Some social media users have speculated that President Joe Biden may be calling for a military draft after three U.S. troops were killed by Iran-backed militants in Jordan.
Since the October 7 attack on Israel led by Hamas militants, tensions in the Middle East have remained high, with the U.S. showing strong support for Israel.
The U.S. military has responded to several other attacks in the Red Sea by Houthi rebels. U.S. Central Command previously confirmed that it had seized a shipment of illegal weapons that were being sent to the Houthis from Iran. Over the past few weeks, Iranian-backed militias have carried out more than 100 attacks on U.S. troops in the Middle East, according to Reuters.
"Joe Biden gave Iran hundreds of million$ in sanctions relief, credit and cash. Iran duped Biden and Blinken - and launched attacks in Syria, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen. Biden means more wars and a possible draft for young U.S. men and women," Richard Grenell, the former U.S. ambassador to Germany, wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. "Trump means peace deals."
Robert J. O'Neill, the former U.S. Navy Seal who claims to have killed Osama bin Laden wrote on X: "There are rumors that President Biden is going to reinstate the draft. Just rumors... but wouldn't that be fun to watch?"
On Sunday, Biden confirmed that three U.S. troops were killed and dozens of others injured in a drone attack in Jordan.
"While we are still gathering the facts of this attack, we know it was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq," Biden said.
"We will strive to be worthy of their honor and valor. We will carry on their commitment to fight terrorism. And have no doubt—we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner our choosing."
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also responded to the attacks on Sunday, saying: "I am outraged and deeply saddened by the deaths of three of our U.S. service members and the wounding of other American troops in an attack last night against U.S. and Coalition forces, who were deployed to a site in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border to work for the lasting defeat of ISIS.
"Iran-backed militias are responsible for these continued attacks on U.S. forces, and we will respond at a time and place of our choosing....The President and I will not tolerate attacks on American forces, and we will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our troops, and our interests."
There has been no confirmation that Biden is interested in a military draft, and White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said that the U.S. does not want a war with Iran.
However, a number of other social media users speculated on the idea, such as X user @Mericamemed, who wrote: "Joe Biden wants a WW3 so the democrats can stay in power. All they want is chaos so they can put more control over you. To all the people that support Biden. Who do you think he's going to send when a draft is enacted?"
Similarly, X user @GulfFLLinda wrote: "If the rumors turn out to be true, Biden's draft had better include men, women, and all of those letters Biden's America has dreamed up."
Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment.
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Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more
