AMBASSADOR/SAUDI ARABIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump will nominate retired Gen. John Abizaid, the former head of US Central Command, as the new American ambassador to Saudi Arabia, the White House announced Tuesday [11-13-18]. The nomination comes at a critical moment in diplomatic relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia, as the White House and Congress consider their response to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post columnist who was killed at the Saudi consulate in Turkey last month. Abizaid retired from the US Army after 34 years of service, according to CENTCOM’s website, and in that time rose from infantry platoon leader to four-star general. He was the head of CENTCOM from 2003 to 2007, and oversaw military strategy and joint operations in the Middle East, the Horn of Africa and Central Asia.”
–Kate Sullivan, “Trump nominates retired Gen. John Abizaid as US ambassador to Saudi Arabia,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, November 13, 2018 8:57 pm