I can't help but see a lot of the OMG on this is from DC types that think the SecDef is IMPORTANT because he's a Cabinet Official and "in charge" of the military.
However, the SecDef is not in the chain of command, can issue no operational orders or approve operational activities of the forces. He's simply a conduit from the President for passing orders along to the Combatant Commanders, and there are only a couple of thousand people in the Five Sided Funny farm competent of doing that (starting with the E-2 on duty in the Comm Center)
If he had died in the ICU, there would have been no disruption of the military's immediate ability to respond to threats or carry out combat operations.
As Aesop stated, the issue is higher than that.
Now, a SecDef can get involved in daily operations, see McNamara , but that is not his job and shouldn't be.
See previous example also how a SecDef can screw up military procurement, strategy and doctrine development for years after they leave office. That's were the real power (and threat) of who sits in the SecDef chair come from. And again, that flows from whomever the POTUS that appointed him in the first place. Back to where the real problem is.
"It has been argued that the president may not have sole authority to initiate a nuclear attack because the Secretary of Defense is required to verify the order but cannot veto it.". Doesn't matter, because no one knew where the SecDef was, and Biden has no idea where he is. Thankfully, those who mean us harm, are laughing so fucking hard they can't attack us.
Unfortunately, Austin is sixth in line of succession for the presidency, should something incapacitate everyone else above him. He would become acting President. Then I guess there would have to be a special election?
Democrats are comfortable with a President who doesn't know where he is, so why is everyone upset because he doesn't know where his Secretary of Defense is?
With Dementia Joe unaware that Austin was missing in action for several days is that the people who are REALLY running the country didn't think that Austin's input was needed when decisions were being made about events in the Middle East, for example--and neither was Joe's input needed.
Just FYI for some of the commenters. The SECDEF is a member of something called The National Command Authority (NCA). Not to be confused with the other five dozen NCA acronyms online. The SECDEF and the POTUS make up the NCA. The VPOTUS is informally considered part of the NCA only because they are the second in the line of succession and were elected along with the POTUS. The SECDEF is NOT just another cabinet level figurehead. Google is your friend, as are the Joint Publications freely available online. All Combatant Commanders answer to the NCA. They are those nifty folks that are allowed to employ military forces worldwide with the NCA approval/orders. Not to be confused with the Service Secretaries that make up the Joint Staff. Service Secretaries are responsible for training and preparing forces to be employed by the Combatant Commanders should the NCA order that. So yeah, it was kind of a big deal that Austin didn't let the other half of the NCA, or any of the WH staff, know he was down for a few days. That is the primary reason that Congress is having kittens over it, other than the pure political joy they get out of screwing with the Democrats. GruntPa
It is being reported on twitter that Gonzalo Lira has died in a Ukrainian prison. Just because this guy is a cause celebre of the usual suspects, here is a recap:
Gonzalo Lira took photos of Ukrainian military equipment in situations close to combat zones and posted it online. The Ukrainians, not approving of foreigners passing military intelligence on to the people bombing them, told him to get the hell out of the country. He got. Then he WENT BACK IN to Ukraine, of his own free will and under zero compulsion. The Ukrainians then decided to arrest him. He attempted to leave the country once more, but BEFORE actually crossing the border, posted a long and detailed Twitter thread explaining exactly where he was and exactly what he was going to do and exactly how he was intending to not comply with the Ukrainian government's orders. The Ukrainian government then grabbed him prior to his crossing any borders and put him in a prison.
Not counting the news outlets or websites along the full range of accuracy and veracity, I follow multiple actual individuals' handwritten blogs. (Bot news aggregators don't thrill me.) Looking them over, many are current serving or former military and a couple are some variation of high-speed low-drag elite forces ninjas. Or just funny as all. Because life without humor is just despair. So in other words, the same folks I trusted in the military not to wet the bed, sh*t themselves, or otherwise run around like headless Nancys, are the same folks I trust on the interwebz, for demonstrating pretty much the same trustworthiness and circumspectly responsible behavior. Color me shocked.
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16 comments:
The really bad part of it is he apparently left ICU under his own power instead of getting wheeled down to the basement.
Austin, or Biden? ;)
Diaper Man may not know how to spell it, but he can fill a depends faster than Usain Bolt.
