CruddyLeper
Unworshipped Deity
Apparently the FBI can't.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/opinion/17stein.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/opinion/17stein.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Can You Tell a Sunni From a Shiite?
FOR the past several months, Ive 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 dont think its out of bounds. And as I quickly explain to my subjects, Im not looking for theological explanations, just the basics: Whos on what side today, and what does each want?
After all, wouldnt British counterterrorism officials responsible for Northern Ireland know the difference between Catholics and Protestants? In a remotely similar but far more lethal vein, the 1,400-year Sunni-Shiite rivalry is playing out in the streets of Baghdad, raising the specter of a breakup of Iraq into antagonistic states, one backed by Shiite Iran and the other by Saudi Arabia and other Sunni states.
A complete collapse in Iraq could provide a haven for Al Qaeda operatives within striking distance of Israel, even Europe. And the nature of the threat from Iran, a potential nuclear power with protégés in the Gulf states, northern Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, is entirely different from that of Al Qaeda. It seems silly to have to argue that officials responsible for counterterrorism should be able to recognize opportunities for pitting these rivals against each other.
But so far, most American officials Ive interviewed dont 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?
My curiosity about our policymakers grasp of Islams two major branches was piqued in 2005, when Jon Stewart and other TV comedians made hash out of depositions, taken in a whistleblower case, in which top F.B.I. officials drew blanks when asked basic questions about Islam. One of the bemused officials was Gary Bald, then the bureaus counterterrorism chief. Such expertise, Mr. Bald maintained, wasnt as important as being a good manager.
A few months later, I asked the F.B.I.s spokesman, John Miller, about Mr. Balds comments. A leader needs to drive the organization forward, Mr. Miller told me. If he is the executive in a counterterrorism operation in the post-9/11 world, he does not need to memorize the collected statements of Osama bin Laden, or be able to read Urdu to be effective. ... Playing Islamic Trivial Pursuit was a cheap shot for the lawyers and a cheaper shot for the journalist. Its just a gimmick.
Of course, I hadnt asked about reading Urdu or Mr. bin Ladens writings.
A few weeks ago, I took the F.B.I.s temperature again. At the end of a long interview, I asked Willie Hulon, chief of the bureaus new national security branch, whether he thought that it was important for a man in his position to know the difference between Sunnis and Shiites. Yes, sure, its right to know the difference, he said. Its important to know who your targets are.
That was a big advance over 2005. So next I asked him if he could tell me the difference. He was flummoxed. The basics goes back to their beliefs and who they were following, he said. And the conflicts between the Sunnis and the Shia and the difference between who they were following.
O.K., I asked, trying to help, what about today? Which one is Iran Sunni or Shiite? He thought for a second. Iran and Hezbollah, I prompted. Which are they?
He took a stab: Sunni.
Wrong.
Al Qaeda? Sunni.
Right.
AND to his credit, Mr. Hulon, a distinguished agent who is up nights worrying about Al Qaeda while we safely sleep, did at least know that the vicious struggle between Islams Abel and Cain was driving Iraq into civil war. But then we pay him to know things like that, the same as some members of Congress.
Take Representative Terry Everett, a seven-term Alabama Republican who is vice chairman of the House intelligence subcommittee on technical and tactical intelligence.
Do you know the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite? I asked him a few weeks ago.
Mr. Everett responded with a low chuckle. He thought for a moment: Ones in one location, anothers in another location. No, to be honest with you, I dont know. I thought it was differences in their religion, different families or something.
To his credit, he asked me to explain the differences. I told him briefly about the schism that developed after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, and how Iraq and Iran are majority Shiite nations while the rest of the Muslim world is mostly Sunni. Now that youve explained it to me, he replied, what occurs to me is that it makes what were doing over there extremely difficult, not only in Iraq but that whole area.
Representative Jo Ann Davis, a Virginia Republican who heads a House intelligence subcommittee charged with overseeing the C.I.A.s performance in recruiting Islamic spies and analyzing information, was similarly dumbfounded when I asked her if she knew the difference between Sunnis and Shiites.
Do I? she asked me. A look of concentration came over her face. You know, I should. She took a stab at it: Its a difference in their fundamental religious beliefs. The Sunni are more radical than the Shia. Or vice versa. But I think its the Sunnis whore more radical than the Shia.
Did she know which branch Al Qaedas leaders follow?
Al Qaeda is the one thats most radical, so I think theyre Sunni, she replied. I may be wrong, but I think thats right.
Did she think that it was important, I asked, for members of Congress charged with oversight of the intelligence agencies, to know the answer to such questions, so they can cut through officials puffery when they came up to the Hill?
Oh, I think its very important, said Ms. Davis, because Al Qaedas whole reason for being is based on their beliefs. And youve got to understand, and to know your enemy.
Its not all so grimly humorous. Some agency officials and members of Congress have easily handled my gotcha question. But as I keep asking it around Capitol Hill and the agencies, I get more and more blank stares. Too many officials in charge of the war on terrorism just dont care to learn much, if anything, about the enemy were fighting. And thats enough to keep anybody up at night.