US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Saturday accepted responsibility for failing to disclose a recent hospitalization, following reports that even top White House officials and US President Joe Biden were in the dark that he was ill and unable to carry out his duties.
The Pentagon waited until Friday evening to announce that Austin, 70, had been hospitalized four days prior “for complications following a recent elective medical procedure” — a breach of standard protocol at a time when the US is embroiled in the Middle East crisis.
NBC News reported Austin was in an intensive care unit for four days.
Photo: AFP
He remained at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Saturday and a discharge date was not yet known, a US Department of Defense spokesperson said.
“I recognize I could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. I commit to doing better,” Austin said in a statement. “But this is important to say: this was my medical procedure, and I take full responsibility for my decisions about disclosure.”
He added that he would be “returning to the Pentagon soon.”
Austin resumed “full duties” on Friday evening, the spokesperson said.
Austin’s hospitalization comes with tensions soaring in the Middle East, as a result of the Israel-Hamas war, with Iran-backed forces in Yemen striking shipping lanes while others in Iraq and Syria are attacking US troops with rockets and drones.
US Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks was prepared to step in during Austin’s illness and made some routine decisions on his behalf during the time, a Department of Defense spokesperson said.
Politico was the first of several media outlets to report that Austin had been in the hospital for three days before Pentagon officials told US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and other top White House officials.
Sullivan then informed Biden, the outlet said.
It also reported that the US Congress found out about Austin’s hospitalization 15 minutes before Friday evening’s statement.
A White House official on Saturday did not discuss the timing of when Biden was informed of Austin’s absence but said the two men “spoke this evening and it was a warm conversation.”
“The President has full confidence in Secretary Austin. He’s looking forward to him being back at the Pentagon,” the official said.
US Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican member of the US Senate Armed Services Committee, demanded an explanation.
“The Secretary of Defense is the key link in the chain of command between the president and the uniformed military, including the nuclear chain of command, when the weightiest of decisions must be made in minutes. If this report is true, there must be consequences for this shocking breakdown,” he said in a statement on Saturday.
The Pentagon Press Association, comprised of journalists who cover the US Department of Defense, expressed “significant concerns” over the apparent cover-up.
“The public has a right to know when US Cabinet members are hospitalized, under anesthesia or when duties are delegated as a result of any medical procedure,” the group said in a letter to the Pentagon press secretary.
ANNOUNCEMENT: People who do not comply with the ban after a spoken warning would be reported to the police, the airport company said on Friday Taoyuan International Airport Corp on Friday announced that riding on vehicles, including scooter-suitcases (also known as “scootcases”), bicycles, scooters and skateboards, is prohibited in the airport’s terminals. Those using such vehicles should manually pull them or place them on luggage trolleys, the company said in a Facebook post. The ban intends to maintain order and protect travelers’ safety, as the airport often sees large crowds of people, it said, adding that it has stepped up publicity for the regulation, and those who do not comply after a spoken warning would be reported to the police. The company yesterday said that
QUIET START: Nearly a week after applications opened, agencies did not announce or promote the program, nor did they explain how it differed from other visitor visas Taiwan has launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program for foreign nationals from its list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts. To apply, foreign nationals must either provide proof that they have obtained a digital nomad visa issued by another country or demonstrate earnings based on age brackets, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said. Applicants aged 20 to 29 must show they earned an annual salary of at least US$20,000 or its equivalent in one of the past two years, while those aged 30 or older must provide proof they earned US$40,000 in
UNITY MESSAGE: Rather than focusing on what Trump said on the campaign trail about Taiwan, Taipei should be willing to engage with the US, Pompeo said Taiwan plays a key role in Washington’s model of deterrence against China, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Taipei yesterday. During US president-elect Donald Trump’s first term, “we had developed what we believe was a pretty effective model of deterrence against adversaries who wanted to undermine the set of rules and values that the people of Taiwan and the people of the US hold dear,” Pompeo said at a forum organized by the Formosa Republican Association. “Succeeding in continuing to build this model will not solely rest at the feet of president Trump and his team,
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
RSS