The operation left complications, and the US Secretary of Defense was admitted to the ICU, and he hid it from Biden for 3 whole days.
The Pentagon recently announced that US Secretary of Defense Austin was admitted to the hospital on the evening of January 1 local time due to complications in the last elective operation. He is currently in good recovery and is able to perform his full duties. In addition, the Deputy Minister of Defense is also ready to exercise authority on behalf of the Minister of Defense when necessary.
[U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin was currently admitted to the ICU at one point]
But this statement doesn't tell the whole story. A number of U.S. officials revealed to the media that Austin did not notify Biden or Biden's staff after he was hospitalized, and the White House was completely unaware of this, and even the vast majority of people in the Pentagon, including Deputy Secretary of Defense Hicks.
Austin spent four days in the intensive care unit (ICU), and it wasn't until the third day that he informed the White House National Security Council that "the Secretary of Defense is in the ICU." The next day, Jan. 5, he resumed his work and asked his staff to issue a statement. Austin's staff sent an email to all senior Pentagon officials only two hours before the statement, and the content was only a few short sentences from the above statement.
[The vast majority of Pentagon officials also don't know about it]
During this time, he kept his condition and hospitalization in strict secrecy. Austin's aides told the Department of Defense and the White House that the secretary was "working from home" this week.
Austin's concealment of his illness has detonated public opinion in the United States, and some Republican congressmen have criticized Austin for "dereliction of duty" and demanded his resignation. Former Defense Secretary Esper, who was promoted by Trump, said he understood Austin's need for privacy, but the move still lacked the transparency that a defense secretary deserves.
There are two reasons why the Republican Party is so hardline. First, the United States now has a lot to deal with, the tension in the Middle East is intensifying, Israel wants to continue to fight Hamas, and then it is likely to fight the Allah Party; the Houthis who are constantly attacking ships in the Red Sea also need to be dealt with by the United States; at the same time, the West's determination to assist Ukraine is weakening, while Russia is gradually gaining the upper hand; in addition, the situation on the peninsula is also escalating further......
[The United States has a lot to deal with now, and Russia and Ukraine are just one of them]
At this time of trouble, the US Secretary of Defense was in the ICU, not only lying in the ICU for four days, but also lying to the outside world about "working from home" - the nature of the problem is too serious.
Second, Austin himself has a good relationship with Biden. Biden has two sons, one is Hunter Biden, who is a "cheating father", and the other is Beau Biden, who died in 2015. The latter served in Iraq from 2008 to 2009, and the unit he served in at that time was none other than Austin's unit. Because of his father's relationship, Beau was very well taken care of by Austin in the army, and Biden also remembered Austin's goodness because of this. After Biden took office in 2021, he placed Austin in the position of secretary of defense, making him the first African-American defense secretary in history.
[Austin himself has a good relationship with Biden]
It can be said that Austin is Biden's right-hand man, and the Republican Party will certainly not give up this opportunity to criticize him and Biden who appointed him. After the incident was exposed, Biden also supported Austin as soon as possible: Biden had a phone call with Austin on January 6, and Biden did not mention the matter of concealing his illness, but wished Austin a speedy recovery. Austin, for his part, acknowledged that he should have "done a little better" to ensure the public's right to know.
Unless something new is dug up, the progress of this matter should end here, but there are still many mysteries left by this matter.
First, why should Austin hide it, even from Biden? This is obviously unreasonable.
Although Austin himself is known for his introverted personality and does not like the spotlight, and the last time he held a press conference was in July last year, personality problems are not enough to explain why he hid his illness from Biden - this is a serious dereliction of duty and a red line that must not be violated.
Second, how exactly did the Pentagon make major decisions during the four days that Austin was lying in the ICU?
It's worth noting that when Austin was hospitalized, Deputy Secretary Hicks was also on vacation and on vacation in Puerto Rico. While both men were not at work, the U.S. military launched an assassination operation in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, killing Saidi, the leader of the Shiite militia Nujaba Movement. The incident sparked great outrage in Iraqi society, and the Iraqi government vowed to end the U.S. military presence in the country and set up a committee to do so.
[The Pentagon's rash assassination made the Iraqi government determined to drive out the US military]
In hindsight, it was clear that this decision would do more harm than good, so who gave the relevant instructions to the US military? Did Austin, who was in the ICU, know about this?
Third, why is the White House unaware of the disappearance of a secretary of defense? A secretary of defense who needs to be in need of every day has been "working from home" for four consecutive working days and has not participated in any video conferences, but the vast majority of people have not even realized that something is wrong.
Finally, it should be pointed out that Austin, as US Secretary of Defense, is not only a key link in the White House-Pentagon chain of command, but also an important node in the high-level communication chain between the Chinese and US militaries. In December last year, Brown held a video call with the Chinese side on behalf of the resumption of dialogue between the two countries' military leaders, and it should be Austin's turn to talk to the Chinese side next - I hope that Austin will not have any major problems at this point of communication, which will affect the process of resuming dialogue between the Chinese and US militaries.