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WASHINGTON (AFP) - A former Iraqi general, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, is reported to be coordinating attacks in Iraq by foreign fighters and Iraqi regime loyalists, a US defense official said. "There are reports that the al-Douri is coordinating the attacks," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The reports in military channels fingering al-Douri as the coordinator of the attacks probably came from the recent capture in Mosul of a former secretary of al-Douri and two senior members of Ansar al-Islam who were close to the general, the official said. Number six on the US list of 55...

Interesting Times: Abizaid's recipe for defeat Saul Singer , THE JERUSALEM POST Sep. 28, 2007 General John Abizaid, the general with regional command over the war in Iraq before the currently promising strategic overhaul led by General David Petraeus, recently shared some thoughts reminding us why he is not missed. "I believe that we have the power to deter Iran, should it become nuclear... Let's face it, we lived with a nuclear Soviet Union, we've lived with a nuclear China, and we're living with [other] nuclear powers as well." Rarely has the adage that generals always fight the last war...

BAGHDAD — Iraqi security forces are becoming more capable every day, fighting and dying for their country because the future depends on them, U.S. Central Command’s commander said this week. “I come to the conclusion that Iraqis are fighting and dying for their country, that the government has pledged their sacred honor and their future to making this work,” Army Gen. John Abizaid said in an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “Their lives are on the line.” Iraqi forces now number more than 300,000, and while they still have some bad days and challenges to overcome, they are steadily improving,...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - President Jalal Talabani on Saturday underscored the need for a unity government in Iraq after a spasm of sectarian killing and said he had been assured U.S. forces would remain in the country as long as needed - ``no matter what the period.'' His comments came after a bomb exploded at a minibus terminal during morning rush hour in a southeastern Baghdad suburb, killing seven people and wounding 25, one of a string of explosions in the capital and elsewhere. The violence shattered the relative calm brought by Fridays' driving ban in Baghdad and its outskirts,...

Petraeus Ready for New Iraqi Security Mission By Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample, USAAmerican Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON, May 16, 2004 -- With Iraqi sovereignty less than two months away, the man who commanded the 101st Airborne Division the first year of the Iraq war is up for an enormous, new challenge. Army Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, who stepped down as commanding general of the Fort Campbell, Ky.-based division May 14, will be heading back to Iraq in the next few weeks to oversee training of Iraqi security personnel. In an interview on CNN's "Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer"...

General John Abizaid has driven big changes in the American military. Now, as he commands U.S. forces in the Middle East, his ideas are being put to the test ..... This past July, a week after taking charge—as the chief of what the military calls Central Command—of all U.S. forces in the Middle East, the four-star Army general John Abizaid stepped over the line. He deliberately used the loaded word "guerrilla" to describe the escalating Iraqi resistance to U.S. occupation—something his civilian superiors had gone out of their way to avoid. Reporters pounced, even as soldiers quietly applauded Abizaid's candor....

New leadership in Iraq Posted: November 18, 20031:00 a.m. Eastern © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com President Bush is reportedly not pleased with the job Paul Bremer is doing in Iraq. That's progress. It's time to rethink Bremer. It's time to rethink the qualifications needed for the person leading the rebuilding of Iraq. It's time to rethink what has worked and not worked in the past in such situations. When the U.S. conquered Japan in 1945, we didn't send a career bureaucrat to turn the country around, to change the culture, to rebuild the economy and the nation's infrastructure as rapidly as possible. We sent...

New Chief Abizaid Is Departure From Previous Army Leaders By Thomas E. Ricks Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, August 3, 2003; Page A18 BAGHDAD -- Army Gen. John P. Abizaid always knew that the responsibilities of leading the U.S. Central Command were enormous. But as Centcom's deputy commander, he also knew they were someone else's. "When you're the number two guy, you always say to yourself, 'Gee, the CinC's sure got a big problem, I wonder how he's gonna get out of this one,' " he said in a recent interview, using the military term for commander in chief. "Now,...

WASHINGTON - The military will punish demoralized soldiers in Iraq who are bluntly venting their frustration to reporters, the Pentagon said yesterday. "None of us that wear this uniform are free to say anything disparaging about the secretary of defense or the President of the United States," said Gen. John Abizaid, head of Central Command. "We're not free to do that. It's our professional code. Whatever action may be taken, whether it's a verbal reprimand or something more stringent, is up the commanders on the scene." This week's abrupt cancellation of homecoming plans for the Army's 3rd Infantry Division unleashed...

Tommy Franks retires today - and none too soon. It's not that Gen. Franks didn't wage a splendid war. He did. But the after-party is a mess, and maybe, just maybe, Franks' successor, the Arabic-speaking Lt. Gen. John Abizaid, can persuade his civilian bosses to get things on track. Assuming some bureaucratic courage, new blood can make a difference. Abizaid's first and perhaps most important task will take place in Washington, a world away from the action. As he takes over from Franks, Abizaid will meet with his civilian and military superiors to debate the size of the force needed...

With a new, fourth star on his collar, Army Gen. John Abizaid took over as leader of the U.S. Central Command on Monday following a star-studded tribute to retiring commander Gen. Tommy Franks. Abizaid, an Arabic speaker whom Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called "the leader for the 21st century," had served as one of Frank's two deputies at Central Command. During that time, Franks planned the war on terrorism after the Sept. 11 attacks and then coordinated the invasion of Iraq. "The greatest honor of any solider is to command the sons and daughters of America," Abizaid said during the...

WASHINGTON, June 18, 2003 – President Bush has nominated Army Lt. Gen. John Abizaid for a fourth star and the position of commander, U.S. Central Command, based at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. Abizaid has served as CENTCOM deputy commander since February 2003. The command has the Middle East, Central Asia and the Horn of Africa as its area of operations. Abizaid, who is fluent in Arabic, is of Lebanese extraction and is from Coleville, Calif. The Senate must confirm Abizaid in the post before he can take command. If confirmed, he would succeed Army Gen. Tommy Franks, who announced...

Arabic-Speaking General Picked As Next USD CentCom Head WASHINGTON (AP)--An Arabic-speaking Army general of Lebanese descent has been nominated to replace Gen. Tommy Franks as head of U.S. Central Command, the Defense Department 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...

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...

[Translation note - "WAD Arab" = "Mad Arab"] Soon does US general "WAD Arab" prevail over Bagdad? Does it become Saddam Husseins successor? The American three-star general John Abizaid speaks flowing Arab, has combat experience in the Gulf region and a Harvard conclusion in Middle East studies. It is acted after a victory of the USA as a possible interim government boss. Washington - like Douglas MacArthur once the reconstruction in Japan after the Second World War managte, then John Abizaid could be the crucial man for the USA, if it concerns the time to a victory in the Iraq....