Anthony Zinni Anthony Charles Zinni ( born September 17 , 1943 ) is a retired United States Marine Corps general and a former Commander in Chief of the United States Central Command ( CENTCOM ) . In 2002 , he was selected to be a special envoy for the United States to Israel and the Palestinian Authority . While serving as special envoy , Zinni was also an instructor in the Department of International Studies at the Virginia Military Institute . Currently , he is an instructor at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University , a public speaker , and an author of two best - selling books on his military career and foreign affairs , most recently " Battle for Peace " . He also is involved in the corporate world , joining M . I . C . Industries as its president for International Operations in 2005 . Zinni also serves on the advisory boards of eight different companies , including the security testing firm , Mu Dynamics , based in Sunnyvale , California . He joined Duke University ' s Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy in Spring 2008 as the Sanford Distinguished Lecturer in Residence and taught a new course in the Hart Leadership Program . Since September 2011 , he has served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Middle East Institute . He has been credited for foresight in predicting the dangers of terrorism coming out of Afghanistan before the September 11 , 2001 attacks and supporting the Iraq War troop surge of 2007 . He opposed the invasion of Iraq in 2003 . In October 2009 he came out firmly in support of General McChrystal ' s request for up to 40 , 000 additional troops in Afghanistan . Early life and education . Zinni was born in Conshohocken , Pennsylvania , the son of Lilla ( Disabatino ) , a seamstress and homemaker , and Antonio Zinni , a chauffeur . His parents were of Italian descent . In 1965 , Zinni graduated from Villanova University with a degree in economics , and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps . After completion of the Basic School , he was assigned to the 2nd Marine Division , where he served as a platoon commander , company executive officer , and company commander in the 1st Battalion , 6th Marines . He also served as a company commander in the 1st Infantry Training Regiment during this tour . Career . U . S . Marine Corps . In 1967 , Zinni was assigned as an infantry battalion advisor to the Vietnamese Marine Corps . Following the Vietnam War , he was ordered to the Basic School where he served as a tactics instructor , platoon commander , and company executive officer . In 1970 , he returned to Vietnam as a company commander in 1st Battalion , 5th Marines where he was wounded , evacuated , and subsequently assigned to the 3rd Force Service Support Group on Okinawa . There he served as a company commander and guard officer . In 1971 , Zinni returned to the 2nd Marine Division , where he served as a company commander in the 1st Battalion , 8th Marines , Aide de Camp to the Commanding General , and Officer in Charge of the Infantry Training Center . In 1974 , he was assigned to Headquarters Marine Corps , where he was assigned as the Retention and Release Officer and Plans Officer in the Officer Assignment Branch of the Manpower Department . Zinni again served in the 2nd Marine Division in 1978 , as the Operations Officer of the 3rd Battalion , 2nd Marines , Executive Officer of the 1st Battalion , 8th Marines , Executive Officer of the 8th Marine Regiment and Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion , 8th Marines . In 1981 , he was assigned as an operations and tactics instructor at the Marine Corps Command and Staff College at Quantico , Virginia . He was next assigned to the Operations Division at Headquarters , U . S . Marine Corps where he served as the Head of the Special Operations and Terrorism Counteraction Section and as the Head , Marine Air - Ground Task Force Concepts and Capabilities Branch . In 1984 , he earned his master ' s degree from Central Michigan University . In 1986 , he was selected as a fellow on the Chief of Naval Operations Strategic Studies Group . From 1987 to 1989 , Zinni served on Okinawa as the regimental commander of the 9th Marine Regiment and the Commanding Officer of the 35th Marine Expeditionary Unit , which was twice deployed to the Philippines to conduct emergency security operations and disaster relief operations . Upon his return to the U . S . , he was assigned as the Chief of Staff of the Marine Air - Ground Training and Education Center at Marine Corps Base Quantico . His initial general officer assignment was as the Deputy Director of Operations at the U . S . European Command . In 1991 , he served as the Chief of Staff and Deputy Commanding General of Combined Task Force Operation Provide Comfort during the Kurdish relief effort in Turkey and Iraq . He also served as the Military Coordinator for Operation Provide Hope , the relief effort for the former Soviet Union . In 1992 - 93 , he served as the Director for Operations for the Unified Task Force in Somalia for Operation Restore Hope . Also in 1993 , he served as the Assistant to the U . S . Special Envoy to Somalia during Operation Continued Hope . Zinni was assigned as the Deputy Commanding General , U . S . Marine Corps Combat Development Command , Quantico , Virginia , from 1992 to 1994 . From 1994 to 1996 , he served as the Commanding General , 1st Marine Expeditionary Force . During early 1995 , Zinni served as Commander of the Combined Task Force for Operation United Shield , protecting the withdrawal of U . N . forces from Somalia . From September 1996 until August 1997 , Zinni served as the Deputy Commander in Chief , United States Central Command . His final tour was from August 1997 to September 2000 as the Commander in Chief , United States Central Command , MacDill Air Force Base , Florida . He organized Operation Desert Fox , a series of airstrikes against Iraq during December 1998 , with the stated purpose of degrading Iraq ' s weapons of mass destruction program . Following this , he retired in autumn 2000 . Zinni has attended the John F . Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School , Amphibious Warfare School , Marine Corps Command and Staff College , and the National War College . He holds a bachelor ' s degree in economics and two Master of Arts degrees , one in international relations and another in management and supervision . His son , Anthony Zinni , is a major , currently serves in the Marine Corps . Testimony before Congress . On March 15 , 2000 , Zinni testified before Congress : Zinni also warned about terrorism : Post - military career . Zinni holds positions on several boards of directors of major U . S . corporations . In addition , he has held academic positions that include the Stanley Chair in Ethics at the Virginia Military Institute , the Nimitz Chair at the University of California , Berkeley , the Hofheimer Chair at the Joint Forces Staff College , and the Harriman Professorship of Government and membership on the board of the Reves Center for International Studies at the College of William and Mary . He has worked as Chairman of the Board of the Middle East Institute , with the University of California ' s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation and the Henry Dunant Centre for humanitarian dialogue in Geneva . He is also a Distinguished Advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations . He was the Executive Vice President for Dyncorp International from July 18 , 2007 to the end of 2008 . He served on the Board of Directors of Dyncorp International prior to that position . He serves on the Board of Trustees of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia , which is a museum dedicated to the U . S . Constitution . In April 2004 , Zinni gave a lecture entitled " From the Battlefield to the Negotiating Table : Preventing Deadly Conflict " at the University of San Diego ' s Joan B . Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice Distinguished Lecture Series . In 2004 , Zinni was singled out by " The New York Times " investigative reporter Diana B . Henriques for serving on First Command ' s board of advisors . Henriques alleged that First Command used its military connections " to lend credibility to their sales efforts " . First Command defended its affiliation before the U . S . House of Representatives stating , " It would be unfortunate if anyone inferred that these honorable individuals would take any action or support any organization that did not act in the best interests of service members . " The SEC and NASD concluded that First Command willfully violated the Securities Act of 1933 Section 17 ( a ) ( 2 ) dealing with inter - state fraud . First Command settled without admitting guilt . In 2006 , Zinni argued that more troops were needed in Iraq in the context of preventing the then - budding civil war . In 2007 , he worked on a report entitled " National Security and the Threat of Climate Change " with 11 other retired military commanders . The report stated that global warming would act as a threat multiplier to global conflict . General Zinni is also a " Distinguished Military Fellow " for the Center for Defense Information , a part of the World Security Institute . In 2009 , Zinni reported that he had been offered and accepted the post of United States Ambassador to Iraq for the Barack Obama administration , but that the appointment had been subsequently withdrawn without explanation . The administration ' s final choice for the ambassadorship was Christopher R . Hill . June 26 , 2009 , General Anthony ( Tony ) Zinni ( USMC ret . ) , currently a member of the BAE Systems , Inc . Board , has been appointed Chairman of the BAE Systems , Inc . Board and , pending appointment of a permanent successor to Walt Havenstein , Acting President and CEO of BAE Systems , Inc . Tony will also join the BAE Systems Executive Committee in his capacity as Acting President and CEO of BAE Systems , Inc . General Zinni also serves on the board of Kaseman which has teamed up with Blackwater to pursue security work for the State Department ( Washington Post , October 1 , 2010 ) Since 2011 , Anthony Zinni is a member of the board of the Peace Research Endowment . Political involvement . An effort to get him to run for the U . S . Senate has stalled indefinitely , Zinni having said he will never run for office . He says his decision to endorse President George W . Bush in 2000 was a mistake , and in 2003 , indicated that he plans to avoid politics in the future . However , on March 3 , 2006 , Zinni joined fellow former United States Marines General Joseph P . Hoar , Lt . General Greg Newbold , Lt . General Frank Petersen , and Congressman Jack Murtha in endorsing fellow former U . S . Marine and Secretary of the Navy Jim Webb for U . S . Senate in Virginia . Zinni had been floated as a possible Vice Presidential running mate of Barack Obama , the 2008 Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party . Opinions on 2003 invasion of Iraq . In the late 1990s , Zinni said that the U . S . risked entering a " Bay of Goats " if it relied on exiles such as the Iraqi National Congress to invade Iraq , a reference to the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion . In May 2004 , his memoir , " Battle Ready " , co - authored with Tom Clancy , was published . It features stinging criticism of the planning for the 2003 invasion of Iraq and more specifically , the post - battle planning . In a widely reported speech at a dinner in May 2004 , Zinni detailed ten serious criticisms of the rationale and execution of the war , summarised below : Awards and decorations . Zinni ' s decorations include the following : In addition to his U . S . military decorations , Zinni holds decorations from France , Italy , Bahrain , Egypt , Yemen , Vietnam , and Kuwait . His civilian awards include the Papal Gold Cross of Honor , the Union League ' s Abraham Lincoln Award , the Italic Studies Institute ' s Global Peace Award , the Distinguished Sea Service Award from the Naval Order of the United States , the Eisenhower Distinguished Service Award from the Veterans of Foreign Wars , The Chapman Award from the Marine Corps University Foundation , the Penn Club Award , the St . Thomas of Villanova Alumni Medal , the George P . Shultz Award for Public Service from the U . S . Department of State , and UNICO National ' s Grand Patriot Award .