As Houthi rebels attack American warships in the Red Sea, Iran-backed militants hurl missiles at U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria, war rages in Ukraine, and Israel keeps up its massive assault against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin baffled the White House by going AWOL, while his second in command of the world’s largest military went on vacation.
When the four-star retired Army general finally surfaced after being laid up from prostate surgery, he directed missile attacks against the Houthis from his hospital bed. The man who oversees the nation’s nuclear arsenal and is in charge of 1.3 million military personnel deployed around the world had been out of the loop for four days before notifying the White House or Pentagon staff of his condition.
“After Secretary Austin’s failures in properly responding to the Chinese spy balloon gathering intel on Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana and withdrawing from Afghanistan, leaving 13 Americans dead, he is now initiating confrontational actions against foreign countries from his hospital bed without congressional approval,” said Montana Congressman Matt Rosendale, who initiated articles of impeachment against him. As word of Austin’s untimely disappearance rattled through Washington, Rosendale announced he will make his call for impeachment “privileged” to force a vote on Capitol Hill this week. Austin finds himself in the same company as President Biden, who is under an impeachment inquiry by the Republicans who control the House.
In December, Austin underwent a prostatectomy but suffered complications, which necessitated an emergency trip to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, according to a statement from the West Wing. “The White House is currently reviewing Cabinet member protocol following the incident.”
“Not even Austin’s most senior aides at the Pentagon, top officials at the White House, or Biden himself had any idea of his whereabouts and the threats to his health,” wrote the Washington Post in breaking the story. “Kathleen Hicks, the Pentagon No. 2 who could step in for Austin if needed, was vacationing in the Caribbean.”
“Under President Trump, we had peace; countries were afraid to confront us in an adversarial manner. Now, under Biden and Austin’s reign of ignorance, we face new threats seemingly daily,” Rosendale stated. “Secretary Austin has shown himself unfit for the Office of the Secretary of Defense. In endangering U.S. national security and lying to the American people, he has violated his oath of office and committed high crimes and misdemeanors.”
Biden has declined calls for Austin’s dismissal, staying loyal to him after he executed the president’s sudden withdrawal from Afghanistan, a move Austin had counseled against. Austin “is an intensely private person who doesn’t want to be a burden and doesn’t want to be the center of attention,” said one person who knows him well, the Post reported. “It’s in his DNA: be stoic and noble — in this case, maybe to a fault.”