President Obama has once again nominated the Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook (Reverend Sujay) to Ambassador-at-Large for Religious Freedom. The president’s insistence on Rev. Dr. Cook comes in the face of Sen. Jim De Mint’s secret hold on Cook’s nomination, which Sarah Posner wrote about here for RD.
I wrote on Cook previously, citing her lack of international policy experience. Now more than ever, this post needs someone who has a handle on Islam, foreign policy, and other religious traditions. The people’s uprising in Egypt is a prime example why this ambassadorship needs someone who is more knowledgeable about religious traditions, diplomacy, and foreign policy experience. President Obama’s insistence on Cook may be a loyalist move, but one that will come back to haunt him in the long run.
