US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had a urinary tract infection after surgery to remove prostate cancer. Clarity finally came about the health conditions directly from doctors, cited by the US Ministry of Defense, who highlighted how the cancer was detected in its early stages and how Austin’s prognosis is “excellent”. The revelation comes after days of controversy following the news of the Pentagon chief’s secret hospitalization.
Having undergone surgery on December 22 at the “president’s” military hospital, Walter Reed, in Washington, and being discharged the following day, Austin was hospitalized as an emergency on January 1, underwent surgery and then transferred to intensive care. All of this happened in the space of four days, during which neither US President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken nor Austin’s deputy Kathleen Hicks were informed of the situation. Even regarding the surgery carried out in December, no communication was made. The Pentagon decided to warn Biden on Thursday night, three and a half days after his hospitalization, only after the situation had worsened.
The case generated controversy due to the lack of transparency in communication – Austin, as Secretary of Defense, appears sixth in the government’s line – and the breach of protocol. In the days in which the former general was hospitalized in great secrecy, the United States conducted a military operation in Baghdad, killing the leader of a militia that had recently carried out attacks against American soldiers. The operation had already received the green light from Austin himself, but the former general’s prolonged absence and the fact that the White House was kept in the dark about his hospitalization provoked a reaction from the opposition. Republicans called for “there to be consequences”, while Donald Trump called for the Secretary of Defense to be fired for “failure to fulfill his duties”.
Source: IL Tempo
John Cameron is a journalist at The Nation View specializing in world news and current events, particularly in international politics and diplomacy. With expertise in international relations, he covers a range of topics including conflicts, politics and economic trends.
