Writes Tom Nichols in The Atlantic.[W]hat possible reason could there be for Austin’s failing to inform President Joe Biden and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan...?... If Austin’s illness was kept under wraps by his aides to shield him from criticism or scrutiny, that’s evidence of a dysfunctional staff environment, in which actions to protect the boss’s equities overtake both necessary procedures and plain good sense. The fact that Austin’s hospitalization, according to Politico, was “a closely guarded secret, kept from even senior Pentagon officials and congressional leaders,” suggests that this strange episode was the result of more than just an oversight....
Who... was in charge and able to execute the secretary’s duties during his illness—including taking Austin’s place in the nuclear chain of command? When the president orders the use of nuclear weapons, the secretary of defense confirms those orders to the U.S. Strategic Command. (The secretary has no veto, but he or she must verify that the orders are authentic and came from the president.)...
While Austin was in the hospital, the United States launched an airstrike in Iraq, killing one of the leaders of an Iranian-backed militia. Austin apparently signed off on the strike before his hospitalization, but what if something had gone wrong and a crisis erupted? What if the White House couldn’t find its own secretary of defense quickly in a deteriorating military situation?....
Posts
95 comments:
Big deal. Just another elite Democrat meeting expectations.
He's a fat fuck.
Probably related to his fatness.
The report I read said even the White House didn't know what was going on.
I can see hiding it from our enemies (although our side would be stronger without him), but it's gross incompetence that Joe didn't know...
He seems secretive about what ails him. The coverup is worse.
"The secretary of defense has taken 'full responsibility' for failing to inform the public of his hospitalization,"
Full responsibility? I missed his resignation.
Who cares what Joe knows or doesn't know. Certainly not Joe himself. Maybe Jill. I'm pretty sure Austin's aides notified Xi Jinping, however.
Maybe he was "transitioning" to better fit in with other Administration members and wanted to be a surprise.
What if, what if. This assumes Austin matters--matters to actual "defense."
Lloyd Austin = the Claudine Gay of DoD?
Not saying Joe matters, of course. And just to stress the racial angle, and our prog overlords have instructed us to do, is there a better demonstration of white privilege than Biden and his low-life family?
They should use three security questions instead.
Who was your favorite childhood friend?
Cornpop
Well.... this is pretty florid writing, here. Just because Politico didn't know where he was, doesn't mean that nobody knew, as The Atlantic snottily implies. It will be interesting to see how the confirmations or denials roll in. If Biden truly had not been told, or if delegation-of-authority truly had not been formalized and the next-in-line deputized, then this is a pretty glaring transgression. But I think it's more likely that someone is trying to shiv Biden. No rest for the wicked, eh Joe?
Diversity hire.
Come on really, he was having reassignment surgery and was going to pop out in a surprise cake during an NSC meeting in his new “ gender reveal” fighting person of color role as the tip of the spear for the US military. Or more likely he was getting a transponder implanted to better let the defense industry and CCP give him instructions on how to be more of a disaster.
No one missed him.
" ... but what if something had gone wrong and a crisis erupted?"
Isn't everyone reachable 24/7 via cellphone? Not legit but an excuse just the same.
Or maybe, "The rules apply to thee but not to me."
Oh yes, thank goodness the adults are back in charge.
What would Jodi Foster say about this?
Why isn’t Biden talking to Austin daily? Not like there’s anything going on.
And Austin was in the ICU.
It was serious.
In a well-functioning Executive Branch how could the President fail to notice that his Secretary of Defense was missing? The chain of command must be thoroughly Byzantine.
Iowahawk has described the process;
1. Target a respected institution
2. Kill & clean it
3. Wear it as a skin suit, while demanding respect
Part of wearing it as a skin suit is appointing an AA hire to run it.
I have not been able to get the complete text of the Atlantic article, but it sure is breathtakingly incompetent adminstration. The Biden bungles keep mounting up. When do we have to pay the bill for all this asininity? We cannot avoid it forever, the world just doesn't work that way.
China, Russia and Iran have met a couple times over these last few years. Russia has taken its shot. Iran is now taking its. That leaves the big one.
While people fret about the "insurrection," how would this country fare having to deal with a Chinese attack on us, our healthcare system, our physical or cyber infrastructure, or our wavering but undefinied commitment to Taiwan -- or some other device they cleverly arrange to wield against us?
Do I hear John Podesta's voice somewhere? Singing
"Don't you love farce?
