US Defense Secretary Cancels Trip To NATO Over An “Emergent Bladder Issue”
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has canceled a trip to NATO military alliance headquarters after being rushed to hospital as he is facing an “emergent bladder issue,” US officials said.
Austin, 70, is in a critical care unit at a Washington D.C. area hospital, his third hospitalization in as many months, the Pentagon confirmed.
His medical troubles come at a time when NATO faces significant security challenges, including Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
It was unclear how long Austin was expected to remain at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, just northwest of Washington D.C., where he was taken on Sunday, medical officials said.
In a statement, Dr. Gregory Chesnut and Dr. John Maddox said that Austin underwent nonsurgical procedures on Monday “under general anesthesia to address his bladder issue.”
“A prolonged hospital stay is not anticipated,” the doctors stressed, adding that they expected that Austin would “be able to resume his normal duties tomorrow.”
However, he was too late to travel to the NATO meeting in Brussels, Belgium. “Secretary Austin will no longer travel to Brussels this week as originally scheduled,” Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesperson, told reporters on Monday.
CLOSELY WATCHED
Austin’s hospital stay is closely watched as he failed to disclose a prostate cancer surgery in December and a subsequent hospitalization in January to deal with its complications.
The reluctance by the U.S. top defense official to share medical details triggered a political uproar and multiple investigations.
The Pentagon has not said whether Austin’s bladder issue was another complication from that prostate surgery, but the hospital appeared to be upbeat about his cancer prognosis.
However, the hospitalization overshadowed Austin’s departure for the meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels set for Thursday.
He had also been expected to attend a meeting with allies on Wednesday on how to continue supporting Ukraine in countering Russia’s invasion.
The war enters this month its third year, and hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and injured in the armed conflict.
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