Abizaid: Conflicts in Middle East could keep US there for 50 years
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
It might take as long as half a century before US troops can leave the volatile Middle East, according to retired Army Gen. John Abizaid.
"Over time, we will have to shift the burden of the military fight from our forces directly to regional forces, and we will have to play an indirect role, but we shouldn't assume for even a minute that in the next 25 to 50 years the American military might be able to come home, relax and take it easy, because the strategic situation in the region doesn't seem to show that as being possible," Abizaid said Wednesday at Carnegie Mellon University.