Wash. Post Turns To Michael Scheuer For Analysis Of Mideast Uprisings

For commentary on the recent uprisings in the Middle East, The Washington Post recently turned to former CIA official Michael Scheuer, publishing an op-ed by Scheuer headlined, “Why the Mideast revolts will help al-Qaeda.”

Why the Post thought it would be a good idea to give him such a platform -- which also includes a Web chat this morning -- is a mystery. As Media Matters has noted, Scheuer has a long history of extreme rhetoric, once stating that "[t]he only chance we have as a country right now is for Osama bin Laden to deploy and detonate a major weapon in the United States."

Scheuer, a Fox News regular, has also said that “we're not killing enough people in Afghanistan” and that Democratic administrations are "pro-terrorist." He has also launched numerous personal attacks on President Obama, stating that Obama “obviously does not care” about “protecting Americans” and calling him a “coward.”

Despite this, the Post still gave Scheuer a prominent platform to discuss the recent events in the Middle East. At this point, what would Scheuer need to say for the Post to decide he's not a credible analyst?