GEN John Abizaid, Tossed Under The Bus
Posted on December 20, 2006
The news that has just come out:
Army General John P. Abizaid, commander of US forces in the Middle East, has submitted plans to retire and will leave his post in March, a step likely to make way for a change in military strategy at a time the Bush administration is seeking a new plan for Iraq.
Here is the bottom line. Several days ago, John Abizaid was told that he would be removed from his command if he did not leave. Being the good soldier, John Abizaid is falling on his sword in order to “protect†the Administration. The United States Military has done its job and won the War. The situation in Iraq is %$&^^% because of the Iraqis, a nation building exercise taken on by the US Department of State and pawned off on the uniformed military, and political warfighting correctness taken on by this Administration.
This is not the last high level resignation that is circulating. Further, if the Administration wants to pursue this grandiose plan of Nation Building they are going to have to throw the entire crop of Senior NCOs and Field Grade Officers in the United States Army under the bus. Our heart and soul is no longer in this affair.
Do you want to know the “secret†why CENTCOM and the Joint Chiefs are not supporting the “more troops†espoused by Bush/McCain? The decision making came down to give us the number we need or do not bother. 30,000 “troops†for six months will not pacify the country, period. The briefing number was a whole lot higher and the civilian authorities said, no!! Why? It was not “politically feasible.â€Â
John Abizaid, a man better than any politician in Washington, is leaving because he does not want to be responsible for staying on when a decision has been made by politicians thousands of miles away that will cause needless wasting of American Soldiers lives.
Oh, if John Abizaid’s book is published in mid 2008, any politician still supporting continued involvement will be absolutely cooked.
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3 Responses to “GEN John Abizaid, Tossed Under The Bus”
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Oak Leaf, can you provide a link that proves Abizaid was asked to resign last week? I couldn’t find it via Google and this is the first I’ve heard of it.
I think there is a lot of misunderstanding here. Abizaid is NOT being thrown under the bus. Pres. Bush isn’t making any ultimatums that I know of requiring people who disagree to exit stage left. Abizaid has been in command of CENTCOM since GEN Franks in 2003. This is a very high stress job and commanders aren’t usually in these positions for more than a year or two. CENTCOM Middle East cover the Middle East, Africa and surrounding areas.
Abizaid has been a soldier since 1973. He’s been in for over 33 years! This is his time to retire. There’s no throwing under the bus going on here that I’m aware of. He’s 55 years old!
Where did you get the idea that Abizaid and CENTCOM doesn’t support more troops? When Abizaid spoke to the Senate a month or so ago he said the opposite, that all options are on the table from troop increase to maintaining what we have. Where did this idea come from that he is opposed to more troops?
This is the normal ebb and flow of military life. Positions are short lived; they aren’t lifetime appointments.
Bush is advocating expanding the military to more divisions, which undoes what clinton did in the 90’s when he so proudly elminated 200,000 federal jobs..i.e., the military (what a jerk!).
Any link you can provide that Abizaid was asked to step down or that he is against more troops in Iraq would be very appreciated. I do know for a fact that he is NOT being thrown under the bus.
The real irony of our quick ousting of Saddam in Iraq is that it led to a great deal of senior Generals retiring early…an example would be General Tommy Franks.
When Abizaid was brought in as a replacement I’m not sure if he was the best person for the job…and for sure he was not the most experienced…
I think he did as well as he could considering the circumstances.
Hopefully the next General can handle the pressures of the job.
By the way, I am going to link your blog to mine. Would you mind doing the same for me? Thank you!
http://www.americanlegends.blogspot.com
It is my understanding that he wanted to leave last year. He was asked to stay on personally last year by Rumsfeld and agreed to stay until this spring.
He is the longest serving CENTCOM commander (50 months to date) in history in a very demanding time. I don’t believe he is being thrown under any bus.