On January 29, local time, US Secretary of Defense Austin, who had "disappeared" for a long time, appeared in a meeting between US President Biden and the national security team. As the first hotly searched figure at the beginning of the year, Austin was off work for many days because he "failed to take sick leave." This left many top American officials, including Biden, in the dark and fell into a whirlpool of public opinion. Why did Austin "leave work without calling in sick"? What kind of public relations crisis has this caused? A short video summarizing the days and nights when Austin "disappeared".

Phone Recording:

I would like to ask if the overhead lights and siren can be turned off when the ambulance comes? We wanted to keep a low profile.

911 operator:

OK, got it. Usually ambulances turn them off when entering residential areas. But ambulances are required by law to have overhead lights and sirens on when traveling on main roads.

　　This is a recording of a police call on January 1st. If I were to label this recording, it would probably be "low-key." This "low-key" patient is the US Secretary of Defense Austin in the midst of the whirlpool.

　　Austin, who originally wanted to seek medical treatment "low-key", made headlines by the American media because he concealed his condition and was "off work" for many days. Let’s take a look at the timeline first.

　　Austin, 70, underwent prostate cancer treatment surgery at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on December 22 last year and was discharged the next day. On January 1 this year, Austin was hospitalized again due to postoperative complications.

　　The Pentagon notified the White House National Security Council of Austin's hospitalization on January 4, and President Biden learned of it later. On January 5, the Pentagon publicly notified Austin of hospitalization, but notified the U.S. Congress about 15 minutes before issuing a statement. It was not until January 9 that Biden learned that Austin was suffering from prostate cancer.

John Kirby, Strategic Communications Coordinator of the White House National Security Council:

He (Biden) did not learn that Secretary Austin was in the hospital until last Friday (January 5). It was not until this morning (January 9) that he was told that the reason for hospitalization was prostate cancer.

Reporter:

Should this happen?

　　Should this happen?

　　If we first scroll down the timeline, we will find that the entire "off-duty" incident is not only chaotic in the transfer of power and delayed in the process, but also full of opacity.

　　On January 2, while Austin was hospitalized again due to complications, he called Hicks, the U.S. Undersecretary of Defense, who was on vacation in Puerto Rico to transfer some of his powers. But under normal circumstances, if Hicks knew in advance that he was going to perform duties on behalf of the Secretary of Defense, shouldn't he be on standby in the United States? Hicks himself only learned on the 4th that Austin was hospitalized - it is said that at first many people thought that Austin was on vacation.

　　A little unprepared.

　　Secondly, a Pentagon spokesman explained that the report was delayed because Austin's chief of staff had the flu and was away from work.

　　According to U.S. Code 3349: “The head of an executive agency shall promptly report any vacancy among senior officers and shall report who shall assume the position during the absence.”

　　After U.S. Marine Corps Commander Eric Smith was admitted to the hospital due to a heart attack on October 29 last year, the U.S. Marine Corps updated its news several times.

　　The U.S. Political News Network quoted former U.S. Defense Secretary Hagel as saying that this kind of thing in Austin "should never happen. The president must know where his cabinet members are at all times."

John Kirby, Strategic Communications Coordinator at the White House National Security Council:

We all recognize that this thing was not conducted the way it should have been on many levels, not only the notification process up the chain of command, but also transparency issues. We are all aware of this and I think we all want to learn from it.

　　At present, there is no conclusion as to why Austin "doesn't take time off." But according to some American media, this is not the first time Austin has done this.

　　During the surgery on December 22 last year, he handed over some powers to Hicks, but the latter was still not informed of the specific reasons at the time, and the White House was not informed immediately.

　　Regarding this "too low-key" behavior, many media analysts in the United States believe that this has a lot to do with Austin's "notorious focus on privacy" - in his statement on January 6, Austin still emphasized that although He understands that this incident has raised public concerns about "transparency," but "importantly, this is my surgery and I take full responsibility for the decisions I make regarding disclosures."

　　As the "second-ranking figure" in the U.S. military chain of command after the president, Austin's "not calling in sick" caused quite a shock in the U.S. political circles.

Republican U.S. Senator Deb Fischer:

If there was any security crisis last week, no one knows where to find Secretary Austin.

　　In addition to worrying about the impact on national security, Austin's "off duty" also triggered speculation about his relationship with Biden. You know, the Pentagon and the President of the United States have also fought in the media because of their estrangement.

　　Mattis and Esper, two defense secretaries under Trump, were both “fired” due to conflicts with the president. After leaving office, Mattis even publicly denounced Trump as a "threat" to the U.S. Constitution, while Esper bluntly said that Trump was "unworthy of his moral integrity."

　　During the Obama administration, the "head" of the Pentagon also publicly complained that Obama did not send enough troops to defeat the "Al Qaeda" organization entrenched in Afghanistan.

　　This "off-duty" incident has made the outside world feel that Austin is also in a group of his own, and may not even be integrated into the core decision-making group of the United States.

　　Perhaps to make up for it, according to John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator of the White House National Security Council, Austin also actively participated in the US and UK air strikes against the Houthi armed forces in Yemen on January 12 during his absence.

　　However, as the United States enters an election year, Austin's "off duty" still provides "ammunition" to the party struggle in the United States. Although the White House and Pentagon said they would investigate Austin's concealment of his hospitalization and inability to perform his duties. The Republicans still accuse the Democratic government of incompetent management and continue to call for Austin to step down.

Republican U.S. Senator Vance:

This is a little crazy. As the number two figure in the US government, he disappeared. This reflects the poor management of the White House and seriously affects the leadership of the Department of Defense. If that doesn’t mean resigning and finding the right person, are there any other reasons?

Reporter:

Do you have confidence in Secretary Austin?

President Joe Biden:

Yes.

Reporter:

Was it a mistake in his judgment for not telling him earlier?

President Joe Biden:

Yes.

　　(CCTV News Client)