Lloyd Austin III, secretary of the Department of Defense, took full blame this Saturday for keeping his hospitalization a secret for several days. In a statement he stated that he understood that there was concern about his work and accepted “full responsibility” for his mistake in not communicating his situation.
“I could have done better by informing the public about what was happening and I accept full responsibility,” he said in a text issued after his admission to the Walter Reed military hospital last Monday to receive treatment for the effects of a non-operative operation was leaked. specified. President Joe Biden himself was in the dark until last Thursday, four days after his entry. Nor did the Secretary of Security, Jack Sullivan, have any news.
The Pentagon did not report this situation until Friday afternoon, raising questions about how the Department of Defense had dealt with the emergency, while the United States faces its role in the Ukraine and Gaza wars, conflicts that are causing instability in different areas. parts of the world.
As Secretary of Defense, Austin, 70, is second in the chain of command, behind President Biden, in making military decisions. The Department of Defense was ambiguous about how the power had been exercised. Last Thursday, while the person responsible in the Pentagon was hospitalized, the US launched a strange attack in Baghdad that killed the leader of the Iranian-backed militias. The Iraqi authorities expressed their complaint about the way in which this operation was carried out.
Biden did not receive information about the entry of the military chief of his Government until Thursday, but everything indicates that he maintains his confidence in him. Austin resumed his authority on Friday, despite still being hospitalized. This Saturday he had a conversation with the president.
In Congress, several leaders of the Senate military committee were not briefed until Friday. Republican Senator Roger Wicker denounced that this concealment was “an accusation against an administration that consistently holds legislative authority in national defense in a situation of contempt.”
“If this information is true, there must be consequences for this shocking short circuit,” said fellow conservative senator Tom Cotton. Other voices indicated that this incident erodes trust in the Biden administration.
The Pentagon journalists’ association also criticized in a letter that a public figure such as the Secretary of Defense did not communicate his medical situation, at a time when it is decisive to inform citizens about the growing threat to members of the US military service in Middle East.
