Pentagon chief
Confusion about hospital stay: US Secretary of Defense makes prostate cancer public
Lloyd Austin, four-star general and US Secretary of Defense
© Alberto Pizzoli / AFP
For days it was unclear why US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was in the hospital. Now the 70-year-old is making his diagnosis public: prostate cancer. Austin is on the road to recovery, but the road could be long, the clinic says.
After days of guesswork about his health, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin made public his diagnosis of prostate cancer. The disease was recognized early and the prognosis for recovery was “excellent,” the responsible clinic near the capital Washington announced on Tuesday. Due to complications following an operation at the end of December, the 70-year-old has had to be treated in hospital since the beginning of the year.
The hospitalization caused a stir because the ministry initially did not make it public. US President Joe Biden initially didn’t know either. It is common practice in the United States for the public to be very closely informed about the health of its top politicians.
Lloyd Austin apologizes
Austin apologized for the information policy on Saturday evening. In the USA, the question arose as to who would actually have the authority in the Pentagon in the midst of international crises such as the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and the tense situation in the Middle East if the defense minister was absent. The Pentagon therefore came under heavy criticism. It has not provided any information in recent days as to why Austin was being treated in the hospital and has been rather cryptic.
Now, in a detailed statement from Walter Reed Military Hospital in Bethesda, it was said that Austin had been diagnosed with prostate cancer at the beginning of December. Shortly before Christmas, the Pentagon chief underwent a minimally invasive surgical procedure. The minister “recovered smoothly from the operation and returned home the next morning,” it said.
On New Year’s Day, the minister was taken to hospital because of complications, including nausea and severe stomach, hip and leg pain. An initial examination revealed a urinary tract infection. On January 2nd he was transferred to the intensive care unit. According to the clinic, fluid accumulation in the abdominal cavity caused problems. The infection has now subsided. Austin is making progress and “a full recovery” is expected, but this could be a long process. “During this stay, Secretary Austin never lost consciousness and was never subjected to general anesthesia,” the hospital said.
Biden appreciates Austin’s “great work”
The White House finally announced that it would review the processes and procedures. US media reported on Tuesday about a letter to cabinet members. In it, the White House chief of staff asked them to ensure that the protocols for the transfer of authority complied with existing standards. He also asked them to submit a written report on their agency-specific procedures to government headquarters for review by Friday, as Axios and Politico reported, among others.
Addressing the criticism, White House communications director John Kirby said on Monday that US President Joe Biden respected the fact that the secretary had taken responsibility for the lack of transparency – and he also appreciated “the great work” that was done Austin’s performance as Secretary of Defense and how he has handled multiple crises over the past nearly three years.
Austin has been a member of Biden’s cabinet since the beginning of Biden’s term in early 2021. He is the first black person to head the Pentagon. The former four-star general was commander of US forces stationed in the Middle East until 2016. In this post he was responsible for US operations in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. At the beginning of his more than 40-year career in the US military, Austin was also stationed in Germany.