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Abizaid confirmed for Centcom
Gulf News, Washington |Reuters | 28-06-2003
The Senate confirmed yesterday Army Lt. Gen. John Abizaid, a Middle East expert of Lebanese descent, as the next head of the U.S. Central Command, which oversees hot spots of Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Senate approved Abizaid by voice vote. Abizaid has served as deputy to current Centcom Commander Gen. Tommy Franks and will take the helm when Franks retires after engineering the swift campaign that ousted former Iraqi President Saddam Hussain.
Abizaid, who will become a full general, speaks Arabic, has a master's degree in Middle East studies from Harvard University, and studied at the University of Jordan in Amman.
The change in command for Centcom, which is headquartered at Tampa's Mac-Dill Air Force and covers a large swath of territory from Africa to Europe, is slated for July 7.
Abizaid is set to assume the post amid rising concerns over threats that occupation forces are facing from Iraqi resistance, and questions on whether U.S. intelligence was flawed.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, a Virginia Republican, said he felt Abizaid "was prepared to stay the course" in Iraq and "bring from the military perspective the fastest possible conclusion to the hostilities."
At his confirmation hearing before Warner's committee on Wednesday, Abizaid warned of difficult days ahead in Iraq, but said he did not expect the situation to worsen. He said he was perplexed that the WMDs that the Bush administration said Saddam had have not been found, but he said he was confident they would be.
The panel's top Democrat, Carl Levin of Michigan, told Abizaid "it's hard even to imagine a better qualified nominee than you."
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| Earth, a planet hungry for peace |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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