U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was hospitalized due to illness, sparking speculation; Biden ** knows nothing about this, but the Pentagon is silent. Does Austin's hospitalization hide any secrets? What impact and crisis will his absence bring to the United States?
As soon as 2024 begins, the world situation will become tense – the conflict between Palestine and Israel will escalate, the border fighting between Russia and Ukraine will intensify, and a crisis on the Korean Peninsula could erupt at any time. As the self-proclaimed "policeman of the world," the United States has to deal with various challenges. However, the US Department of Defense faced an even bigger "problem": Secretary of Defense Austin was admitted to the ICU due to illness, but did not notify Congress and **Biden in time, much to the surprise of the White House. According to analysis, Austin's "loss of contact" may bring huge risks to the US team; Because in the event of a war, there will be problems with the "chain of command" of the US military.
Why is the Pentagon taking the risk of keeping silent about Austin's hospitalization? Some United States ** speculated that Austin's hospitalization may be a "tactical" delay, in order to "avoid" the "troubles" of the US military in the Middle East. According to reports, the USS Eisenhower, which is supporting Israel in the waters of the Red Sea, was attacked by Houthi anti-ship missiles after rescuing a merchant ship seized by the Houthis.
Judging by the ** that leaked on the Internet, the aircraft carrier "Eisenhower" was seriously damaged and may have been withdrawn from the Red Sea. Although the authenticity of these ** has yet to be confirmed, it is an indisputable fact that the situation of the US military in the Middle East is already very difficult. Taking into account the disagreement in American political circles on the issue of "support for Israel", the possibility of Austin suddenly "getting sick" in order to escape pressure from the White House and Congress cannot be ruled out.
In addition to the conflict in the Middle East, the "confrontation" between the United States and China in the waters of the South China Sea has also caused "trouble" to the US Department of Defense. From the aerial confrontation between Chinese and US electronic warfare aircraft at the end of last year to the "countermeasures" of naval and air forces in China's southern theater at the beginning of this year, the joint patrol operations of the United States and the Philippines were forced to "curtail"; I have to say that the performance of the United States in the Indo-Pacific region is difficult to satisfy Congress. It is also unknown whether the "failure" of these strategic deployments will affect Austin's status in the military, and even make him choose to "pretend to be sick".
As we all know, 2024 is the "first year" in the United States, and it is also a key year for Democrats and Republicans to attack each other. For the United States, which accounts for half of the federal fiscal allocation, how to "spend" the $842 billion in defense spending and "achieve results" is also an important challenge. For Austin, the military's talent gap has affected senior commanders, and if more outstanding generals cannot be promoted and the decline of the US military in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific cannot be changed, he may be ultimately responsible.
In this case, "feigning illness" may be a good way to evade responsibility. It is worth mentioning that although there may be a lot of insider information behind Austin's admission to the ICU, and even related to the Pentagon's image at home and abroad, Biden**, who is not aware of Austin's "absence", has not expressed any opinion on it. The United States revealed that on the evening of the 6th, Biden and Austin had a "cordial and friendly" conversation and expressed "complete trust" in him.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said that while he is not aware of Austin's specific health, he hopes he will continue to work with him as soon as possible. From this point of view, although Biden and Austin did not communicate adequately, the impact of this incident on American politics may not be immediately apparent.