The New Republic has called for the dismissal of Scott Gration, the Obama administration’s special envoy to Sudan. Gration raised eyebrows, to say the least, when he offered this statement to the Washington Post describing the approach he would take to the Sudanese government: “We’ve got to think about giving out cookies. Kids, countries–they react to gold stars, smiley faces, handshakes, agreements, talk, engagement.”
TNR’s editors conclude: “Is Gration a cynic? A lightweight? We suspect worse: He is a man with an almost utopian theory about international relations…. At this point, the world has a pretty good grasp of what Gration believes about Sudan, and how he intends to act there. The question is: What does Barack Obama believe?”