The US defense minister admitted his mistake

According to Fars International News Agency, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement that he takes “full responsibility” for the secrecy of his one-week hospitalization.

According to Reuters, Austin, who is 70 years old, died on New Year’s Day at the Walter Reed Military Hospital near Washington for reasons the Pentagon has not disclosed. was hospitalized, a fact that the Department of Defense kept secret for five days. It accused the Pentagon of being required by law to notify Congress immediately about such a matter. Criticisms have intensified while it is clear that even US President Joe Biden and his cabinet members were not aware of this issue.

The importance of this issue is more because It is that Austin is just one step below Joe Biden at the top of the chain of command of the United States military, and his main task is to be available at any moment to respond immediately to any kind of national security crisis.

It is still unclear to what extent his duties were delegated to his deputy, Kathleen Hicks, during his hospitalization, or whether Austin was at all during his absence. Whether or not he played a role in the country’s key decisions because of his hospitalization.

The Pentagon still has no details on why Austin was treated, lost consciousness. last week and has not provided details on when he was released from the hospital.

Now after Austin’s action has been criticized by many lawmakers and political officials In a written statement, he stated: I agree that I could have done a better job to ensure better information among the public.

“Roger Wicker” The American Republican senator has criticized Lloyd Austin’s cover-up story and said: such an action only destroyed public trust in the Biden administration, and with a sarcastic reference to the story of the appearance of a Chinese spy balloon over the sky of the United States, he said that this matter once again showed The Biden administration does not immediately disclose information related to national security incidents.

According to him, military families, members of Congress and the American people deserve this from the conditions. be fully informed. In contrast to the criticisms against the American Defense Minister, another official has stated that Austin fully resumed his duties on Friday evening but remained in the hospital.

However, the Pentagon Press Association, in a letter to Pentagon officials on Friday evening, criticized the secrecy of this matter and stated that Asstein is a public figure who should not have any claim to protect his medical privacy under such circumstances.

They have cited the fact that even if the President of the United States himself wants to delegate his duties to his deputy due to medical reasons, everyone should be aware of this story. This letter states: At a time when there are increasing threats against the United States military forces under the influence of the war in the Middle East, and the United States is playing a very key security role in the wars between Israel and Ukraine, it is very important for the American public to know about the health status of the United States. and the decision-making ability of their senior defense leader.

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