
At a time when “World War III” is being bandied about thanks to the actions of the Chinese, Russia, Houthis, and Hamas, you’d think the Department of Defense would be on high alert. You’d certainly think their leader, the Secretary of Defense, would be making every effort to not only be “in the know” but on top of every situation.
And yet, ours was just discovered to be in a hospital and unreachable for days in a row – and all without anyone knowing about it.
If you haven’t heard, SecDef Lloyd Austin was diagnosed with prostate cancer just before Christmas. Or I should say he underwent surgery to remove his prostate at the time.
But no one, and I mean no one, was told about either his condition or his treatment of it.
Then, a week or so later, he apparently experienced complications from that procedure. This resulted in a trip to the emergency room, followed by two days in the ICU.
But again, America and most of his own office were kept in the dark.
Thankfully, this is all finally coming to light.
On Tuesday, The Daily Beast announced that it had put a Freedom of Information Act request through and obtained the audio of the 911 call that was made for Austin to get to the hospital the second time around.
And what is heard is a bit more telling than anything thus far.
First and foremost, it clearly depicts an aide who is fully aware of Austin’s condition.
So, it was known…
— 🇺🇸🐊🌴Laura Lee🌴🐊🇺🇸 (@grandmaGator929) January 16, 2024
Secondly, this same aide actually asks, “Can the ambulance not show up with lights and sirens? Um, we’re trying to remain a little subtle.”
News: I obtained audio of SecDef’s 911 Jan 1 call. It has some info on his medical condition at the time and reveals info on just how secretive his team was trying to be: His aide outright requests the ambulance try to fly under the radar. @thedailybeast https://t.co/F8VubUBO9p
— Shannon Vavra (@shanvav) January 16, 2024
As The Daily Beast reports, it’s not clear if the aide is asking for “subtlety” on his own or at the request of someone else.
What is clear is that the aide knew about Austin’s previous prostatectomy and knew enough about SecDef’s current physical state to tell 911 operators he was not experiencing chest pains or felt as if he was going to pass out.
Instead, he was enduring “nausea with severe abdominal, hip, and leg pain.” As the statement from the Pentagon finally admitted, “initial evaluation revealed a urinary tract infection.”
He was then moved to the ICU the next day, January 2, for “close monitoring and a higher level of care. Further evaluation revealed abdominal fluid collections impairing the function of his small intestines.” The statement explained that this fluid had to be drained through a tube inserted in Austin’s nose.
Now, the statement insists that, at least during this second hospital visit, Austin “never lost consciousness and never underwent general anesthesia.”
However, he was still unwell and unreachable in the hospital. And no one but his closest aides knew.
In fact, it wasn’t until a full week later, on January 9, that the White House was even informed about Austin’s health concerns. Even his own second-in-command was left in the dark. She was on vacation and told he was working from home.
Naturally, there are plenty who were none too thrilled about the entire situation. And not just because they were stressed to hear that Austin may not be physically well.
And exactly 0 journalists will hold the Biden administration accountable for the dereliction of duty. Austin should have been fired or resigned. He is 6th in the line of succession. He doesn’t get to hide that he can’t perform his duties.
— GOPPouncer (@Mellecon) January 16, 2024
Rather, more were concerned about the ramifications of our top national defense officer being AWOL for days on end with no one being the wiser.
What if something had happened that required his immediate attention? What if there had been an attack?
Such a blunder by this admin. Yet they go on as if nothing is amiss in the world that might need our military to be ready. Our consulate gets bombed. No military expertise to be found. POTUS calls a lid at 2:30 and 10:AM two days in a row while remaining silent. Unbelievable.
— GoCrazyCadillac (@NorthATLWife) January 16, 2024
And what’s more, is that there seems to be no consequences to Austin’s secret ailments, no accountability whatsoever. In fact, Biden has said that he will NOT accept Austin’s resignation for such actions.
And yet, we are supposed to still believe the Biden administration is transparent and honest with us? Yeah, I don’t think so.
The most transparent administration in history. 🤭😂
— chris kendall (@chriskendall7) January 16, 2024
No wonder we are having a hard time trusting our government…