My fault, I fear
I thought that you'd want what I want
Sorry, my dear
But where are the clowns?
Quick, send in the clowns
Don't bothеr, they're herе"
Who is Kathleen H. Hicks?
She was in charge while Austin was in the hospital. She was never in the military. She’s a Mt. Holyoke alum.
China should have attacked Taiwan last week.
Is this the first time you have quoted Tom Nichols approvingly?
He’s great. A wonderful feature at The Bulwark. A terrific feed on what used to be Twitter.
He LOATHES Trump.
Affirmative action strikes again. "Who was in charge?" they ask. Indeed, one could ask this question about so much of the Biden administration.
It speaks to the conditions under which this regime is operating. Where appearing in good health is prioritised beyond the usual norms. It’s like you knew who was in and who was out by looking at who was in the front row for the USSR military parades.
But Kathy was Phi Beta Kappa. At least we have that!
Her hubby is a former DOD bureaucrat who lead the Navy’s initiative on Green Energy. Never in the service.
We’re fucked.
I wonder if this is a sign that the Secretary didn't trust the White House to make what he felt were the right decisions while he was in the hospital and instead only trusted his own people under him. If so this is a startling breach of chain of command, but perhaps not unexpected given President Biden's cognitive problems.
Maybe Austin was afraid Biden would appoint Kamala Harris to be “Defense Czar” in his absence.
Secretary of Defense Austin, who must know the president well, clearly views President Biden as being an unimportant and irrelevant person when it comes to the defense and governance of the United States.
American democracy is under threat as never before. That is why the next issue of the Atlantic will be devoted to campus politics. Tabloid fodder ….
It's a good thing Donald Trump isn't president. The government would be dysfunctional.
All Presidents get captured by their staff and advisors, and even Democrats have at times had trouble corralling various agencies but the current clown show doesn't even give the impression of having a unifying force behind it.
The #2 was on vacation in Puerto Rico. Crazy. Unfortunately, dysfunction in the Senate makes it impracticable to demand the resignation of anyone in a position subject to confirmation.
The Chain of Command. LOL
The most baffling part of this is that it has been announced as elective surgery. With two hot wars raging, and a US strike against Iran soon to occur, why would SecDef choose that moment to elect for a procedure that he could safely defer? WTH?
Why would he tell Biden? It’s not like Joe is actually running his administration.
Austin should be removed from his role as secretary of defense.
Austin should be removed from his role as US Secretary of Defense.
Since any war we became involved in, we would lose. Therefore Austin, as the author (along with Milley) as the author of this destruction of the US military, is of no consequence. I assume he was hospitalized for something embarrassing.
Hmmm......I wonder......vaccine related illness? I hope so.
The Deputy Secretary of Defense (who has no military experience) was in the Caribbean on vacation whilst the Secretary was in the hospital.
The President of the United States (who has no military experience) was kept out of the Pentagon loop. So much for civilian control of the military, although Slow Joe is not capable of controlling much of anything beyond the flavor of his next pudding cup. So it doesn't matter all that much.
Did it involve a gerbil?
Hello! Lloyd Austin is a Black Person of Color! That Means:
a) they can do NO WRONG! Any Action, is either Completely Acceptable or at least Completely Excusable
b) they are Just Figureheads.. It's NOT as if they have anything to do with Actually running things
Now let's do white pedophiles from Scranton, or Delaware, or Burisma, or whereever the Biden's are from
Lloydette doesn't have to disclose his SRS by law. Leave the poor bitch alone.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs is a former F-16 combat pilot, so at least there’s that.
In my business career, I couldn't take 1/2 day off without telling my boss. Sheer incompetence. He would be canned in private industry. Looking forward to his fellow incompetent Cringe Jean-Pierre's handling of this at the Monday press briefing. She'll prolly hand it off to John Kirby.
Gee I wonder what the "elective" surgery was. And then in intensive care to boot. What a clown show. But Trump!
>Skeptical Voter said...
The President of the United States (who has no military experience) was kept out of the Pentagon loop.<
Yeah, he doesn't have any military experience, but his son Beau died in Iraq. So lighten up.
Bishop garrison in charge change my mind
Makes me wonder where the buck stops.
Who is in control?
The secretary must’ve thought - ‘if they find out I’m sick, I’m a zero to the left. I mean just look at how the boss is treated, who the fuck is going to keep me in the loop? I’ll be just another body to be bypassed’.
We connect enough inconclusive dots on their own and a clear picture starts to emerge - Biden ain’t running diddly squat.
