Not much intelligence here

There is one thing that the blogosphere does very well, and that is the ability of this Internet community to derail a bad politician from a position of influence.

It's time to stop Representative Silvestre Reyes, Democrat of Texas. Reyes had this to say, Reuters:

WASHINGTON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Is al Qaeda a Sunni organization, or Shi'ite?

The question proved nettlesome for Rep. Silvestre Reyes of Texas, incoming Democratic chairman of the House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

"Predominantly -- probably Shi'ite," he said in a recent interview with Congressional Quarterly, a periodical that covers political and legislative issues in Congress.

Unfortunately for Reyes, the al Qaeda network led by Osama bin Laden is comprehensively Sunni and subscribes to a form of Sunni Islam known for not tolerating theological deviation.

In fact, U.S. officials blame al Qaeda's former leader in Iraq, the late Abu Musab al Zarqawi, for the surge in sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shi'ites.

But Reyes' problems in the interview didn't end with al Qaeda.

Asked to describe the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, Congressional Quarterly said Reyes responded: "Hezbollah. Uh, Hezbollah," and then said, "Why do you ask me these questions at five o'clock?"

Last week, Reyes's office released these comments from the representative:

"The report's [Iraq Study Group's] conclusions about the state of our intelligence capabilities in Iraq are troubling," said Reyes.

The report states that '[t]he Department of Defense and the intelligence community have not invested sufficient people and resources to understanding the political and military threat to the American men and women in the armed forces.'

The report also states that there has been a significant under-reporting of the violence in Iraq, and asserts that '[g]ood policy is difficult to make when information is systematically collected in a way that minimizes its discrepancy with policy goals.'

"One of my first actions when I assume the Chair of the House Intelligence Committee in January will be to convene a series of comprehensive hearings examining the state of intelligence support to our troops deployed in Iraq," said Reyes.

Reyes has lost the political, moral and intellectual authority to conduct oversight in these matters.