Bush's War Room: Gen. John Abizaid
— -- As commander-in-chief of the U.S. Central Command since July 7, 2003, Army Gen. John Abizaid is responsible for U.S. security interests in a region that stretches from North Africa across the Arabian peninsula to Central Asia and Afghanistan — 25 countries in all.
The grandson of Christian Lebanese immigrants, Abizaid is a fluent Arabic speaker and is a self-confessed lover of the Arab world.
At a time when the United States is waging a battle to win hearts and minds in the Arab world, Abizaid's intimate knowledge of the Middle East is considered an asset in U.S. military circles.
With a master's degree in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University, as well as academic stints at Stanford University and the University of Amman in Jordan, Abizaid has a unique background.
His expertise in the Middle East earned him the nickname "the mad Arab" while at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, where he graduated in 1973. Many military experts believe his combination of battlefield experience and scholarly achievements make him part of a new breed of U.S. military heroes.
A Scene From Heartbreak Ridge
Born in California to a Christian Lebanese American family, Abizaid started his military career with the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment at Fort Bragg, N.C., where he served as a rifle and scout platoon leader.
From a platoon leader, he rose quickly up the ranks, commanding companies in the 2nd and 1st Ranger Battalions and leading a Ranger Rifle Company during the U.S. invasion of Grenada in 1983.
It was during the Grenada invasion that Abizaid is believed to have caught the eye of his superiors when he reportedly ordered one of his soldiers to start up a nearby bulldozer and use it as a tank, allowing his company to advance on enemy positions.
A Scene From Heartbreak Ridge
The move apparently inspired a scene in the 1986 Clint Eastwood film Heartbreak Ridge, when the Hollywood star used a bulldozer to advance on a Cuban position.
In an impressive military career, Abizaid has served in Kosovo and in northern Iraq during the first Gulf War, where he helped protect Kurdish refugees from Saddam Hussein's army.
His experience in the Gulf War, as well as his links with the Arab world helped reinforce his support for the war in Iraq. In interviews with reporters, Abizaid has often said he believed Iraqi civilians see U.S. forces as liberators and not conquerors.
It's a belief that is often tested in Iraq as a military insurgency claims a growing number of U.S. lives and the situation in the oil-rich country threatens to destabilize the region.
One of the biggest challenges to the reputation of his forces in Iraq has been the prisoner abuse scandal at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison. While some critics believe Abizaid, as a senior commander, should accept responsibility for the scandal, the chief of U.S. Central Command has denied that there was a "culture" or "pattern" of abuse within his command.
Ultimately, analysts say, the success of his command in Iraq will depend not so much on his background, but on the work done by his forces on the ground.