Reyes, Chariman of the House Intelligence Committee

I recently read an article on-line that caused me to worry a great deal. The article was published by CQ Homeland Security on the 8th of December.

The article is written by Jeff Stein, who spends some time with Silvestre Reyes who is the incoming chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, as chosen by Nancy Pelosi (I may talk more on her later, as I have a distinct dislike for her, and absolutely no faith in her abilities). Stein posed a few questions that even I knew the answer to. But to my surprise, and possibly to Stein's as well, Reyes did not. Here is an excerpt from the article.

"The dialogue went like this:
Al Qaeda is what, I asked, Sunni or Shia?
“Al Qaeda, they have both,” Reyes said. “You’re talking about predominately?”
“Sure,” I said, not knowing what else to say.
“Predominantly — probably Shiite,” he ventured.
He couldn’t have been more wrong.
Al Qaeda is profoundly Sunni. If a Shiite showed up at an al Qaeda club house, they’d slice off his head and use it for a soccer ball.
That’s because the extremist Sunnis who make up al Qaeda consider all Shiites to be heretics.
Al Qaeda’s Sunni roots account for its very existence. Osama bin Laden and his followers believe the Saudi Royal family besmirched the true faith through their corruption and alliance with the United States, particularly allowing U.S. troops on Saudi soil.

It’s been five years since these Muslim extremists flew hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center.
Is it too much to ask that our intelligence overseers know who they are?"

Is it too much to ask? Well, I certainly don't think so. The lack of knowledge present in one side of this conversation makes me very nervous. Reyes is supposed to be the man who will oversee the executive branch in matters of intelligence (ok, so I know there is a lot more to it than I just made it seem). He should know what the subject matter will be shouldn't he? If he doesn't, how does he know what he is overseeing? How can he second guess executive decisions?

When asked about Hezbollah his response was:

"Hezbollah. Uh, Hezbollah...” and then "Why do you ask me these questions at five o’clock? Can I answer in Spanish? Do you speak Spanish?”

Can he answer in Spanish? First, what is wrong with English? Second, will that help you suddenly know what, or rather who, Hezbollah is? Thirdly, does your IQ really drop that much as the day wears on? To top that all off, how long have both Al Qaeda and Hezbollah been on the news? Can you just see how many times I have rolled my eyes and groaned yet?

According to the article, which still manages kindness towards Reyes even with his lack of knowledge, members of the intelligence committee are paid $165,200 a year to know more than me about our foes. I am really in the wrong line of work.

I also have this overwhelming desire to sarcastically thank Nancy Pelosi.

You can find the entire article at: http://public.cq.com/public/20061211_homeland.html