Isn't that the whole point of a bureaucracy? Procedures for shit like are to be defined in advance.
This just shows that Biden and his immediate staff aren't really running things in D.C. Even if they had told Biden Austin was in the hospital, he would forget it 10 minutes later, or ask who this Austin guy is.
Maybe Austin hit the max out-of-pocket amount under his insurance, and the surgeon had a last-minute opening so Austin could get some free surgery, it was a rush, and he didn't think about the need to tell his boss he'd be out of commission?
Or maybe Austin did in fact tell his boss, and Biden's not really the person Austin reports to.
Getting "bottom surgery"?
However on earth did the command structure function before the age of total social media exposure of all aspects of every life, and cellphone connectivity 24/7 without stop? Is it at all possible that there are enough layers to bureaucracy, so as to handle the temporary absence of a few key players? Nah, that's an idea so crazy as to defy belief, despite the obvious functioning of all government while the man at the helm is Joe Biden in his dotage. Right?
Austin's illness is too much AA-itis. He's an incompetent, from his West Point days to today. From the same file drawer as Claudette Gay.
But did Austin tell Obama?
But what if the Raytheon Board, or Xi, needed to talk to him? Totally irresponsible.
Michael K said: "I assume he was hospitalized for something embarrassing." Maybe something stuck up his arse, though I can't imagine it fitting, what with his head already occupying that space.
Blogger Yancey Ward said..."Hmmm......I wonder......vaccine related illness?"
There's has to be some backstory to this. They didn't simply "forget" to tell anybody. And the public has a right to know. This is bullshit.
This is really too weird. The sec def goes in for elective surgery and it was not thought necessary to time his backup’s vacation to match. They are all probably “working from home” anyway. In Covid elective surgery was banned, but Covid was more important than defense I guess. In the military you don’t get a job because it’s your turn or because they owe it to you, you get a job because you are fit to serve in real time. If not then pass command.
Now we know Beiden has not talked to the sec def for a 5 day period during a time of military importance. Beiden did not even call him up to give him a high five for killing the Iranian guy! But even Obama did not know anything until he read it in the newspaper.
Interesting with 2 hot conflicts that the US is somewhat involved, including one in which US forces are engaged; the status of SecDef is considered unimportant.
I don't really care the press wasn't notified of the hospital stay. There's a chain of command, and it should be able to function regardless of where the SecDef actually is. However, ICU changes the equation, because now he is incapacitated and if members of the chain of command were not certain his condition; then that is ripe for corruption.
Hmmm......I wonder......vaccine related illness?
Seems a reason for this administration to hide it, if so. One of the various problems when you politicize these things.
What is Austin hiding? It must be pretty embarrassing.,
"Who... was in charge and able to execute the secretary’s duties during his illness—including taking Austin’s place in the nuclear chain of command?"
Now THAT is a very good question.
I'm sure he notified his counterpart in China.
No biggie folks.. He told Obama and Soros, so the 'government' knew.
We all know Biden is just the figurehead puppet.
Humperdink: "But Trump!"
Oh no. Readering the moron has updated the democratical rallying cry when dems screw up royally from "But Trump!" to "But Senate Republicans!".
LOL
See below and marvel at the combination of sheer stupidity and mendacity...
Readering: "The #2 was on vacation in Puerto Rico. Crazy. Unfortunately, dysfunction in the Senate makes it impracticable to demand the resignation of anyone in a position subject to confirmation."
The best part?
The loathsome hack Tom Nichols who spent a lifetime avoiding serving while calling for infinite Forever Wars to send you and your sons off to die in, while simultaneously never missing a buffet, is the one calling them out.
Oh, for Christ's sake, quit clutching your pearls. If some sort of crisis had arisen, Pete Booty-gag could have handled it. Nothing Pete likes better than an opportunity to handle some big ol' crisis. Grease that baby up!
Or Hell, Kamala Harris and Karine Jean-Pierre could have tag-teamed that crisis. They'd have been on that crisis like four-bean word salad on a steaming bowl of Pervo Joe's favorite ice cream. With Dr. Jill following up to administer the coop d'chicken. One thing this administration's got, is depth. They are deep. Like a well. Like two wells. Just when you think there couldn't possibly be another clown left in that car ... out pops Admiral Rachel Levine! Oh, we're in the best of hands. Lloyd can rest easy, unless maybe his ventilator is on a little too tight. The boys at Walter Reed can get just a little too conscientious sometimes.
