A new Inspector General report shows President Joe Biden was warned that building a "humanitarian pier" in the Gaza Strip would fail as a result of rough seas and other logistical issues. Biden ignored the warnings and for the sake of virtue signaling, demanded the $230 million taxpayer funded pier be built anyway.
"Discussions about establishing a pier to deliver humanitarian assistance to Gaza took place before President Biden’s announcement at the State of the Union on March 7. According to a senior BHA [Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance] official, interagency discussions had considered options for commercial and DoD-supported piers to establish a maritime corridor into Gaza. At the time, BHA advocated for transporting aid through land routes and did not pursue planning a maritime route because of the logistical and technical challenges it would present," the report states.
Making matters worse, Gazans didn't want the pier -- a warning issued before construction -- and Biden demanded the project move forward.
"Security concerns also significantly impacted the distribution of humanitarian assistance delivered through JLOTS [Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore]. Before its launch, WFP [World Food Program] highlighted in its USAID [United States Agency for International Development] award documentation that lack of community buy-in among Palestinians for the maritime corridor could result in significant safety and security risks and compromise its operations," the report states.
US staff warned that the Gaza aid pier would fail, but Biden reportedly ordered it built anyway
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) August 28, 2024
After costing more than $230 million, operating for only 20 days, and delivering just a third of its intended cargo, @swiftjournalism explores why the effort was such a fiasco pic.twitter.com/ziAqunu5Ni
The pier quickly broke apart and the little aid that was distributed from the floating disaster was stolen by Hamas and other Islamic terrorists.
"Due to structural damage caused by rough weather and high seas, the pier operated for only 20 days and was decommissioned on July 17. Additionally, security and access challenges plagued aid distributions once on shore. As a result, USAID fell short of its goal of supplying aid to 500,000 or more Palestinians each month for 3 months and instead delivered enough aid to feed 450,000 for 1 month," the report states.
In the military, this is called FUBAR.
— Rep. Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) May 25, 2024
Also, Biden can virtue signal to his progressive base for selfish political reasons.
And the mainstream media lets him get away with it. https://t.co/L1MqSh1tB8
Members of Congress are demanding to know more about why the construction of the pier was pushed through.
"Biden and Harris CHOSE to put our troops in direct danger and waste millions of YOUR taxpayer dollars on the Gaza Pier stunt," veteran and Republican Congressman Michael Waltz said on X. "All just to try to appease the progressive Left and score a talking point for a State of the Union address."