It is a legit question

Headline January 1

U.S. Navy helicopters returned fire and sank three small boats carrying Houthi militants in the Red Sea on Sunday, after U.S. warships responded to a distress call from a merchant vessel, military officials said.


US Navy sinks 3 Houthi boats attacking merchant ship in Red Sea, US says - ABC7 Chicago (https://abc7chicago.com/navy-sinks-houthi-boats-rebels-us-yemen/14248992/)

Headline yesterday

Senior Biden administration leaders, top Pentagon officials and members of Congress were unaware for days that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (https://www.timesofisrael.com/pentagon-reveals-us-defense-chief-hospitalized-after-complications-from-procedure/) had been hospitalized since Monday, US officials said Saturday, as questions swirled about his condition and the secrecy surrounding it.

White House was unaware for days that defense chief Lloyd Austin was hospitalized | The Times of Israel (https://www.timesofisrael.com/white-house-was-unaware-for-days-that-defense-chief-lloyd-austin-was-hospitalized/)

and where was Assistant Sec Defense Kathleen Hicks ? Well she was on the beach in Puerto Rico . She returned to Washington to assume some of Austin's duties but was not told until Thursday that he was in ICU.

Austin has been hospitalized since Jan. 1 due to complications following a minor elective medical procedure, the Pentagon said Friday in its first acknowledgment of the hospitalization. Austin spent time in the ICU, according to an administration official.
The White House was also not aware of Austin's status until days after he was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, a Biden administration official told CBS News on Saturday.



Deputy defense secretary not told of Lloyd Austin hospitalization when she assumed his duties, officials confirm - CBS News (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lloyd-austin-surgery-hospitalization-kathleen-hicks/)



The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen. C.Q. Brown, was notified January 2 that Austin had been hospitalized the day before, Ryder told CNN. But he is not in the chain of command. The military service secretaries, who are in the chain of command, were not notified until January 5, four days after Austin checked into the hospital.

Deputy defense secretary was not told Austin had been hospitalized when she assumed his duties | CNN Politics (https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/07/politics/austin-hospitalization-leaders-not-informed/index.html)

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown was notified but did not bother to tell the White House because he is not in the chain of command . Nice .

Meanwhile Clueless Joe came back from his second holiday vacation after getting sun baked (less than a year from a skin cancer scare ) in St Croix on January 2nd apparently unaware that Austin was in ICU He immediately went to his home in Delaware to relax from his exhausting vacation schedule.

Photo of Joe Biden Coming Back From Vacation Brutally Mocked (newsweek.com) (https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-vacation-photo-sunburn-mocked-1857415#slideshow/2330797)

What to know about basal cell carcinoma, President Biden’s skin cancer, and importance of early detection > Beacon Health System (https://www.beaconhealthsystem.org/news/2023/03/09/what-to-know-about-basal-cell-carcinoma-president-bidens-skin-cancer-and-importance-of-early-detection/)



So we have the Sec Defense AWOL ;the military chain of command not informed . The Commander in Chief and his National Security team kept in the dark . Congressional leaders were not informed .

When was the last President's Daily Briefing ? Austin is a member of the National Security Council. Clueless spent this week campaigning . As far as I can tell
he returned to the White House long enough to blame Congressional Repubs for the national security crisis at the border ;and to get a change of underwear before leaving for R&R in Delaware before hitting the road to PA.

So it is fair to ask ;who's running the country ?

So we have the Sec Defense AWOL ;the military chain of command not informed . The Commander in Chief and his National Security team kept in the dark . Congressional leaders were not informed .I guess it should not be surprising. It's going to be interesting to see how the pres handles this. Austin should be dismissed the minute he gets out of the hospital, but you can be fairly certain that will not happen. What is really stunning is that the American people, who will in any case largely be unaware of all of this, will yawn and go about their business.

Unreal the press were braying for months over the target killing of Suleimani . Cluless Joe released $$$ to Iran ;and now US troops are taking casualties and we are expending resources fighting Iranian proxies. And again ;who exactly is calling the shots ? Our national security as far as I can tell from the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan ;to the wide open borders appears rudderless. Very scary.

