John Abizaid
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John P. Abizaid (born April 1, 1951) is a general in the United States Army and the Commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), overseeing American military operations in a 25-country region, from the Horn of Africa to Central Asia, covering much of the Middle East. The Central Command oversees 250,000 US troops. He succeeded General Tommy Franks to this position on July 7, 2003, and was also elevated to the rank of 4-star general the same week. Previously, he was one of the two deputy commanders of CENTCOM.
A West Point graduate, Abizaid was born in the United States to a Christian Lebanese-American family, is fully fluent in Arabic, and is the most senior military officer of direct Christian Lebanese descent. He also attended Stanford University and the University of Amman in Jordan.
Abizaid graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point in 1973, where he acquired the nickname "the mad Arab." He went on to earn a master's degree in Middle Eastern studies from Harvard University. He also studied at the University of Jordan in Amman and was an operations officer with a U.N. observer group in Lebanon.
Abizaid was a paratrooper and Army Ranger. He commanded a company of the elite Rangers in combat in Grenada in 1983.
He participated in northern Iraq in the 1990s in protection of the Kurds (Operation Provide Comfort), as well as in Bosnia and Kosovo. Before taking on leadership roles at CENTCOM, Abizaid served in the 82nd Airborne Division and the 1st Armored Division.
Following the 2003 Iraq War and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, he became the highest-ranking leader of the American occupation efforts in Iraq, and was often refered to as the country's defacto military governor. This status ended on June 28, 2004 when authority was handed over to an interim Iraqi government.
His decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with five Oak Leaf Clusters and the Bronze Star Medal. Originally from Coleville, California, he is married and has three children.
External links
- PBS: "Newsmaker: General John Abizaid (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/jan-june04/abizaid_3-04.html)". March 4, 2004.
- Washington Post: Centcom's Renaissance Man (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15597-2003Aug2.html)