Critics have accused US President Joe Biden of wanting to start "World War 3" after he issued an executive order Thursday (July 13) authorizing the deployment of some 3,000 US reservists to Europe as an effort to augment "Operation Atlantic Resolve."
The president ordered Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other military leaders to mobilize "select reserve forces" in the coming days and weeks. However, it is not yet clear if Austin intends to deploy new personnel or in what numbers he might choose to do so.
What is clear, according to the Department of Defense, is that US troops will not be deployed to Ukraine and there are no US forces fighting in Ukraine as Kyiv continues to combat the Russian invasion.
Operation Atlantic Resolve began in 2014 as a response to Russia's initial actions in Ukraine, particularly its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. The order was reportedly in response to the full-scale Russian invasion which began in February 2022.
Biden's order came after he told reporters he and Congress will assure the US will stay in NATO and prevent any future president from withdrawing without congressional support.
Biden Risks "World War 3", Critics Say
Meanwhile, critics of the Biden administration took to social media to express their anger at the decision, claiming Biden was risking a third world war with the potential new deployments.
Foremost to criticize are supporters of former US president Donald Trump, who is seeking to get re-elected in 2024.
"These people really want WW3," Students for Trump founder Ryan Fournier said on Twitter. "WW3 is coming," added Jenna Ellis, a barrister who was once part of Trump's legal team.
Other people also chimed in the discussion about the executive order.
Larry Dean Jones Jr., whose bio described him as a military veteran also linked Operation Atlantic Resolve to a hypothetical third World War. "Biden is getting us into War and eventually WW3!" he tweeted.
Biden's executive order authorizes the deployment of up to 3,000 personnel "of whom not more than 450 may be members of the Individual Ready Reserve."
According to the US Army, the Individual Ready Reserve "are trained Soldiers who may be called upon, if needed, to replace Soldiers in active duty and Army Reserve units." The Army's website notes that many of those soldiers "have recently left Active Duty and still have an Army Reserve commitment."
Despite accusations, Biden was risking World War 3, not all Twitter users responded negatively to the executive order.
"Republicans have it twisted, the only reason we aren't in WW3 is because Joe Biden is in office. He sending reserve troops to show our commitment to NATO," tweeted a certain Chris Mowrey, a self-described "Gen-Z Democrat". "I'll be blunt if Trump was in office, we'd be so incredibly f*****."
The White House is yet to comment further on the executive order.
