Tensions between the United States and Russia are escalating as President Biden has ordered the activation of up to 3,000 military reservists for deployment to Europe and Biden just upped the ante.
The order follows a report from several outlets that the counter-offensive in by Ukrainian forces has not gone well. In order to support and sustain the current U.S. presence in Europe, 450 reservists from the Individual Ready Reserve can be called up. In addition, the U.S. has sent tens of billions of dollars in aid to help with the defensive effort.
The Washington Post is reporting that US forces deployed to support is around 80,000.
The deployment is being authorized under the new life of Operation Atlantic Resolve which was first initiated by former President Obama in 2014 when Russian-backed forces took portions of the Crimea region of Ukraine.
Biden has stated at the NATO summit in Vilnius that the U.S. and its allies are doing all they can to support Ukraine; however, Biden maintains that the war in Ukraine needs to end before Ukraine can be brought into the alliance.
In an effort to bolster Ukraine’s defenses, the U.S. recently sent cluster bombs to Ukraine, which are banned by more than 100 countries due to the danger they pose to civilians. Attempting to justify the move, Biden stated, “The main thing is they either have the weapons to stop the Russians now from their — keeping them from stopping the Ukrainian offensive through these areas, or they don’t. And I think they needed them.”
Republican Senator Mike Lee was shocked over the Biden administrations decision.
“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 said.
“10 USC 12304 gives the President the authority to “augment” the forces of any “named operational mission” to active duty for NOT MORE THAN 365 consecutive days,” he added.
Noting that “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.”
Adding, “One could argue that unilateral troop activations/deployments like this—into areas of active or imminent hostilities—should be treated as a breach of the War Powers Act. Regardless, this makes me really uneasy.”
Lee noted that he may lead a charge to invoke the war power act to counter Biden.
2.10 USC 12304 gives the President the authority to “augment” the forces of any “named operational mission” to active duty for NOT MORE THAN 365 consecutive days.
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) July 14, 2023
Working on that now. It’s not easy and very controversial, but we might have to invoke the War Powers Act.
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) July 14, 2023
