Posted on 12/11/2006 8:02:34 AM PST by woofie
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Rep. Silvestre Reyes of Texas, who incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has tapped to head the Intelligence Committee when the Democrats take over in January, failed a quiz of basic questions about al Qaeda and Hezbollah, two of the key terrorist organizations the intelligence community has focused on since the September 11, 2001 attacks.
When asked by CQ National Security Editor Jeff Stein whether al Qaeda is one or the other of the two major branches of Islam -- Sunni or Shiite -- Reyes answered "they are probably both," then ventured "Predominantly -- probably Shiite."
That is wrong. Al Qaeda was founded by Osama bin Laden as a Sunni organization and views Shiites as heretics.
Reyes could also not answer questions put by Stein about Hezbollah, a Shiite group on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations that is based in Southern Lebanon.
Stein's column about Reyes' answers was published on CQ's Web site Friday evening. In an interview with CNN, Stein said he was "amazed" by Reyes' lack of what he considers basic information about two of the major terrorists organizations.
"If you're the baseball commissioner and you don't know the difference between the Yankees and the Red Sox, you don't know baseball," Stein said.
"You're not going to have the respect of the people you work with." While Stein said Reyes is "not a stupid guy," his lack of knowledge said it could hamper Reyes' ability to provide effective oversight of the intelligence community, Stein believes.
"If you don't have the basics, how do you effectively question the administration?" he asked. "You don't know how is on first."
Stein said Reyes is not the only member of the House Intelligence Committee that he has interviewed that lacked what he considered basic knowledge about terrorist organizations.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Sam - You are positively correct! Thanks!
42?
Ask Monica
No you can't go back to Constantinople.
Abyssinistan..........
Been a long time gone.....
That's nobody's business but the Turks.
As someone once said about Jimmy Carter...
"He doesn't know Shiite from Shinola..."
Depends on which part of Abyssinia you are referring to: the north (Eritrea) or the south (Ethiopia).
ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ahhhh...those libs in Wisconsin have no idea what they are missing in you...:)
It is my SINCERE hope and wish that this guy simply misunderstood the question.
But probably not. Sheesh...even I know that basic information about Al Queda, Sunnis and Shiites...it REALLY, REALLY scares me that this guy would just stammer and obfuscate about something like that.
NP. I am an incurable Nitpicker.
Look for Istanbul. It used to be called Constantinople.
East or West Abyssinia?
ey..... I started watcing Desperate Houswives after an onn camera reference by Laura Bush!!
Hey! You were on the USS Nimitz? Cool! That was a nuclear sub, right? I was a Navy Wife in another life. We were assigned to the carrier USS Kitty Hawk out of Coronado, CA. :)
('Hitchiker's Guide' was on this weekend...and I stayed up way past my bedtime last night to watch 'LOTR: The Twin Towers' my favorite one of those movies. Aragon! Take me away!)
Why they changed it I can't say......
I think the Nimitz is an aircraft Carrier. My husband served on the USS Grant SSBN 631 Boomer Sub now retired (both of them)! But that was before I met him, so I was almost a Navy wife (phew)LOL
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