John Abizaid

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General John Abizaid

John Philip Abizaid (* 1. April 1951 in Coleville , California ) is a retired general of the US Army and was from July 2003 to March 2007. Commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), responsible for US military operations in 25 countries in the Middle East in the region between the Horn of Africa and Central Asia and thus commanding over 250,000 US soldiers. Abizaid was replaced by Admiral William J. Fallon on March 16, 2007 and retired on May 1 of the same year after 34 years of service.

Military career

Training and first uses

The son of a Christian Lebanese and an American mother graduated in 1973 at the US Military Academy in West Point and got there the nickname "the mad Arab" ( the mad Arab ). He also graduated from the US Army War College and the Hoover Institute at Stanford University . Abizaid holds a Masters of Arts from Harvard University in Oriental Studies and a degree from the University of Jordan , Amman .

General Abizaid, Defense Minister Rumsfeld and Commander of the Multi-National Force Iraq Gen. Casey

Abizaid was trained as a paratrooper and army ranger . In 1983 he commanded during Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada a company of Rangers in battle. During this fight, he successfully, but unusually, dispatched a bulldozer against a Cuban position. This event shows that he belongs to a new generation of military leaders who are willing to tackle new tasks with new methods and to renounce traditional doctrines .

During the Second Gulf War , 1991, he commanded the 3rd Company of the 325th Airborne Battalion Combat Team in northern Iraq to protect the Kurds from Iraqi attacks ( Operation Provide Comfort ).

Service as a staff officer

In the late 1990s, he commanded the 504th Paratrooper Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division and later the 1st US Armored Division in Bosnia and Herzegovina . After he was the 66th commander of the US Military Academy in West Point, the 1st US Infantry Division ( The Big Red One ) in Würzburg was subordinate to him. In this position he also led the first US American ground troops in Kosovo in 1999, during the Kosovo war . Before he was subordinated to the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), the responsible US regional command for the Middle East , on July 7, 2003, replacing General Tommy R. Franks , he served as deputy commander of the coalition forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom , the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

In December 2006 it was announced that Abizaid was to give up command of CENTCOM in spring 2007 and to retire. He served longer than average, 3 years, in this post and has been responsible for US regional strategy since the beginning of the Iraq war. Anyone who should succeed him was followed closely, given that US President George W. Bush replaced US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld with Robert Gates in December 2006 . The most promising candidates for the post were George W. Casey, Jr. , who commanded the Multi-National Force Iraq , and David Petraeus , who commanded the 101st Airborne Division during the invasion of Iraq.

Secretary of Defense Gates , Adm. Fallon and Abizaid, 2007.

In January 2007 it was announced that Petraeus, contrary to what had been suspected, Casey succeeds the post of Commander of the Multi-National Force Iraq , Casey himself being transferred back to Washington, DC to the post of Chief of Staff of the Army to take over. On March 16, 2007, Abizaid handed over command to Admiral William J. Fallon , former commander of the US Pacific Command , and retired himself.

General Abizaid has received praise from the Arab-American community and civil rights groups for his strong support for US soldiers of Arab descent. After the retirement of Supreme Allied Commander Europe , NATO General George A. Joulwan , Abizaid was the most senior officer in the US armed forces of direct Arab descent. Like Joulwan, Abizaid was born into a Christian- Lebanese family in the United States. He speaks fluent Arabic in addition to his native English. He is married and has three children.

After retirement

After his retirement, Abizaid took over the presidency of the Combating Terrorism Center at the US Military Academy at West Point . He is also a member of the Hoover Institute at Stanford University and works on the Preventative Defense Project at Stanford University and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Abizaid is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the International Institute for Strategic Studies . He is also director of the George Olmsted Foundation . Abizaid advises small business companies through his consulting firm, JPA Partners LLC. He also serves on the boards of the United Services Automobile Association (USAA) and RPM International .

Awards

Selection of decorations, sorted based on the Order of Precedence of Military Awards :

Web links

Commons : John Abizaid  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Former CentCom chief retires (ArmyTimes.com of 2 May 2007; English)
  2. ↑ CENTCOM's Abizaid Plans Spring Retirement (defenselink.mil of December 20, 2006; English)
  3. ↑ Abizaid plans to leave post in March (The Bostonglobe of December 20, 2006; English)
  4. ↑ Bush to Name a New General to Oversee Iraq ( Memento April 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) ( The New York Times January 5, 2007; English)
  5. ↑ New US general will copy British 'softly-softly' style (Timesonline.co.uk January 11, 2007; English)
  6. ↑ Gates shakes up US command in Iraq (CNN January 5, 2007; English)
  7. ↑ Admiral Fallon takes Command ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (CENTCOM.mil from March 16, 2007; English)
  8. ↑ It's an Honor. Australian Government, archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; accessed on April 17, 2011 (English).
personal data
SURNAME Abizaid, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Abizaid, John Philip (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American general
DATE OF BIRTH April 1, 1951
PLACE OF BIRTH Coleville , California