Retired four-star general John Abizaid is to serve as US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, filling a post that has been vacant for more than two years
US President Donald Trump picked retired four-star general John Abizaid in November 2018 as the US ambassador to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
John Abizaid, a former US general, was confirmed by a 92-7 vote, about five months after being nominated by the president amid heightened tensions with Saudi Arabia.The issue of the diplomatic vacancy hit a peak when Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered. The official Saudi narrative has been met with international scepticism as well as stern criticism from US lawmakers over the possibility that Khashoggi's murder could have been carried out without the explicit consent of the kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The lack of an American ambassador to Riyadh played into the strain in the US-Saudi relations, even though Trump shied away from placing any blame on the Saudi crown prince.
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