I'm guessing that Joey ....when told Austin was in ICU....said ...who?
I can't help but see a lot of the OMG on this is from DC types that think the SecDef is IMPORTANT because he's a Cabinet Official and "in charge" of the military.
However, the SecDef is not in the chain of command, can issue no operational orders or approve operational activities of the forces. He's simply a conduit from the President for passing orders along to the Combatant Commanders, and there are only a couple of thousand people in the Five Sided Funny farm competent of doing that (starting with the E-2 on duty in the Comm Center)
If he had died in the ICU, there would have been no disruption of the military's immediate ability to respond to threats or carry out combat operations.
As Aesop stated, the issue is higher than that.
Now, a SecDef can get involved in daily operations, see McNamara , but that is not his job and shouldn't be.
See previous example also how a SecDef can screw up military procurement, strategy and doctrine development for years after they leave office. That's were the real power (and threat) of who sits in the SecDef chair come from. And again, that flows from whomever the POTUS that appointed him in the first place. Back to where the real problem is.
The SecDef was undergoing Bariatric surgery, I don't know which kind. That he had post surgical complications does noy bode well for him.
Austen is a DEI appointee. He doesn't do anything except make Joe look good to BLM. you know, Black Lives Matter, not Bureau of Land Management.
"It has been argued that the president may not have sole authority to initiate a nuclear attack because the Secretary of Defense is required to verify the order but cannot veto it.". Doesn't matter, because no one knew where the SecDef was, and Biden has no idea where he is.
Thankfully, those who mean us harm, are laughing so fucking hard they can't attack us.
Unfortunately, Austin is sixth in line of succession for the presidency, should something incapacitate everyone else above him. He would become acting President. Then I guess there would have to be a special election?
Put that in your pipe and smoke it over.
Democrats are comfortable with a President who doesn't know where he is, so why is everyone upset because he doesn't know where his Secretary of Defense is?
With Dementia Joe unaware that Austin was missing in action for several days is that the people who are REALLY running the country didn't think that Austin's input was needed when decisions were being made about events in the Middle East, for example--and neither was Joe's input needed.
Puppet masters. Plain and simple.
Just FYI for some of the commenters. The SECDEF is a member of something called The National Command Authority (NCA). Not to be confused with the other five dozen NCA acronyms online. The SECDEF and the POTUS make up the NCA. The VPOTUS is informally considered part of the NCA only because they are the second in the line of succession and were elected along with the POTUS. The SECDEF is NOT just another cabinet level figurehead. Google is your friend, as are the Joint Publications freely available online. All Combatant Commanders answer to the NCA. They are those nifty folks that are allowed to employ military forces worldwide with the NCA approval/orders. Not to be confused with the Service Secretaries that make up the Joint Staff. Service Secretaries are responsible for training and preparing forces to be employed by the Combatant Commanders should the NCA order that. So yeah, it was kind of a big deal that Austin didn't let the other half of the NCA, or any of the WH staff, know he was down for a few days. That is the primary reason that Congress is having kittens over it, other than the pure political joy they get out of screwing with the Democrats. GruntPa
When they told him “ICU” he blurted out “Who the hell said ‘Peekaboo’?”
C’mon man!
Well, it's now been revealed that Austin had a prostatectomy last month and developed severe sequela from that.
Fluid collecting in his abdomen, shut down of his small bowel, and a urinary tract infection.
He looks so more cogent in that picture. Man, he's fallen off the cliff.
It is being reported on twitter that Gonzalo Lira has died in a Ukrainian prison. Just because this guy is a cause celebre of the usual suspects, here is a recap:
Gonzalo Lira took photos of Ukrainian military equipment in situations close to combat zones and posted it online. The Ukrainians, not approving of foreigners passing military intelligence on to the people bombing them, told him to get the hell out of the country. He got. Then he WENT BACK IN to Ukraine, of his own free will and under zero compulsion. The Ukrainians then decided to arrest him. He attempted to leave the country once more, but BEFORE actually crossing the border, posted a long and detailed Twitter thread explaining exactly where he was and exactly what he was going to do and exactly how he was intending to not comply with the Ukrainian government's orders. The Ukrainian government then grabbed him prior to his crossing any borders and put him in a prison.
Anything that has happened since is pure Darwin.
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