The call-ups are being touted as a measure to assist NATO forces in Europe against Putin’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine
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On Thursday, Biden announced that his administration is mustering some 3,000 reservists, including up to 450 individual ready reservists, to ensure the "effective conduct of Operation Atlantic Resolve in and around the United States European Command’s area of responsibility."
The move is being explained as part of the US’s ongoing response to Russia’s operations in Ukraine.
The order is intended to augment US troops already overseas as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, the president said in a statement released by the White House after his five-day trip to Europe, during which he attended a two-day NATO summit in Lithuania.
In the official White House press release, which you can read in its entirety here, the order says in part:
“By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America . . . I hereby determine that it is necessary to augment the active Armed Forces of the United States for the effective conduct of Operation Atlantic Resolve in and around the United States European Command’s area of responsibility.”
Biden’s order specifies that no more than 3,000 total members can be activated at any one time, of whom no more than 450 may be members of the Individual Ready Reserve, which consists of trained soldiers who have previously served in the Active Army or Selected Reserve and who have yet to reach the maximum expiration date of their service contracts which is usually eight years from the date of their swearing-in.
Operation Atlantic Resolve is an initiative that was launched in the wake of Russia’s 2014 invasion of the Crimean Peninsula, designed to enhance the deterrence posture along the eastern flank of the US’s NATO allies.
The president affirmed the US’s continued support for Ukraine throughout his European trip as the former Soviet state carried out a slow-moving counteroffensive meant to take back Russian-controlled areas of southern and eastern Ukraine.
On Thursday, Biden declared that Russian President Vladimir Putin has “already lost” the war and that it’s only a matter of time until he accepts it as a fact.
“Putin’s already lost the war,” Biden said during a joint press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö in Helsinki.
“There’s no possibility of him winning the war in Ukraine,” Biden added.
"This is reckless [and] dangerous," Texas GOP Senator Ted Cruz tweeted. "I want to see Putin defeated, but UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should U.S. servicemen [and] women be sent to fight in Ukraine."
"Biden’s weakness started this war [and] now he’s threatening to put our military in a shooting war with Russia," Cruz added.
GOP Utah Sen. Mike Lee weighed in on the president's European mobilization in a Twitter thread, warning the move is "daring Russia to shoot first."
"I’ve been trying to figure out what this means. Bottom line up front: President Biden is arguably walking the U.S. up to the line of war and daring Russia to shoot first," Lee wrote.
Lee noted that Operation Atlantic Resolve has been ongoing since 2014 and that, under U.S. law, Biden can only augment troops in named operations for up to a full year.
"Open-source information on Operation Atlantic Resolve from DOD does not suggest any forces are present in Ukraine under this mission," Lee wrote. "Since the conflict with Russia and Ukraine came to blows in 2014, rotational deployments under Atlantic Resolve have been considered a backbone of deterring Russia from crossing NATO’s Eastern flank."
Lee also warned that the "active-duty activation and deployment of these additional forces is a dangerous provocation, knowing full well NATO’s Eastern Flank is adjacent to active hostilities."
"President Biden did the same thing at the beginning of the war in Ukraine in 2022, massively increasing our active-duty force presence when we knew hostilities were imminent. But now it’s even more risky because hostilities are active. Not only does this run the risk of further locking us into supporting Ukraine, now the military-industrial complex will say the US military presence is THE one thing preventing Russia from crossing NATO’s eastern border & that we have to maintain such presence indefinitely."
One user asked Lee how the troop mobilization could be stopped, to which the senator replied that he is working "on that now."
"It’s not easy and very controversial, but we might have to invoke the War Powers Act," he said.
"Troop mobilizations are sometimes a precursor to war," Kentucky GOP Senator Rand Paul warned. "Let’s hope not."
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy published a press release on Friday saying it is:
"...downright disturbing that U.S. media is ignoring that Joe Biden is ordering 3,000 members of the Selected Reserve or Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) to Europe ‘for the effective conduct of Operation Atlantic Resolve.’"
"The last time there was an IRR call-up was during the Iraq War, when the justification then was nonexistent ‘weapons of mass destruction’ held by Saddam Hussein," Ramaswamy said.
"What is the justification now? What are the operations? Where will they go? What will they do?" Ramaswamy said. "We need answers, not sweeping this under the rug as Biden would prefer."
Ramaswamy noted that Biden's troop mobilization "comes just three days after the Biden White House told Congress it wants to remove a provision of the annual defense policy bill that would create a special inspector general for Ukraine aid."
"Why? What are we not supposed to know?" Ramaswamy added.
During a press conference Thursday in Vilnius, Lithuania, Biden reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to defend NATO allies in a heated exchange with a reporter.
"Peace and security in Europe is essential to U.S. security and peace," Bide said at one point. "The idea that there could be conflict in Europe among our friends and us not engaged has never happened in modern history. That's why we're staying together."
In an unusual move, the US American Legion, many of whose members are still part of the individual ready reserve, posted this statement - an article that appeared in Stars and Stripes magazine – on their website and also emailed it directly to all of its members, of which, I the author of this article, am one. The article tries to explain the reasoning and rationale for Biden’s authorization, and thwart some of the anxiety being felt by military reservists, individual ready reservists, and their families at the thought of the possible escalation of hostilities between Russia and NATO/the Unites States.
Questions to consider:
How do you feel about President Biden’s decision to authorize the deployment of up to 3,000 reservists and Individual Ready Reservists to assist NATO in their effort to help Ukraine?
Do you believe this call-up is a sign of America escalating its role in the Russian-Ukrainian war?
Does this latest military maneuver by the Biden Administration make you feel like we are moving closer to WWIII?
We would love to hear your thoughts and beliefs in the comments.
This article was compiled and written by Chief Political Correspondent Kurt Dillon – Because the Truth Matters!
More information on this and our other stories is available on our website veracityreport.org.
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