In an October 17 New York Times op-ed, Jeff Stein, Congressional Quarterly national security editor, wrote that “most American officials I've interviewed don't have a clue” as to what the differences are between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. Stein continued: “That includes not just intelligence and law enforcement officials, but also members of Congress who have important roles overseeing our spy agencies.” Stein singled out Gary Bald, the former head of the FBI's National Security Branch, which consolidated the FBI's counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and intelligence programs; Rep. Terry Everett (R-AL), the vice-chairman of the House Intelligence Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence; and Rep. Jo Ann Davis (R-VA), chairman of the House Intelligence Subcommittee on Terrorism, Human Intelligence, Analysis and Counterintelligence. Given that Al Qaeda is predominantly Sunni, and that two of Iraq's most powerful neighbors, Iran and Saudi Arabia, are predominantly Shiite and Sunni, respectively, Stein asked: “How can they do their jobs without knowing the basics?”

While Stein raises an important question, the fact that this information first appeared in the Times on its op-ed page raises another question: How is it that the Times has let this simple, yet critical, piece of information regarding the basic competencies of the Bush administration officials and Republican legislators managing U.S. national security go unreported in its news pages?

From Stein's October 17 Times op-ed:

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? 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 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?