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Abizaid addresses Middle East problems
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Retired General John Abizaid spoke about “Diplomacy, the Military, and the Future of the Middle East” at 7 p.m. April 9 in the Student Union Building Jordan Ballroom. Abizaid, the longest serving commander of the United States Central Command and general in charge of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2003 to 2007, came to Boise State as the first speaker for the Vox Discipuli Lecture Series.
Boise State President Bob Kustra introduced Abizaid and commented on the nature of the lecture committee.
“The important thing is that the committee is student-run and student-led,” Kustra said.
Abizaid repeatedly emphasized the non-political nature of his lecture and perspective on the Middle East.
“I’m not political, not a Democrat, not a Republican,” he said. “I’m a soldier.”
Abizaid explained the composition of the Central Command, a 27-country region in the Middle East that stretches from northeast Africa to Pakistan, and outlined what he called “four geo-strategic problems that won’t go away.”
These, according to Abizaid, are: the rise of Sunni Islamic extremist organizations such as Al-Qaeda, Shia extremism like that which drives the mullah movement in Iran, the Palestinian-Israeli problem and the United States’ over-reliance on imported oil.
He also mentioned the nuclear capabilities of Iran and Pakistan and said that future confrontation is possible without strong leadership by the United States.
“These are long-term problems; there’s no quick five-second sound bite solution to them,” Abizaid said.
He said that the United States needs to apply ’soft power’ by working on building institutions and infrastructure in strategic countries, and in the case of Iraq, turning over more power to the Iraqis.
Abizaid believes that we should either increase the size of the army or decrease our presence in Iraq.
“Right now the U.S. Army is either in Iraq, going to Iraq, or coming back from Iraq,” he said. “It’s a tough fight in a culture we know very little about. There’s a big cultural gap.”
There are probably only 200 experts on Iraq in the United States, said Abizaid, as opposed to thousands on the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Abizaid said the United States needs to increase the size of the State Department and make clear guidelines for intelligence agencies. We are falling behind Al-Qaeda partially because they use the Internet effectively and have a decentralized command structure.
“The enemy operates with impunity in the virtual space,” he said.
While acknowledging that there are no easy solutions, Abizaid ended on an optimistic note.
“We should not lose heart in our ability to accomplish great things,” he said.
ASBSU President and Vox Discipuli committee member Mark Getecha said BSU prepared for possible controversy or protests by making more security officers available and briefing the SUB staff.
“We were prepared for controversy – we were glad there were no controversial moments,” Getecha said. “We couldn’t have hoped for a better speaker. For being a four-star general, I was impressed with how personable he was.”
Reactions to the lecture varied.
“I think there were more questions he could have dealt with. I think there’s similarities with Vietnam in that we’re not fighting a clear enemy,” Mike Porto, an engineer who lives in Boise said.
“It made me want to go and find out more about it,” BSU student and Model United Nations President Rebecca Ames said. “He did sidestep the controversy that would have detracted from the points he was trying to make. We got to hear a lot about the logistics and the area.”
“When I heard it was a student-run program, I was excited to come,” Abizaid said after the lecture. “That’s better than speaking to a group of realtors or something. The future of the country is not in my generation’s hands, it’s in yours."
JENNIFER SAWMILLER
Lead News Writer
