John McCain touts his military and foreign policy experience, but apparently doesn’t understand the most basic distinctions between Sunnis and Shiites (i.e. Iran is Shiite, Al Qaeda is Sunni). I think it’s time for reporters to ask all of our leaders the question Jeff Stein of CQ posed back in 2006:
For the past several months, I’ve been wrapping up lengthy interviews with Washington counterterrorism officials with a fundamental question: “Do you know the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite?”
A “gotcha” question? Perhaps. But if knowing your enemy is the most basic rule of war, I don’t think it’s out of bounds. And as I quickly explain to my subjects, I’m not looking for theological explanations, just the basics: Who’s on what side today, and what does each want?
After all, wouldn’t British counterterrorism officials responsible for Northern Ireland know the difference between Catholics and Protestants?…
But so far, most American officials I’ve interviewed don’t have a clue. That includes not just intelligence and law enforcement officials, but also members of Congress who have important roles overseeing our spy agencies. How can they do their jobs without knowing the basics?
Update 3/19 1:22 PM — Here are the links to Stein’s pieces:
“Can You Tell a Sunni From a Shiite?”
“Democrats’ New Intelligence Chairman Needs a Crash Course on al Qaeda”