When Congress reconvenes next year, we will be treated to leadership that includes Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and in seat as Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Silvestre Reyes. Nancy Pelosi in her infinite wosdom has selected Rep. Reyes over the more qualified Jane Harman. It seems that Congressman Reyes hasn't been paying much attention to the events that he will be making crucial decisions on:

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.

Al Qaeda is profoundly Sunni. If a Shiite showed up at an al Qaeda club house, they'd slice off his head and use it for a soccer ball.

That makes me feel a whole lot safer. Anyone with even a minor interest knows that al-Qaeda is Sunni. This is not some man off the street who can tell you everything you want to know about the latest gossip about Britney Spears or who won the Amazing Race. This is a man who will have direct responsibilty to oversee the intelligence arm of our nation. He will dictate what legislation leaves the committee. He is to be the House Intelligence Chairman. The fact that he does not know the makeup of an enemy who killed nearly 3,000 U.S. citizens speaks volumes about the seriousness with which the incoming majority views our national security.

Via HA.

Update: For those of you who doubt this, CNN has it and more:

In an interview with CNN, Stein said he was "amazed" by Reyes' lack of what he considers basic information about two of the major terrorists organizations.

"If you're the baseball commissioner and you don't know the difference between the Yankees and the Red Sox, you don't know baseball," Stein said. "You're not going to have the respect of the people you work with."