As soon as this idea was announced, military logistics experts questioned it. Building, operating, and protecting a floating pier off the coast of Gaza was fraught with profound challenges and risks, they warned. Whether one chooses to ascribe good motives to the plan, or views it as an expensive and perilous experiment designed for election-related public relations, the $320 million taxpayer-funded project moved forward. The critics predicted that even if humanitarian aid were successfully delivered into Gaza, much, most or all of it would be stolen, principally by Hamas.
The critics were right:
Reuters is reporting that most of the aid coming into Gaza from the U.S. military's pier since Saturday was stolen by Palestinians as it made its journey to the UN's warehouse in nearby Deir El Balah.
— Phil Stewart (@phildstewart) May 20, 2024
* 11 trucks out of 16 trucks were cleaned out on Saturday
* No deliveries on…
"I do not believe that the aid actually reached the residents of Gaza."
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) May 21, 2024
— Pentagon Press Secretary Patrick S. Ryder pic.twitter.com/hfAjp44NCc
The critics predicted that Hamas (and possibly other hostile forces) in the region would take advantage of having a new, precarious US instillation in that dangerous neighborhood, making it susceptible to attack. The critics were right:
Hamas attacks U.S. troops!
— 🐺 (@LeighWolf) April 25, 2024
This was predicted by everyone, but Biden insisted on this insane plan anyway to curry favor with certain voting demographics.https://t.co/6c5LhsWB9g pic.twitter.com/QSdTFlbA7h
Palestinian terrorists fired mortar shells at a pier that is being constructed by U.S. forces to bring aid into Gaza
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) April 25, 2024
The mortar attack occurred as United Nations officials were touring the site with Israeli troops on the coast of central Gaza, the IDF says in response to a… pic.twitter.com/MuzK3BrKhk
U.S. forces are having to directly engage Hamas rockets because the terrorists are trying to destroy the pier.
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) May 23, 2024
Now ask yourself...why would they want to destroy the pier that exists only to send food into Gaza?
Makes you think, right? https://t.co/zAzyCRCqvs
The critics worried that whether via enemy attack, or due to accidents associated with operating and defending this sort of floating infrastructure, Americans could suffer injuries or worse. The critics were right:
An American soldier is in critical condition after being injured while working on the floating pier off the coast of the Gaza Strip. Humanitarian aid is flowing from the U.S.-made pier after deliveries were halted over the weekend, according to the United Nations. pic.twitter.com/h1EDUpsn7Z
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) May 23, 2024
Three US troops have suffered noncombat injuries during the operation to establish and operate a pier off the coast of Gaza to bring humanitarian aid to Palestinians.https://t.co/nWplwKlzKq
— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) May 23, 2024
And the critics warned that even if everything else went off without a hitch, simply maintaining a floating pier in open water could be extremely difficult, physically. The critics were right:
Four U.S. Army vessels part of the temporary pier mission bringing aid to Gaza broke free from their moorings because of rough seas and ended up beached, U.S. Central Command said.
— ABC News (@ABC) May 26, 2024
ABC News’ @BrittClennett reports from where two of the vessels wound up. https://t.co/C6rystTYJR pic.twitter.com/2p8tnbevEp
End this dangerous, humiliating fiasco. Operations have been suspended, but that's not sufficient. The floating pier debacle was doomed from the start. Americans are going to die there, at some point. Enough:
What an embarrassment. https://t.co/HGF7NtRzQj
— Byron York (@ByronYork) May 29, 2024
The United States should pressure Egypt to permit humanitarian aid to Gazans, but the pier is a failure. I'll leave you with the latest bulletin on the Biden administration's foreign policy, published over the holiday weekend:
“The Biden administration is pressing European allies to back off plans to rebuke Iran for advances in its nuclear program as it seeks to keep tensions with Tehran from escalating before the autumn’s U.S. presidential election…”
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) May 27, 2024
There is no bottom with this administration. https://t.co/8AH1kljg6U
