Tony Zinni

General Tony Zinni (Ret.) was commander in chief of CENTCOM from 1997 to 2000, and Colin Powell's special envoy to the Middle East from November 2002 to March 2003. He has also led special missions to Turkey, Pakistan, Kenya, Russia, Yemen, Indonesia, the Philippines, and other nations—a role in which he continues to serve today. Among his many commands, he has served as head of the Special Operations and Terrorism Counteraction Section of the Marines; chief of staff of the Marine Air-Ground Training and Education Center at Quantico; deputy director of operations, U.S. European Command; director of operations, Somalia task force, 1992–1993; commander of the Combined Task Force protecting the withdrawal of UN forces from Somalia, 1993; and commanding general, 1 Marine Expeditionary Force. He lives in Williamsburg, Virginia.