USA 2024 Elections Thread

[grarpamp]

MASSIVE FUCKUP in Woke Military White House

"They're all braindead zombies watching gay dancing nutcrackers,
nobody is watching America's Defense screens!"


White House Orders Protocols Review After Austin Was MIA For Prostate
Cancer Surgery Complications

Finally, after days of public backlash coming from Congressional
leaders as well as former Department of Defense officials, the White
House is initiating a "review" of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's
secret hospitalization fiasco.

Answers are being sought as to just how and why it took nearly four
days for the White House, including President Biden and even the
Pentagon #2, to be informed that the Pentagon chief was out of
commission. The situation has risen to the level of persistent calls
for Austin's resignation, but there's no indication this is the plan,
especially after Biden on Monday expressed "full confidence" in his
appointed defense chief. And as of a Tuesday afternoon briefing:

    KIRBY: AUSTIN STILL HAS THE FULL CONFIDENCE OF THE PRESIDENT

Via AP

White House chief of staff Jeff Zients has launched a review of
Cabinet protocols when it comes to delegating authority. A memo sent
to all Cabinet secretaries directs departments and agencies to "submit
your existing protocols for a delegation of authority" for review by
Jan. 12, according to Axios, which has obtained the memo.

Since the scandal of his absence was revealed (at a moment the
Pentagon is involved in several flashpoints from Ukraine to Gaza to
the Red Sea), it's been revealed he was for a time in the intensive
care unit at Walter Reed medical center.

A statement from the hospital has specified, "On January 1st, 2024,
Secretary Austin was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical
Center with complications from the December 22 procedure, including
nausea with severe abdominal, hip, and leg pain. Initial evaluation
revealed a urinary tract infection. On January 2, the decision was
made to transfer him to the ICU for close monitoring and a higher
level of care."

The initial surgery was for prostate cancer. Concerning the
readmittance, the Walter Reed statement noted, "During this stay,
Secretary Austin never lost consciousness and never underwent general
anesthesia."

    I can't emphasize this enough:

    If Austin had pulled this stunt when he was a brigade or division
commander he would have been relieved of command. As SecDef his
behavior here created far more risks to national security than if this
occurred when he was a more junior officer. https://t.co/vPy3JUibda
    — Dan Caldwell 🇺🇸 (@dandcaldwell) January 9, 2024

The Zients memo lays out the following Cabinet protocols to be
reviewed and scrutinized:

    Delegation criteria
    Decision-making authority
    Applicable documentation
    Notification procedures
    Rescission of delegation

Making matters worse, while Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks is
said to have been tasked with "some duties" during Austin's absence -
it remains that she was on vacation and didn't so much as know that
her boss was out of commission.

Several Iran-backed militant attacks on US bases in Syria and Iraq
happened last week while there was no one at the help of the Defense
Department: "Nine since Jan.4"...

    There have been 127 attacks by Iran-backed proxy groups on U.S.
forces in Iraq and Syria since October, says @PentagonPresSec. Nine
since Jan. 4
    — Lara Seligman (@laraseligman) January 9, 2024

And he's actually still in the hospital, and is said to be working
from his hospital bed. Austin "has received operational updates and
has provided necessary guidance to his team" since resuming duties on
Friday evening.

"While we do not have a specific date for his release at this time, we
will continue to provide updates on the Secretary's status as they
become available," Ryder added.