John Abizaid John Philip Abizaid ( born April 1 , 1951 ) is a retired General in the United States Army and former Commander of the United States Central Command ( CENTCOM ) , overseeing American military operations in a 27 - country region , from the Horn of Africa , the Arabian Peninsula , to South and Central Asia , covering much of the Middle East . CENTCOM oversees 250 , 000 US troops . Abizaid succeeded General Tommy Franks as Commander , USCENTCOM , on July 7 , 2003 , and was also elevated to the rank of four - star general the same week . He was succeeded by Admiral William J . Fallon on March 16 , 2007 . Abizaid retired from the military on May 1 , 2007 after 34 years of service . As of 2007 , Abizaid is employed as a fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University . He assumed the Distinguished Chair of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point in December 2007 . Abizaid was appointed to the board of directors of RPM International on January 24 , 2008 , and also sits on the board of directors of the Defense Ventures Group . In 2008 he was selected as a Montgomery Fellow at Dartmouth College . Early life and marriage . Abizaid , an American of Lebanese ancestry , was born in northern California . He was raised Catholic . His father , a Navy machinist in World War II , raised him after Abizaid ' s mother died of cancer . Abizaid is married and has three children . He learned Arabic in the military . Education . Abizaid ’ s military education includes the United States Military Academy ( USMA ) at West Point , New York ( Class of 1973 ) ; Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced courses , Armed Forces Staff College , and a U . S . Army War College Senior Fellowship at the Hoover Institution , Stanford University . In his civilian studies , he earned a Master of Arts degree in Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University , and was an Olmsted Scholar at the University of Jordan in Amman , Jordan . Abizaid greatly impressed his teachers at Harvard University . Nadav Safran , the director of the Harvard Center for Middle Eastern Studies kept Abizaid ' s 100 - page paper on defense policy for Saudi Arabia , the only paper of a master ' s student he has kept , saying , " It was absolutely the best seminar paper I ever got in my 30 - plus years at Harvard . " Service career . Abizaid was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Infantry upon graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point , New York , Class of June 1973 . He started his career with the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment , 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg , North Carolina , where he served as a rifle and scout platoon leader . He commanded companies in the 2nd and 1st Ranger Battalion s , leading a Ranger Rifle Company during the invasion of Grenada . In 1983 , he jumped from an MC - 130 onto a landing strip in Grenada and ordered one of his Rangers to drive a bulldozer like a tank toward Cuban troops as he advanced behind it — a move highlighted in the 1986 Clint Eastwood film , " Heartbreak Ridge " . Abizaid commanded the 3rd Battalion , 325th Airborne Regiment combat Team in Vicenza , Italy , during the Persian Gulf War and deployed with the battalion in Northern Iraq to provide a safe haven for the Kurds . His brigade command was the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division . He served as the Assistant Division Commander , 1st Armored Division , in Bosnia - Herzegovina . Following that tour , he served as the 66th Commandant at the United States Military Academy at West Point . At West Point , he reined in hazing rituals and revamped the curriculum . Later , he took command of the 1st Infantry Division , the “ Big Red One , ” in Würzburg , Germany , from David L . Grange , which provided the first U . S . ground forces into Kosovo . He served as the Deputy Commander ( Forward ) , Combined Forces Command , US Central Command during Operation Iraqi Freedom . Staff assignments include a tour with the United Nations as Operations Officer ( G - 3 ) for Observer Group Lebanon and a tour in the Office of the Chief of Staff of the U . S . Army . European staff tours include assignments in both the Southern European Task Force and Headquarters , U . S . Army Europe . Abizaid also served as Executive Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , Director of Strategic Plans and Policy ( J - 5 ) on the Joint Staff and Director of the Joint Staff . Following the 2003 Iraq War and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein , he assumed command of Central Command from General Tommy Franks . On December 20 , 2006 , it was announced that Gen . Abizaid would step down from his position and retire in March 2007 . He had planned to retire earlier , but stayed at the urging of Donald Rumsfeld . On March 16 , 2007 , Abizaid transferred command to Admiral William J . Fallon , after serving longer as Commander , U . S . Central Command than any of his predecessors . Views . War on terror speech . In November 2005 , Abizaid gave a speech on the war on terrorism at the Naval War College . 2006 – 2007 comments on Iraq . On August 3 , 2006 , Abizaid , in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee , said the following about the situation on the ground in Iraq : " I believe that the sectarian violence is probably as bad as I ’ ve seen it , in Baghdad in particular , and that if not stopped , it is possible that Iraq could move towards civil war . " He also testified , " I ’ m optimistic that that slide [ toward civil war ] can be prevented " . Bob Woodward on Abizaid and Murtha . In " " ( as excerpted in " Newsweek " magazine ) , Bob Woodward of the " Washington Post " wrote that on March 16 , 2006 Abizaid was in Washington to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee . " He painted a careful but upbeat picture of the situation in Iraq . " Subsequently , " he went over to see Congressman John Murtha ( D - Pa ) , the 73 - year old former Marine who had introduced a resolution the previous November calling for the redeployment of troops from Iraq as soon as practicable . " Abizaid said he wanted to speak frankly , and " according to Murtha , Abizaid raised his hand for emphasis and held his thumb and forefinger a quarter of an inch from each other and said , “ We ’ re that far apart . " On October 1 , 2006 , an interview of Woodward by CBS reporter Mike Wallace was broadcast on the television show " 60 Minutes " . Wallace mentioned the Murtha - Abizaid conversation . Wallace asked Woodward to confirm that Murtha had told him of this tale of meeting with Abizaid ; Woodward nodded his head in assent and said yes . Iran ' s nuclear program . In remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies reported on September 17 , 2007 , Abizaid stated , " We need to press the international community as hard as we possibly can , and the Iranians , to cease and desist on the development of a nuclear weapon and we should not preclude any option that we may have to deal with it . " He also said , " I believe that we have the power to deter Iran , should it become nuclear . " " There are ways to live with a nuclear Iran , " Abizaid said , " 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 . " Awards and decorations . Abizaid has been decorated for service , to include :