United States President-elect Joe Biden has selected retired Army General Lloyd Austin to be his secretary of defence, CNN reported on Mon...
United States President-elect Joe Biden has selected retired Army General Lloyd Austin to be his secretary of defence, CNN reported on Monday, citing unidentified officials. Austin, the former commander of US Central Command, will be the first African-American to lead the Department of Defence if confirmed by the Senate.
Austin, a retired four-star army general, has served in Iraq and Afghanistan, reported AFP. He was an assistant division commander of the third Infantry Division in 2003 when it marched from Kuwait into Baghdad during the US invasion of Iraq.
He served in Afghanistan between 2003 and 2005, commanding the Combined Joint Task Force 180, the principle US-led operation seeking to stabilise the security situation in the country. Austin was made the commanding general of US forces in Iraq in 2010. He became the commander of the Central Command in 2012, in charge of all Pentagon operations in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
Biden reached out to Austin for the position over the weekend and he accepted, the officials said. He pipped former Undersecretary of Defense Michele Flournoy to the position.
Hours before officials said Biden picked Austin, House Armed Services Committee Chairperson Representative Adam Smith said Flournoy was the most qualified person for the role. “Michele is... uniquely qualified,” Smith said, citing...
