Rumsfeld asks general overseeing Iraq war to stay

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Army Gen. John Abizaid, who oversees U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as head of Central Command, has agreed to keep the job at least another year at the request of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, defense officials said on Tuesday.

Abizaid, 54, is responsible for about 250,000 troops in the 25-nation Central Command region stretching from the Horn of Africa to Central Asia, spanning much of the Middle East.

Since he succeeded Army Gen. Tommy Franks in July 2003, U.S. troops have fought a tenacious insurgency in Iraq and sought to stabilize a shaky Afghanistan.

The decision to stick with Abizaid comes at a crucial period in Iraq, three years after the U.S.-led invasion. The bombing of an important Shi'ite Muslim mosque last month triggered a surge in sectarian fighting and raised fears of an all-out civil war in a country deeply divided among its Shi'ite, Sunni Arab and Kurdish populations.