Latest… deputy SecDef wasn’t told of hospitalization. These people are incompetent and can’t be trusted.
“And Austin was in the ICU.
It was serious.”
If it’s an ambulance, ya gots a chance.
If it’s a hearse, it’s gonna be worse
I smell a rat… but as Wince contended @12:41pm, chances are it’s a gerbil.🐹
This is something that is so far out of whack with the way things are supposed to be done as to be 'effing ridiculous. I don't know what is going on in DC these days, but at no point in my military career prior to the advent of the Obama administration was anything like this ever tolerated. Heads would have rolled, and not just because the SECDEF wasn't in daily communication with the White House during a crisis.
This is a symptom of something else, something a hell of a lot worse than many of you realize. For the SECDEF to be out of it for that long, with nobody noticing? During something like what's going on in the Red Sea? That means he's already irrelevant, a place-holder. So, who is really doing his job, filling his duties? Do you know? Do I? Does anyone, besides the shadowy cabal that is running DC right now?
There are clear constitutional guidelines here that have been breached, particularly with regards to Presidential succession. Why isn't this a big deal?
The fish rots from.....
Someone needs to explain how this is Trump's fault.
Who would have thought the WAR DEPARTMENT was going to need a leader on duty. We’re not at war. Hmm?
( ) a. Racism
( ) b. It's Trump's fault.
( ) c. What difference, at this point, does it make?
( ) d. Nothing to see here; move along.
( ) e. None of the above
( ) f. All of the above
If Lloyd Austin comes back as Lola Austin it’ll start a domino effect. Soon it’ll be Josephine Biden, Jacqueline Sullivan, and Mary Todd Blinken. You know I’m right.
Lloyd Austin Owes Americans an Explanation
No, he doesn't. He's probably dead.
Biden needs to make the explanation. Unfortunately, Biden is running around the White House wondering why his pants turn brown every time he farts!!
This is old fasion AWOL.
Absent With Out Leave
He should be detained and court martialed.
But this is small potatoes compare the the Treason by Gen Miley. Promising China he would ignore the CiC.
Imagine if this had happened under Trump.
Compare and constrast the MSM reaction.
If you know anything about Austin, you know that we were safer during his absence.
Lloyd Austin is an insignificant idiot. That's why when he is in the ICU...nobody gives a shit. Even the White House staff.
US borders are porous whether the guy shows up to work or not.
Like most Gov't employees, he's superfluous.
Heartless Aztec said...
“Maybe he was "transitioning" to better fit in with other Administration members and wanted to be a surprise.”
Keep Austin Weird (tm).
I think bobby ahs a point. Maybe we dodged a bullet when this clown disappeared for a few days.
Remember: Austin was the general in charge of Iraq when it got overrun by ISIS.
And he was SECDEF overseeing the disastrous and incompetent withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Neither he nor Biden held a single flag officer accountable by relieving them. So they both own that shit.
Austin should be handling Defense-to-defense details about how to coordinate the international military response to Houthi and Iranian aggression, and handling status-of-forces agreements with Iraq and other powers.
Clearly, none of that shit is happening like it should.
The sooner Austin is cashiered, the better.
If Austin is unable to perform his duties because of poor health, he should resign.
I do not understand how he could be in ICU without his deputy being notified and empowered to take over for the duration of Austin's stay. That is incomprehensible. There is a procedure for it, and I don't understand why it wasn't followed.
This is an executive branch issue, which is ultimately the President's responsibility, and it's clear that the Democratic leadership in Congress is waiting for him to resolve it.
I don't think there is more than one option for the President.
funny business to conceal SecDef incapacity while flaunting POTUS senility!!
Austin holds the unique distinction of having commanded in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan at the one-, two-, three- and four-star levels, and was the first African American to command a division, corps, and field army in combat. He is a recipient of the Silver Star, the nation's third highest award for valor, for his actions during the Iraq invasion, as well as five Defense Distinguished Service Medals.[6]
Biden is running around the White House wondering why his pants turn brown every time he farts!!
=======
hey that resemble me! can I be POTUS?
Fire him and his entire staff. The Secretary of Defense cannot "go dark" for multiple days. Say what you will about Biden, but you cannot do that to the President.
Welp, Milley informed the Chinese independently of President Trump after the 2020 election, so apparently we have had a rogue military for a while.
He was guarding his fiefdom. The real concern should be that centers of power are splitting into fiefdoms.
Post a Comment