U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was in the hospital last week.
Nobody’s saying what was wrong with him – respect for privacy and all that.
Maybe that’s OK. But the real problem is the secretary — the man second only to the president when it comes to authority over the United States military — was nowhere to be found for days and nobody knew about it.
Apparently, not even President Joe Biden.
While the world is in the midst of threatening to blow on multiple fronts, the U.S. defense secretary was in intensive care and even the White House, not to mention the American people, was unaware of it.
The secretary was “working from home” was the word.
Former President Donald Trump was having none of it, writing in a post on Truth Social that Austin “should be fired immediately for improper professional conduct and dereliction of duty.”
“He has been missing for one week,” Trump said “And nobody, including his boss, Crooked Joe Biden, had a clue as to where he was, or might be.”
Austin “has performed poorly,” according to Trump, “And should have been dismissed long ago, along with ‘General’ Mark Milley, for many reasons, but in particular the catastrophic surrender in Afghanistan, perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of our Country!”
Love him or hate him, count on Trump to define the problem.
For his part, Austin pleaded “privacy” as a reason for the secrecy.
“I commit to doing better,” he said in a statement, according to Breitbart. “But this is important to say: this was my medical procedure, and I take full responsibility for my decisions about disclosure.”
Nobody wants to look under the hospital gown of the retired four-star general and perhaps, unless they compromise his fitness for office, details regarding his ailments don’t need to be fully released.
Should Lloyd Austin be fired?
But at the level of Austin’s position, he doesn’t get to go fishing or to a family birthday party or anywhere without having some way to be in touch, much less lie in intensive care without anyone’s knowledge.
“What we’re seeing is not only obviously a massive violation of U. S national security,” Human Events Senior Editor Jack Posobiec told former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon on “Bannon’s War Room” on Real America’s Voice.
“It’s a massive violation of U.S. laws [as] pertains to the National Command Authority and also as pertains to the military’s personnel readiness program,” Posobiec said.
“Keep in mind, this guy is somebody who’s part of the nuclear weapons chain of command and the nuclear response,” he continued. “The idea that he would be in the ICU – we don’t know whether intubated or what … The president didn’t know, we’re told that his own aides may not have known.
“Potentially, just his chief of staff knew about this, but she was out as well and didn’t inform anyone,” according to Posobiec. “You’ve got an undersecretary of policy essentially running our military.”
Posobiec outlined current crises such as the Navy engaged in the Red Sea, Iranian drones and rockets involved in Syria and Iraq, and China-coveted Taiwan approaching an election.
Service secretaries such as those for the Army, Navy, and Air Force, along with combatant commanders, were unaware of Austin’s absence, Posobiec noted.
“So if you’ve got an operation that needs authority up at that level, you’ve got the entire military potentially in deadlock,” he said.
.@JackPosobiec on Lloyd Austin going to the ICU without telling anybody: “It’s a massive violation of US laws pertains to the National Command Authority and also as pertains to the military’s personnel readiness program.” pic.twitter.com/r0nbuD21DS
— Human Events (@HumanEvents) January 8, 2024
On Dec. 22, Austin underwent elective surgery, CBS reported, going home the following day. However, on New Year’s Day, complications resulted that put him in intensive care.
The Biden administration has no plans to fire Austin, Reuters reported.
