Press Release
Cambridge, MA – The Preventive Defense Project (PDP) is pleased to welcome General (ret.) John P. Abizaid and General (ret.) James L. Jones onboard as Senior Advisors. As Senior Advisors, their insights from a combined 74 years of active duty service will be invaluable in helping the Project analyze problems across the full range of national security and foreign policy issues. Given their extensive service in strategic level command positions, Generals Abizaid and Jones will bring a wealth of experience to complement the already stellar group affiliated with PDP, led by Co-Directors Ashton B. Carter and William J. Perry.
General John P. Abizaid retired from the US Army in May 2007 after 34 years of active duty service. In his last assignment, as Commander of US Central Command from 2003-2007, General Abizaid oversaw strategy and combat operations in the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Horn of Africa, responsible for over 250,000 troops. He served previously as the Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, responsible for the daily operations of the Joint Staff. Serving in numerous command positions, General Abizaid led combat forces in Granada and in Iraq during the first Gulf War, commanded peacekeeping forces in Bosnia and again in Kosovo, and oversaw humanitarian earthquake relief in Pakistan and non-combatant evacuations in Lebanon. In addition to a Bachelor’s degree from the US Military Academy and a Masters degree in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University, he has also studied at the University of Jordan in Amman as an Olmsted Scholar and served as a National Security Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and is recognized as an expert on Middle Eastern affairs. General Abizaid was recently named the first Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.
General James L. Jones retired from the US Marine Corps in December 2006 after 40 years of active duty service. In his last assignment, he served as the Commander of US European Command, responsible for US combat operations throughout Europe, and Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, one of two strategic commanders for NATO. Previously, he served as the Commandant of the Marine Corps, as well as in numerous combat command positions from Vietnam to Iraq to Bosnia. In addition to a Bachelor’s and Honorary Doctorate from Georgetown University, General Jones also attended the National War College in Washington, D.C. He currently serves in numerous leadership roles, including Chairman of the Board for the Atlantic Council of the United States and the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, and sits on the Board of Directors for organizations such as Boeing, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the Scowcroft Institute for International Affairs, among others.
Generals Abizaid and Jones will be joining an already outstanding group of current Project advisors and affiliates. Current Senior Advisors include General (ret) John M. Shalikashvili, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia. Also acting as Senior Advisors are General (ret) John H. Tilelli Jr., former commander of UN, CFC, NATO, and US forces in Korea, Admiral (ret) Joseph W. Prueher, former commander of US Pacific Command and ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, and General (ret) Wesley K. Clark, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. John P. White, Kennedy School faculty member and former Deputy Secretary of Defense, and Robert J. Hermann, former Director of the National Reconnaissance Office and vice president of United Technologies Corporation, are also affiliated with the Project.
For more information and complete biographies, please see preventivedefenseproject.org:
Recommended citation
Presley, Douglas. “Preventive Defense Project Welcomes Gen. Abizaid, Gen. Jones as Senior Advisors.” September 1, 2007