El Opinador Compulsivo

Editorial del WSJ de hoy:

Pelosi's Intelligence Man
December 14, 2006

As Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi's choice to be the next Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Texas Democrat Silvestre Reyes will share responsibility for the budgets and oversight of U.S. spy agencies, as well as receive regular briefings on classified intelligence. But it appears he first needs a remedial course on America's terrorist enemies. 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. It's not as if House Democrats didn't have a qualified candidate for the Intelligence Committee chair. That would be California's Jane Harman, who served with distinction as ranking Member in the current Congress. But Ms. Pelosi thought Ms. Harman was too hawkish and not partisan enough in opposing Bush Administration policy. So she floated the name of Florida's Alcee Hastings for the chairmanship, though a Democratic Congress had voted to impeach him as a federal judge. When that choice came under post-election criticism, Ms. Pelosi tried to mollify the Black Caucus for dumping Mr. Hastings by picking someone from the Hispanic Caucus, the untutored Mr. Reyes. So it appears America will fight the next two years of the war on terror with an important Congressional post occupied by a man who has no grasp at all of the dynamics of the conflicts in Iraq, Lebanon and the broader Middle East. This isn't an auspicious start by Democrats who hoped to campaign in 2008 having established some credibility on national security.