US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was hospitalized earlier this week due to complications following a medical procedure. The US Department of Defense in Washington announced this on Friday. The Pentagon chief's hospitalization came at a time of rising tensions in the Middle East.
Austin was admitted to the Walter Reed military hospital near Washington on the evening of January 1st. The reason was “complications as a result of a non-urgent medical procedure,” said ministry spokesman Pat Ryder. He did not provide any information about the nature of the complications or the length of hospital stay.
“He is recovering well and is expected to resume all his functions today (Friday),” the spokesman said. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks was ready to act “at any time” and, “if necessary, to exercise the minister’s prerogatives,” Ryder added. Whether this happened remained unclear.
Gaza war poses major challenges for the USA
A ministry spokesman later told the AFP news agency that the deputy defense minister was “automatically authorized to take over the minister's duties if he is unable to do so.” She “made routine decisions on his behalf this week.”
The war between Israel and the radical Islamic Hamas is accompanied by increased challenges for the USA in the Middle East. Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have increased their attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea, while other groups in Iraq and Syria are targeting U.S. troops with missiles and drones.
On Thursday, the United States killed the head of an armed pro-Iranian group in an airstrike in Baghdad who, according to Washington, was involved in attacks on US soldiers in Iraq.
“The president and the minister had already authorized the operation in Iraq, the minister was in the loop,” a Pentagon spokesman told AFP.
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