How educated are our politicians about the ME?

[August]

http://public.cq.com/public/20061211_homeland.html

Democrats’ New Intelligence Chairman Needs a Crash Course on al Qaeda By Jeff Stein, CQ National Security Editor


Forty years ago, Sgt. Silvestre Reyes was a helicopter crew chief flying dangerous combat missions in South Vietnam from the top of a soaring rocky outcrop near the sea called Marble Mountain.
After the war, it turned out that the communist Viet Cong had tunneled into the hill and built a combat hospital right beneath the skids of Reyes’ UH-1 Huey gunship.
Now the five-term Texas Democrat, 62, is facing similar unpleasant surprises about the enemy, this time as the incoming chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
That’s because, like a number of his colleagues and top counterterrorism officials that I’ve interviewed over the past several months, Reyes can’t answer some fundamental questions about the powerful forces arrayed against us in the Middle East.
It begs the question, of course: How can the Intelligence Committee do effective oversight of U.S. spy agencies when its leaders don’t know basics about the battlefield?

[DAB]

Care to quote the rest of the article. The bits that actually suggest that he has a broad strategic understanding of the region.

Maybe the bit that points out two Republicans also had trouble with those questions!!!

What is the point here!?

[PeriscopeDepth]

I think it's pretty obvious that most of our elected officials (from both parties) don't know much about the Middle East.

"Do you know, my son, with what little understanding the world is ruled?"
-Pope Julius III

[TteFAboB]

What is the point here!?

The point is that new chairmen are taking their seats and as soon as their names are known the scrutiny begins.

What's the point of your post? Should August not care about the new chairman of the Intelligence comission?

Then you would criticize us for not paying attention to who's taking the position or paying attention to the congress as soon as the first tabloid managed to get an interview with Reyes and ask the same questions. He mentioned two Republicans only because otherwise his article would be instantly discarded by anybody who values non-partisan independence and honesty.

Where's part 2?

[August]

Care to quote the rest of the article. I would have gladly quoted the entire article but that's against forum rules..

The bits that actually suggest that he has a broad strategic understanding of the region.
Yeah, VERY broad not to know the answer to such a basic question. I think the interviewer was very smartly trying not to burn his bridges.

Maybe the bit that points out two Republicans also had trouble with those questions!!!
Yeah, so? I did not and am not saying the GoP is any better or worse in this regard. But why are you being so defensive? Aren't you the one who complained recently about the Repubs always comparing themselves to the mistakes and weaknesses of the Clinton administration?

What is the point here!?
I would think the incoming chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, a person who has been on that committee for what, 10 years already?, should have, shall we say, a more detailed knowledge of our primary enemy. That's the point.

[The Avon Lady]

http://public.cq.com/public/20061211_homeland.html
To quote 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.
Even without knowing the correct answer, the best reply to the question would have been:

"Al Qaeda is Islamic and that's what's relevant."

Know your enemy.

[August]

Even without knowing the correct answer, the best reply to the question would have been:

"Al Qaeda is Islamic and that's what's relevant."

Know your enemy.

Gotta disagree there Avon. It might be relevant enough for the average Joe on the street but sect type is an important thing to know for someone in his position.

[The Avon Lady]

Even without knowing the correct answer, the best reply to the question would have been:

"Al Qaeda is Islamic and that's what's relevant."

Know your enemy.

Gotta disagree there Avon. It might be relevant enough for the average Joe on the street but sect type is an important thing to know for someone in his position.
Note that I didn't say that was the correct answer.

But what I'm stressing is that chances are that even if Reyes himself knew that he didn't know the correct answer, I assert that he wouldn't or possibly couldn't give the next best answer. If my assumption is correct, what does that imply?

Here's a famous historical quote:

"Forget it."

OK, I confess everyone's entitled to a hint on this one: Opana Point.

[DAB]

Aren't you the one who complained recently about the Repubs always comparing themselves to the mistakes and weaknesses of the Clinton administration?

nope, not me

[August]

]But what I'm stressing is that chances are that even if Reyes himself knew that he didn't know the correct answer, I assert that he wouldn't or possibly couldn't give the next best answer. If my assumption is correct, what does that imply?
No offense but I think your assumption is based on some monday morning quarterbacking. This was a live interview, the question was apparently unexpected and the "right" answer was limited to Shiite or Sunni. His incorrect answer to that very basic detail is what disturbs me, not that he didn't come up with some searing profundity.