Where was Jake Sullivan ? You know ;our National Security advisor who wrote in 'Foreign Affairs ' Magazine, in the days before the Hamas attack on Israel ,that the Middle East was safer due to Clueless Joe's leadership.

FA final.indb (foreignaffairs.com) (https://www.foreignaffairs.com/system/files/pdf/2023/FA_102_6_ND2023_Sullivan_print_edition_version.pdf )

“The Israeli-Palestinian situation is tense, particularly in the West Bank, but in the face of serious frictions, we have de-escalated crises in Gaza and restored direct diplomacy between the parties after years of its absence,”


Attack on Israel: Why won't Biden even MENTION Iran's role? (nypost.com) (https://nypost.com/2023/10/10/attack-on-israel-why-wont-biden-even-mention-irans-role/)


There is a 15 minute warning if Russia launches nukes .And out entire national security structure seems to be asleep to any threat outside of MAGA

so who's idea was it to keep Clueless Joe in the dark about Austin's prostate cancer ?


Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin treated for prostate cancer, UTI | AP News (https://apnews.com/article/defense-secretary-lloyd-austin-illness-c52cfefc95924bc4725e19250fa424b8?utm_source=newsle tter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top)

If it was Austin's then what motivated him to do so ? I always considered him as one of the responsible adults in the room at the current WH. From reports ;Clueless was kept in the dark until yesterday immediately before the news went public.

My belief ;the Pentagon does not trust Clueless' leadership after the Afghanistan withdrawal fiasco and his insistence on DEI and woke policies over competence.

Another good question. Is JB so accustomed to not seeing his defense chief for day after day after day that he would not have noticed his absence for such a large period of time? I would think any pres would want to see the Sec of Def at least two or three times a week when there is as much going on as is the case now.

I thought he met with the National Security Council frequently; especially with us directly and indirectly being involved in multiple conflicts around the globe.

A rough timeline of late Dec into 2024 shows Clueless taking back to back vacations during the holidays . Arriving at the WH on January 2 ;he spent enough time to shower and change his underwear before another respite in Delaware. Then he hit the campaign trail to attack Trump and MAGA on January 5 .

He was not aware of Austin's surgery or ICU emergency in that time.

This is rich . A libtard activist says that calls to fire or even investigate the hospitalization of Austin are racist . Ameshia Cross a sometimes talking head contributor to Fox and other outlets is a so called political strategist ;pundit advocate and former advisor to the emperor . Prior to that her notable achievement was former 'Miss Black Chicago ' .

She penned an op-ed in Newsweek that says that instead of the calls for dismissal that she claims are political and racist that Repubs should thank him for his service.

Well yeah ,he can be thanked for his service at the same time as he is questioned for his judgement .

Calls for Defense Secretary Austin to Resign Are Attacks on Black Success | Opinion (newsweek.com) (https://www.newsweek.com/calls-defense-secretary-austin-resign-are-attacks-black-success-opinion-1859300)

Routinely libs attack Black Republican men despite their accomplishments . Shouldn't Clarence Thomas ;Tim Scott ;Ben Carson and scores of other Black conservative men be celebrated for their achievements ?

And is it really racist to question him as a top level advisor to the President for the defense of the country for being AWOL for almost a week without even informing his assistant Sec Defense let alone the Commander in Chief.

It is early yet . But this one could qualify as the most absurd op ed of the year.

In the last week while Clueless was alternating between hanging out at his beach home and Camp David ;and calling Trump the greatest threat to America ; and Def Sec Loyd Austin was incapacitated in ICU,a US embassy in Iraq was attacked by the IRGC with rockets and drones ...... and a US owned container ship was hit by a rocket from the Houthis (who we hit with precision strike to degrade their capability to attack commercial shipping)

We know that Austin was picked up by an ambulance when he suffered his medical emergency for transportation to Walter Reed Hospital. His aides requested that the ambulance siren and lights be turned off to keep the public (and evidently the President and everyone else in the WH and military command) in the dark.

"Can the ambulance not show up with lights and sirens? We're trying to remain a little subtle,"

Audio of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's 911 call released (nbcnews.com) (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/audio-defense-secretary-lloyd-austins-911-call-released-rcna134223)