Defense Secretary Austin takes responsibility for not disclosing his hospitalization, after it emerged that President Biden was also unaware of it.
"I recognize that I could have done a better job of keeping the public informed. I am committed to doing better," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement on January 6, referring to his failure to disclose his health status and hospitalization. "But this was my medical procedure and I take full responsibility for my decision to release information."
Secretary Austin added that he would “return to the Pentagon soon,” thanking the doctors and staff at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at a joint press conference with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant in Tel Aviv on December 18. Photo: Reuters
The Pentagon said on January 5 that Secretary Austin suffered "complications following a recent elective medical procedure" and was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment on January 1.
NBC News reported that he was in the intensive care unit for four days and remained in the hospital until January 6.
The announcement comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East over the Israel-Hamas war, with pro-Iranian forces in Yemen attacking shipping lanes in the Red Sea. Other forces in Iraq and Syria have attacked US troops with rockets and drones. The US on January 4 carried out a retaliatory drone strike in Baghdad, Iraq.
A Pentagon spokesman said Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks is ready to step in for Secretary Austin during his illness and make some decisions on his behalf.
Politico was the first to report that Secretary Austin had been hospitalized three days before the Pentagon informed National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and other senior White House officials. Sullivan then informed President Joe Biden. Congress only learned of Secretary Austin’s hospitalization 15 minutes before the Defense Department announced it, according to the newspaper.
US Congressman Tom Cotton, a Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has asked the Department of Defense for an explanation.
"The Secretary of Defense is a critical link in the chain of command between the President and the military, including the nuclear chain of command, where the most important decisions must be made in minutes. If this report is true, there will certainly be consequences," Senator Cotton emphasized.
The Pentagon Press Association, made up of journalists covering the Department of Defense, expressed "deep concern" over the "obvious cover-up."
"The public has a right to know when members of the US Cabinet are hospitalized, sedated, or delegated duties for any medical procedure," the group wrote in a letter to the Pentagon press secretary.
Vu Hoang (According to AFP )
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