It’s the competence, stupid

On the editorial page of today’s Wall Street Journal comes a depressing portrait of the Democrats’ incoming chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Silvestre Reyes. The Journal writes,

In an interview with Congressional Quarterly, Mr. Reyes was unable to answer basic questions about the sectarian nature of both al Qaeda and Hezbollah. “Predominantly—probably Shiite,” he responded when asked about the strain of Islam that animates al Qaeda. The truth is that al Qaeda is composed of Sunni extremists who slaughter Iraqi Shiites on a daily basis. And when CQ’s reporter turned to Hezbollah, Mr. Reyes said, “Why do you ask me these questions at five o’clock?” Perhaps because he’s only had 23 years since the Iranian-backed Shiite terror group blew up the Beirut Marine barracks to figure that one out.

After a mid-term election season that saw the Republicans immolated on a pyre fueled by their own incompetence (Iraq, Katrina, public spending…take your pick), I am mildly confounded that the Democrats would appoint a policy neophyte to chair this important committee. Mr. Reyes’ display of ignorance is not merely a jokey Final Jeopardy blunder; these are important distinctions, important things to know. After all, our current struggles in Iraq have nothing to do with our tanks and bombers, but our own ignorance of the region, its people and history. If Mr. Reyes were chairing, say, the Committee on Small Business, his ignorance of Arab sectarian differences would be immaterial, and he would be no different than any number of Congressmen who think Shia is the seed inside those corny pottery planters that you see, along with the clapper and vibrating armchairs, on late-night television commercials.

Nancy Pelosi’s term as Speaker of the House has not even officially started, and already, she is displaying the type of politics-as-usual approach that saw her opponents shunted into opposition. Not a promising beginning.

Note: For the Congressional Quarterly article that occasioned this editorial, go here.

Also, I had missed this thread over at Volokh from Sunday, covering the same ground.