The Daily Star
U.S. President Donald Trump Tuesday tapped John Abizaid, a top U.S. general from the Iraq War who is of Lebanese descent and has studied the Middle East for years, as ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
A California native, Abizaid, 67, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and later won a scholarship to study in Jordan, where he honed his Arabic, which he did not speak as a child.
He also studied at Harvard, where he wrote a master’s thesis that was acclaimed in academic circles about how Saudi Arabia makes decisions on defense spending.
Abizaid has held many prestigious appointments throughout his career. He served as a United Nations observer and from 1985 to 1986 as the operations officer for Observer Group Lebanon. The organization, which falls under the U.N. Truce Supervision Organization, supports the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon in observing incidents that could lead to the violation of U.N. resolutions.
From shortly after the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq through 2007, he also headed the U.S. Defense Department’s Central Command (CENTCOM), which covers the Middle East.
Soon after taking over as CENTCOM commander, Abizaid told reporters that U.S. forces were facing a “classical guerrilla-type campaign” from remnants of Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party.
His choice of words contradicted those of his bosses, who initially tried to portray the Iraq invasion as one that would result in a quick victory. But then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld did not move to replace Abizaid out of admiration for his skills.
During the 2006 Israeli war against Hezbollah, Abizaid oversaw the evacuation of Americans from Lebanon.
Shortly after retiring in 2007, Abizaid said that while the United States should try to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, “there are ways to live with a nuclear Iran,” describing the state’s behavior as rational and noting that the U.S. also dealt with a nuclear-armed Soviet Union.
Trump has championed a hard line on Iran, Saudi Arabia’s regional rival. He has been slow in filling key posts amid his promises to shake up Washington.
But the absence of an ambassador in Riyadh, nearly two years into his presidency, has become more glaring as tensions have risen between the U.S. and the kingdom.
Trump, who upon taking office quickly forged a close relationship with Saudi Arabia, has been forced to criticize the kingdom and its powerful Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, after a team from the kingdom killed Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S.-based journalist who had been critical of the regime, inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
As the U.S. has soured on the heir apparent, it has also curbed cooperation with the kingdom and demanded a halt to the Arab coalition campaign against rebels in Yemen that has contributed to a humanitarian crisis believed to be the worst in the world. But U.S. pleas, made by telephone rather than in person by an ambassador, have failed to sway the Saudis.
Abizaid requires confirmation from the Senate, which appears likely as the retired four-star general has long enjoyed respect in Washington.
