Army Gen. Abizaid Named to Replace Franks

[Terri]

Army Gen. Abizaid Named to Replace Franks

By MATT KELLEY
Newsday
June 18, 2003

WASHINGTON -- An Arabic-speaking Army general of Lebanese descent has been nominated to replace Gen. Tommy Franks as head of U.S. Central Command, the Pentagon announced Wednesday.

The nomination of Lt. Gen. John Abizaid, currently second-in-command under Franks, was widely expected since Franks announced last month he would retire this summer. Abizaid must be confirmed by the Senate before taking the reins at Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations from the Horn of Africa to Central Asia, including Iraq and a large swath of the Middle East.

Abizaid, a grandson of Lebanese immigrants, speaks fluent Arabic, which he studied at a university in Jordan. He also holds a master's degree in Middle East studies from Harvard and has said he loves the region's people and culture.

The rest (http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-central-command-abizaid,0,5605512.st ory?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines)

[Saber]

The fact that he "loves the region's people and culture" doesn't give me the warm fuzzies, but I've read elsewhere that people who have served under him consider him "the best". Here's hoping.........

[Jerry44]

Having met GEN Abizaid when he was the Commandant of Cadets at West Point, I can assure anyone that we would be hard pressed to find a better man for the job. The fact that he is so familiar with the peoples and culture only serves him to perform better.
Rest assured that those picked to serve at West Point are the shining stars of our great military. I only wish everyone could have had the experience that I have had in meeting some of those people who are in charge of West Point. My son graduated from there in 2002, West Point's Bicentennial Year, and I have never before met and talked with people of that caliber (no pun intended).

[ALLEN L. WELLS]

http://gopusa.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif SABER - NOT TO WORRY. *LIEUTENANT GENERAL JOHN ABIZAID DID NOT ATTAIN HIS CURRENT RANK IN THE UNITED STATES ARMY WITH HIS LOYALTY IN DOUBT. *HE IS EXACTLY THE RIGHT MAN FOR THIS JOB. *WITH HIS EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND, LIVING EXPERIENCE IN AN ARAB COUNTRY, AND HIS FLUENT ARABIC LANGUAGE ABILITY GIVES HIM A BIG EDGE UP ON ANYONE ELSE. *I WOULD ALSO BE WILLING TO BET THAT HE HAS BEEN GENERAL FRANKS' PRIMARY ADVISOR ON CULTURAL MATTERS IN THE MIDDLE EAST. *I JUST DON'T THINK YOU COULD FIND A BETTER MAN FOR THIS JOB. http://gopusa.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/salute1.gif