Lloyd Austin III, 70, is a four-star general who doesn't like to cause concern, even to his advisers, a hard-nosed, "stiff-upper-lipped" demeanor, people who know him say. it's easy to identify with for anyone who grew up in a military family.
The Secretary of Defense of the United States took this personality to the extreme by keeping secret his admission on January 1st to a hospital as a result of an operation that has also not been explained, leaving even the darkness for four days President Joe Biden. 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 causing critical reactions and even calls for his dismissal, despite the fact that Austin issued a statement when the affair became public in which he took "full responsibility" for his mistake of not communicating his situation.
"When our allies are at war in Eastern Europe and in Israel, let the head of the United States military be off duty for several days and the president not know," he reflected on CNN. former Vice President Mike Pence, "I think this is a dereliction of duty and the Secretary and the Administration must step forward and explain the facts to the citizens."
The big question: how can 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 taifes.
It wasn't until Thursday that the Government and those in charge of the department became aware of this situation, while some legislators were not informed until Friday. The news came to light on Saturday thanks to Politico.
“I'll be back soon, Austin pointed out afterwards. "I understand the media's concern about transparency and I recognize that I could have done better by offering the appropriate information," he insisted.
From his statement it is clear that he still believes in a privacy that is not allowed to high officials, specifically the second in the military ladder of the country, only behind the commander in chief, who is the president, and the command in charge of have the nuclear button ready.
His supposed reserved character was even worse when it transpired that the Deputy Secretary of Defense and number two, Kathleen Hicks, also did not know that her boss had entered the Walter Reed military medical center in Washington. According to a Pentagon spokesman, Austin transferred some 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, matters that are not uncommonly given without specifying reasons.
But Hicks, who was on vacation in Puerto Rico, did not receive word of the secretary's status until Thursday. Austin resumed his duties on Friday, although he remained in the hospital. No one doubts that someone helped to cover up the matter. All this led to the indignation of Republican legislators, who are preparing to request appearances.
