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NEWS RELEASE
Coalition Provisional Authority
http://www.iraqcoalition.org
Contact: J. Pepper Bryars
+1-914-360-3801
bryarsj@orha.centcom.mil
Iraqi Interim Defense Minister Appoints Three
Top Generals
Baghdad, Iraq -- Interim Minister of Defense Ali Allawi
announced the appointment of the three top generals in the Iraqi Armed Forces
during a news conference Sunday afternoon in Baghdad.
The top general, who will hold the office of Senior Military Advisor, is General
Babekr al-Zibari, and the Chief of Staff of the Iraqi Armed Forces is General
Amer al-Hashimi. The Deputy Chief of Staff is Lieutenant General Daham al-Assal.
"These generals bring a wealth of experience, wisdom, courage and ability to the
Iraqi Armed Forces," Minister Allawi said. "Iraqis want peace. Iraqis want
security. With these generals providing leadership, Iraqis will have both."
Gen. al-Zibari, 57, a Sunni Kurd from a village near Mosul, graduated from the
Iraqi Military Academy where he received airborne and special forces training.
After serving with distinction as an anti-aircraft artillery commander, he
resigned from the Iraqi Army in 1973 and joined the Peshmerga. He reorganized
the resistance movement into a regular military force and spent the next
30-years opposing Saddam Hussein's regime. As Senior Military Advisor, he will
serve as the senior military advisor to the Minister of Defense, the Ministerial
Committee for National Security, and the Head of Government.
Gen. al-Hashimi, 58, a Sunni Arab from Baghdad, rose to the rank of Major
General in the former Iraqi Army. He graduated from the Pakistani Military
Academy in 1970 and served as an infantry officer during the early part of his
career. Gen al-Hashimi has held a number of significant training positions,
culminating as the Deputy Commandant of the Iraqi Military Academy. Since his
retirement in 1997, he has been a member of the Baghdad City Council. As Chief
of Staff, he will be the commander of the Iraqi Armed Forces.
Lt. Gen. al-Assal, 63, a Shia Arab from Nineveh, attained the rank of Major
General in the previous military. He served as an infantry officer after
graduating in 1962 from the Iraqi Military Academy. He is also a graduate of
both the U.K. Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst and the U.S. Army Ranger
School. Lt. Gen. al-Assal has commanded Divisions, taught at the military's
leadership college, and worked with the reserve forces. As Deputy Chief of Staff
he will be second in command of the Iraqi Armed Forces.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov
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