantic Council. Whilst Mr Karim and other analysts [...]