Envoy Named for Sudan

President Obama has named retired Air Force Major General Scott Gration to the post of special envoy to Sudan. 

The best rundown I found on Gration was recently published in The New Republic.  I had read other stories out there and they were pretty cheerful, if you ask me.  But I did wonder why the articles all stressed Gration's knowledge of Swahili.  Don't they know that they speak mainly Arabic in the north, along with their own tribal langauges?  Swahili really doesn't help that much.  Hmmm..someone didn't do his research.

The good news is that Gration seems to know a lot about Africa.  At least, having been born on the continent will give him a better frame of reference for the Sudanese culture.  (Although, as any person born in New York will tell you, that doesn't mean they understand Texan culture even though they are still on the same continent!)

In any event, I do suggest reading the New Republic article.  It's a little biting, but fairly balanced. Click here to read the article.

I wish Mr. Gration all the best of luck.  And more importantly, my prayers.  He will need all he can get to navigate through the rocky political waters of Sudan.