Gen. John Abizaid outlined the four strategic issues that the next president will face.
He spoke Wednesday night to a crowd of 400 students, faculty and members of the public in the Joe Crowley Student Union ballroom, part of the Nevada Speaker series. Abizaid, former commander of the United States Central Command, commanded troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and has an intimate knowledge of the Middle East and its challenges.
al Qaeda and the rise of Sunni extremism
“Al Qaeda knows how to attack the U.S. and Europe on their own soil,” Abizaid said, citing various bombings throughout Europe and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The Al Qaeda movement is held together by extremist ideology and connected by the Internet, Abizaid said.
“They’re not a bunch of crazy people in caves,” he said.
The Al Qaeda is made up of a large number of parts, and the suicide bombers and training camps are only one element, he said. Attacking one part of the organization merely pushes the terrorists to another part of the organization. To effectively handle Al Qaeda, the United States must attack it from all sides.
The fight against Al Qaeda will be a long one, Abizaid said.
“They don’t think in five second sound bites,” he said. “They think in 500 years.”
Al Qaeda is committed to not letting go of the United States, he said. Even though they aim to push the United States out of the Middle East, the terrorists will not walk away from the United States, he said.
Iran and the rise of Shia extremism
“Iran wants to be the state with the most influence in the Middle East,” Abizaid said. “[They’re] determined to extend their power.”
He said Iran must be contained, not conquered. Even though Iran must be restricted, the people of Iran are not the ones to be worried about.
“It’s a crazy government, not crazy people,” he said.
Arab-Israeli Conflict
“The Arab-Israeli conflict requires involvement early in an administrations term,” Abizaid said.
The next U.S. president must bring the Israelis and Palestinians to the peace-talks table, he said. The only way to broker peace is for the next president to start talking as soon as possible.
America’s continued dependence on Middle Eastern oil
“Oil exportation from the Middle East fuels the global economy,” Abizaid said. “The United States is the protector of the oil exportation.”
The next president must deal with America’s dependence on oil in a broad sense, he said. The tendency during this campaign has been how to deal with oil dependence in a small sense.
America needs to develop other ways of providing energy to stop its dependence on oil from the Middle East, he said. The money that America sends to the Middle East for its oil often finds its way to terrorist organizations, he said.
nevadasagebrush.com/blog/2008/10/06/abizaid-outlines-foreign-policy-issues/
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