US Army's Man Behind the Scenes in Iraq War Is Arabic Speaker, Middle Eastern Scholar
By Nicole Winfield
Associated Press Writer
Mar 25, 2003
[Thanks, Ghostrider. --fl]
CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar (AP) - Army Lt. Gen. John Abizaid speaks fluent Arabic, is a Middle East scholar and professes that he "loves the Arab world."
He's also a three-star general, deputy commander of the U.S. Central Command and the No. 2 official leading the war against Iraq.
Abizaid made his public debut this week at Central Command in Qatar, providing a precise rundown of where the war stood days after ground forces crossed the Iraqi border.
His performance was indicative of his climb up the U.S. military ladder and the way he runs the war: studied and detailed, right down to writing his briefing notes in longhand.
"He is the planner," said Daniel Goure of the Lexington Institute, a Washington-based think tank. "That's the person who moves the pieces on the chessboard to be approved by (Gen.) Tommy Franks."
Goure worked with Abizaid on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, where Abizaid was director of the Joint Staff before he was tapped for the deputy commander job at Central Command in January.
Before that, he was executive assistant to then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. John Shalikashvili.
The Pentagon experience, coupled with an impressive Army resume and an academic and personal background in the region, make him particularly well-suited for the Iraq campaign, analysts say.
"You begin with the fact that he's a great soldier," said Bill Nash, a retired Army general who commanded an armored brigade in the 1991 Gulf War. "And then you add to that the fact that he is savvy to the world of political military affairs.
"And of course, in this particular case, his unique qualification is that he is fluent in Arabic and understands that region extremely well," said Nash, who has known Abizaid for over 20 years. They worked most recently in Kosovo.
Abizaid's grandparents emigrated to the United States from Lebanon, and he grew up in Coleville, Calif., raised mostly by his widowed father.
He learned Arabic as an adult, studying at the University of Jordan in Amman. He also picked up a master's degree in Middle East studies at Harvard.
"John would do a good job in any part of the world," Nash said. "There are some for whom the word unique is appropriate. John is uniquely qualified."
Abizaid referred to his knowledge of the Arab world in his first news conference Sunday. A reporter asked if the region's growing anti-war movement might compel Arab governments to revoke commitments to the United States in its campaign against Saddam Hussein.
"Well, I really wouldn't want to make any statement that might mark me as a State Department official," Abizaid said to laughter.
"I'm a soldier and I do my best, but I would say, as a person who has studied the Arab world and loves the Arab world, that the majority of educated Arabs that I talk to know that Saddam Hussein has been a plague on the Arab world and on his own people, and they welcome his removal."
A typical Abizaid response, Nash said.
"He's very quiet and unassuming," said Nash. "But he's tough as nails and smart as all can be."
Abizaid first encountered the Saddam regime just after the 1991 Gulf War. He commanded the 3rd Battalion, 325th Airborne Battalion combat team, which was deployed to the Kurdish territories in northern Iraq during the humanitarian Operation Provide Comfort.
Other stops in his career have included commandant at West Point, where he graduated in 1973, and operations officer for the United Nations Observer group in Lebanon.
His most storied assignment came in 1983, when he commanded companies in the 2nd and 1st Ranger Battalions, leading a Ranger Rifle Company during the invasion of Grenada.
One of his exploits has since been immortalized in Hollywood: Legend has it that Abizaid ordered a sergeant to commandeer a bulldozer to lead the charge - a tactic later emulated by Clint Eastwood in the 1986 film "Heartbreak Ridge." |
