Oxymoron of the Day: Intelligence Committee

CNN reports on a quiz given to incoming House Intelligence Committee chairman Silvestre Reyes.

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.

What a start! Remember, the first candidate for the post was the guy with a bribery conviction in his past. Fearing she would look foolish to appoint him, Pelosi dumps Hastings for a guy who knows next to nothing about the main terrorist organizations the nation is fighting. I guess this counts as being not foolish?

As Ann Althouse points out, "Remember how the Democrats ran on the competence issue?"

In an update to the original article, Rep. Reyes assures America "he is aware of the threat the terrorist group poses." Whew. He may not know who they are, but he knows they are bad guys. Great.