He could become the first black leader to head the Pentagon.

Little known to the general public, former General Lloyd Austin was officially chosen, Tuesday, December 8, by the President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden to lead his future Department of Defense.

An appointment in accordance with the line defended so far by the Democrat: that of bringing in talent from minorities to the highest levels of the American state. 

The name of Lloyd Austin had already been circulating - alongside that of Michèle Flournoy - for several weeks to lead the world's first army.

"Thirty years after Colin Powell was appointed Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, choosing Lloyd Austin as Minister of Defense is an act with strong symbolic content for Joe Biden", estimates with France 24 André Rakoto, specialist in questions of defense and security in the United States. 

But symbolic as it is, the arrival of the former 67-year-old general at the head of the Pentagon has yet to be validated by the Senate.

The only downside: Lloyd Austin ended his career in 2016 to retrain in the defense industry.

However, a regulation requires a former soldier to be retired for at least seven years to be able to exercise as Minister of Defense.

Senators would then be forced to grant him an exemption so that he could be appointed.

A possible derogation, however, recalls the specialist: "This has already happened in 2016 with General James Mattis, appointed Minister of Defense by Donald Trump". 

"Austin knows the Pentagon inside and out"

Although little publicized, this former four-star general (the highest rank in the United States) completed more than forty years of service in the First World Army.

Born in 1953 in Alabama, then raised in Georgia, another segregationist southern state at the time, the young man graduated from the prestigious West Point Military Academy in New York State in 1975. In the process, he was posted to Germany as a platoon leader, before returning to the United States a few years later, where he supervised a number of military operations. 

His career, his natural discretion, as well as his composure, impress his peers.

Questioned by Politico, a close friend of Joe Biden believes that Lloyd Austin was chosen, not only because he is among the most respected in the army, but also because he has already "experienced several crises".

A significant asset in a country still suffocated by a deadly Covid-19 pandemic.

"Austin knows the Pentagon inside and out and would be an excellent recruit to manage the logistics of distributing a vaccine," said another source to CNN.

During his career, the soldier crisscrossed the field, participating both in the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and in the war in Afghanistan until 2005. There, he notably served as commander-in-chief of the 10th Mountain Division, supervising the Americans within the Joint Force 180. Later, it still plays a decisive role, participating in the phase of securing the country with a view to installing an Afghan government. 

Collaboration with Joe Biden for Iraq

His career took a turn in 2010, when he became commander of the US forces in Iraq.

Its mission then consists in supervising the transition between the combat phase and that of stabilization of the region, before initiating the withdrawal of more than 50,000 American soldiers decided by Barack Obama.

"This period marks the beginnings of a collaboration with Joe Bidenm who at the time was in charge of this file as vice-president", notes André Rakoto. 

But the consecration for the general will come three years later.

In 2013, Barack Obama appointed Lloyd Austin to the head of the central command of the American army, the prestigious Centcom, where he will try to contain the breakthrough of the Islamic State group in the Middle East.

A central position, once again, never occupied by an African-American before him.

"Of a total of 1.3 million active soldiers, 43% are from minorities (Blacks, Indians, Asians and Hispanics). The major problem remains unsurprisingly, their access to the highest general officer positions," underlines the expert.  

"No clear victories"

However solid it may be, General Austin's career has obviously had some setbacks.

Its handling of the crisis in Iraq and Afghanistan has been the subject of criticism, particularly in the Republican camp.

"We obviously cannot qualify these operations as clear victories, however if he did not do better, he did not do less well than his predecessors either," says André Rakoto. 

Another pot, the Centcom had been accused in 2016 of having embellished the record of the strikes conducted in the Levant against the Islamic State group, which had led, after an article in the New York Times, the general inspection of the Pentagon to open an investigation .

Likewise, Lloyd Austin had to justify to Congress the failure to train Syrian rebels considered moderate, as part of a program that cost $ 500 million.

So many facts that could be recalled to him again pending confirmation by the Senate. 

The hope of seeing his arrival at the Pentagon, however, remains possible, believes André Rakoto.

"We must not underestimate the mobilization of associations for the defense and promotion of people of color like the NAACP or the Black Lives Matter movement. On paper, Lloyd Austin has all the assets, both professionally like on a human level. And it has no real equivalent. "

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