The Right State

In the post 9/11 United States, you would think members of Congress, particularly Congressional leaders, would know what the war on terrorism is all about, who we are fighting, and their religion.  If you said yes they do, you would be wrong.  Unfortunately, members of the FBI were not any better.  The Patriot Post has some quotes and analysis from some Congressional Quarterly questions.

In a sit-down interview with Congressional Quarterly earlier this week, Rep. Silvestre Reyes, the five-term Texas Democrat and incoming chair of the House Intelligence Committee, flunked a pretty simple quiz.

When asked whether al-Qa’ida was Sunni or Shi’ite, Reyes answered, “They are probably both.” He then compounded his ignorance: “You’re talking about predominantly? Predominantly—probably Shi’ite.”

Wrong. Very wrong. In fact, al-Qa’ida’s raison d’etre is the purification of Sunni Islam, which Osama bin Laden considers tainted by the Saudi royal family’s personal corruption and alliance with the United States. Shi’ite Muslims, on the other hand, are heretics deserving of death for their perversion of the “one true religion.”

The Patriot Post has more, but this just shows how uninformed these supposedly informed members of Congress really are.  This is not a Democrat or Republican problem.  This is an American problem.  We have members of Congress who are supposed to be knowledgeable enough about the war and Islam to protect this great country, but instead they are decidedly ignorant.  Somehow, I do not feel safe with these windbags in power.

The FBI is just as bad.  This is scary.  The very people who are tasked with our protection do not even know who we are fighting.

Tags: War //