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Former CENTCOM commander to speak at Ohio State
COLUMBUS — The rise of Islamic extremism, Iran’s development of nuclear power, the corrosive effects of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the global reliance on oil are topics to be addressed by the former commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), in a lecture at Ohio State.
Gen. John P. Abizaid will speak on “Strategic Challenges in the Middle East” on Wednesday, Feb. 20, at 3:30 p.m. at the Wexner Center Film/Video Theater, 1871 N. High St.
CENTCOM directs the operations of 250,000 American troops in a 27-country region that includes the Horn of Africa, Arabian Peninsula, South and Central Asia, and the Middle East.
Abizaid succeeded Gen. Tommy Franks as commander of CENTCOM in July 2003, and was elevated to the rank of four-star general the same week. He was succeeded by Adm. William J. Fallon in March 2007. Abizaid retired in May 2007 after 34 years of service. He was named the first Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University in June 2007.
The event is sponsored by the Mershon Center for International Security Studies, an Ohio State research center that advances the understanding of national security in a global context.
Abizaid will also speak at Ohio Wesleyan University at 7:30 p.m. in Gray Chapel, University Hall.
About the Mershon Center for International Security Studies
The Mershon Center for International Security Studies at The Ohio State University advances the understanding of national security in a global context by fostering interdisciplinary faculty and student research in three areas of focus: the use of force and diplomacy; the ideas, identities, and decisional processes that affect security; and the institutions that manage violent conflict. For more information, please see the center’s website at http://mershoncenter.osu.edu.
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Gen. John P. Abizaid
Former Commander
U.S. Central Command
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