Maybe it's my inner teacher talking here but to me that's an indication he hasn't been doing his homework. Hopefully that interview will light a fire under his butt and he'll study up. Maybe so, if he's the thoughtful and intelligent guy the interviewer said he was. Yay for our side.

Here's a famous historical quote:

"Forget it."

OK, I confess everyone's entitled to a hint on this one: Opana Point.
I miss the parallel. One was a junior military officer displaying some fairly poor judgement in a situation for which he had recieved no training or orders that would tell him how to handle it. The radar station after all was little more than a training exercise on some new and largely unknown and unproven (to them) gadget, not the vital warning system we see it as today.

The other is a civilian politician in a very influential position within our intelligence community who apparently is not spending the time he should be keeping himself aquainted with pertinent details related to the job we're paying him for.

[bradclark1]

Bush didn't know any world leaders when he ran for president so it's not exactly a prerequiset to know anything to do the job.

Pete Hoekstra the Republican Intelligence Chairman:
On November 3 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_3), 2006 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006), The New York Times (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times) reported that a website created at the request of Hoekstra and senator (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senator) Pat Roberts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Roberts) was found to contain detailed information which could help nuclear states (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nuclear_state&action=edit) produce nuclear weapons (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapon). The website was shut down on November 2 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_2) following questioning by the Times and protests by International Atomic Energy Agency (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Atomic_Energy_Agency) officials. Jamal Ware, a spokesman for Hoekstra, said complaints about the site "didn’t sound like a big deal .... We were a little surprised when they pulled the plug"
This example shows you don't even have to have any intelligence to do the job.

[The Avon Lady]

Bush didn't know any world leaders when he ran for president so it's not exactly a prerequiset to know anything to do the job.

Pete Hoekstra the Republican Intelligence Chairman:
On November 3 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_3), 2006 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006), The New York Times (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times) reported that a website created at the request of Hoekstra and senator (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senator) Pat Roberts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Roberts) was found to contain detailed information which could help nuclear states (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nuclear_state&action=edit) produce nuclear weapons (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapon). The website was shut down on November 2 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_2) following questioning by the Times and protests by International Atomic Energy Agency (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Atomic_Energy_Agency) officials. Jamal Ware, a spokesman for Hoekstra, said complaints about the site "didn’t sound like a big deal .... We were a little surprised when they pulled the plug"
This example shows you don't even have to have any intelligence to do the job.
Did Hoekstra or Roberts set up the web site and review the published materials themselves?

It was assumed that the information released to the public on the Operation Iraqi Freedom Document Portal would be minimally filtered for precisely this kind of content.

As much as this is a blunder, you seem to be comparing apples and oranges.

BTW, welcome back. :up:

[August]

Bush didn't know any world leaders when he ran for president so it's not exactly a prerequiset to know anything to do the job.

Maybe not a prerequisite (though that would be preferable) but it certainly should be a post-requisite wouldn't you think Brad?

Congressman Reyes is a 5 term veteran of the House with many years already on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence that he is now going to become chairman of.

[bradclark1]

Congressman Reyes is a 5 term veteran of the House with many years already on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence that he is now going to become chairman of.

Ahh. Well that makes him an idiot. Not first choice material at all. Pelosi(?)
put him in because he was anti-war and will probably play mad dog to get some dirt on the reasons for invading Iraq.

[bradclark1]

As much as this is a blunder, you seem to be comparing apples and oranges.
Yeah, I guess. Wrong type of example.

BTW, welcome back. :up:
Thanks. :)

[Fish]

Should August not care about the new chairman of the Intelligence comission?



Did he care about Bush?He didn't know more then two places outside Texas when he become president.:cool:

[August]

Did he care about Bush?He didn't know more then two places outside Texas when he become president.:cool:

Did I? Which two?

[The Avon Lady]

Should August not care about the new chairman of the Intelligence comission?
Did he care about Bush?He didn't know more then two places outside Texas when he become president.:cool:
Bush graduated from Yale with a BA and from Harvard with an MBA. While Bush described himself as scholastically average, and I personally don't think of him as the brightest bulb in the chandelier, what do you base your simplistic smear on?

[Iceman]

I say vote for Kiwi ! or Pedro... lol