Trump Nominates Gen. John Abizaid as Saudi Arabia Ambassador

After nearly two years of vacancy, President Donald Trump nominated retired Army General John Abizaid, 67, to fill the open U.S. Saudi Arabia ambassador position.

Abizaid, who is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford and previously helped lead West Point’s counterterrorism center, has been chosen for the position as the U.S. wrestles with Saudi Arabia over the murder of Washington Post columnist and Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, who was a legal resident in America prior to his death.

The White House released the following statement listing Abizaid’s credentials when announcing his nomination:

“John P. Abizaid of Nevada, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

General Abizaid currently serves as the first Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and works as a private consultant at JPA Associates. Previously, he held the Distinguished Chair of the Combating Terrorism Center at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He has worked with the Preventative Defense Project at Stanford University and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. General Abizaid began his career in the U.S. Army as an infantry platoon leader and rose to become a four-star general and the longest serving commander of United States Central Command. He served as the Director of Strategic Plans and Policy on the Joint Staff and then Director of the Joint Staff among other leadership positions. General Abizaid was a Distinguished Graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and earned his M.A. in Middle Eastern Area Studies from Harvard University. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the International Institute for Strategic Studies. General Abizaid is a recipient of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Army Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, and the Bronze Star.”

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