His acquaintances say that Lloyd Austin III, 70, is a four-star general who does not like to cause concern, not even to his advisors, a man with a tough demeanor, “with a stiff upper lip,” a behavior that is easy relatable for anyone who grew up in a military family.
The Secretary of Defense of the United States took that personality to the extreme by keeping President Joe Biden secret, even leaving President Joe Biden in the dark for four days, his admission to a hospital on January 1 as a result of an operation that has also not been explained. . Like Biden, senior Defense officials were informed that day.
Official sources indicated that President Biden maintains his confidence in the Secretary of Defense, with whom he spoke on Saturday. This does not prevent the extraordinary breach of protocol from provoking critical reactions that even call for his dismissal, despite the fact that Austin issued a statement when the matter came to light in which he assumed “full responsibility” for his mistake in not communicating his situation.
“When our allies are at war in Eastern Europe and in Israel, the leader of the US military is away from work for several days and the president does not know about it…” former Vice President Mike Pence reflected on CNN. “I think it is a breach of duty and the secretary and the Administration must take a step forward and explain the facts to the citizens.”
The big question: how could it be that the head of the Pentagon was admitted and for several days no one informed the White House? The image damages the Executive and suggests the existence of a kingdom of taifas.
It was not until Thursday that the Government and those responsible for the department were aware of this situation, while some legislators were not informed until Friday. The news broke on Saturday thanks to Politico.
“I’ll be back soon,” Austin said later. “I understand the media’s concern about transparency and recognize that it could have done better by providing appropriate information,” she insisted.
From his statement it is clear that he still believes in a privacy that is not allowed to senior officials, specifically the second on the country’s military scale, only behind the commander in chief who is the president, and the command in charge of having ready the nuclear button.
His supposed secretive nature was even worse when it emerged that the deputy secretary of Defense and number two, Kathleen Hicks, also did not know that her boss had been admitted to the Walter Reed military medical center in Washington. According to a Pentagon spokesperson, Austin transferred certain responsibilities to Hicks on Jan. 2, the day after he was admitted to the hospital. They were nothing more than routine operations and management decisions, issues that are not uncommon to be given without specifying reasons.
But Hicks, who was on vacation in Puerto Rico, did not receive information about the situation from the secretary until Thursday. Austin resumed his responsibilities on Friday, although he remained in the hospital. No one doubts that someone helped cover up the affair. All this led to the indignation of Republican legislators, who are preparing to request appearances.
