US Defense Secretary hospitalized repeatedly for dangerous illness

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is experiencing health problems as the US faces many military problems in the Middle East.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. (Source: Getty Images)

According to a Pentagon spokesman on the afternoon of February 11, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was once again hospitalized "due to symptoms suggesting an urgent bladder problem."

AFP quoted Defense Department press secretary Pat Ryder as saying that Mr. Austin "was taken by bodyguards to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center" on the afternoon of February 11.

Bloomberg later cited a statement from the Pentagon reporting that Secretary Austin had been hospitalized and temporarily handed over duties to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks.

News of Mr. Austin’s hospital visit was made public about two hours after it occurred. The military, the White House and congressional officials were notified.

Mr. Austin secretly went to the hospital for prostate cancer treatment in December 2023 and when he had surgery complications in January but did not inform President Joe Biden and other parties in the US government.

After facing criticism, Mr. Austin apologized earlier this month, telling reporters on February 1: “I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis.”

At that time, the US Secretary said he was still recovering, had a sore leg and had to use a golf cart to move around inside the Pentagon.

Mr Austin's hospitalization comes at a time when the US faces a growing crisis in the Middle East, with US forces in Iraq and Syria facing attacks by Iran-backed militias in retaliation for US support for Israel in the Gaza Strip.

Many Republican lawmakers have previously called for Mr. Austin's removal, but Mr. Biden said he still has confidence in the defense secretary.

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