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Russia hasn't invaded Ukraine yet, but the Biden administration is acting as if war is on the way.
Developments in the past 24 hours have ratcheted up anxiety levels among the United States and our allies.
First, nonemergency diplomatic employees and their families received permission to evacuate the U.S. embassy in Kyiv. Next, the State Department issued a “do not travel” warning for all Americans.
It's unclear how many Americans are still in Afghanistan after Biden's withdrawal. One thing is for certain, the White House doesn't want hundreds of American citizens stranded.
Then, a short time ago, the White House confirmed that President Biden placed 8,500 U.S. troops on “heightened alert” to potentially assist in Eastern Europe. The president could send up to 50,000 soldiers to nearby NATO countries, including Poland, Romania and the Baltic states.
However, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby stressed that the White House hadn't deployed any troops. Yet. (NBC News)
“I want to reinforce that as of now, the decision has been made to put these units on higher alert and higher alert only,” said Kirby. “No decisions have been made to deploy forces from the United States at this time.”
With Moscow massing more than 100,000 troops at its neighbor's border and no diplomatic breakthrough in sight, the West is stepping up its response amid mounting fears an invasion could be imminent.
Conversations are underway with NATO countries that could receive U.S. military forces as part of a plan to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin's aggression, the official said.
NATO said Monday that it was sending ships and fighter jets to Eastern Europe and that Washington “has also made clear that it is considering increasing its military presence in the eastern part of the Alliance.”
Meanwhile, President Biden spoke with European leaders this afternoon to discuss how to mitigate the rising tensions.
On Fox News, Republican critics of the president offered their own path to de-escalation:
So what do you think? Will deploying U.S. service members to Ukraine's doorstep deter Putin and should the U.S. deploy troops to Ukraine if Russia invades? As always, tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
