The US-constructed pier off Gaza broke apart on Tuesday due to heavy seas, suspending aid deliveries indefinitely, in the latest setback for the disastrous project that was ordered by President Biden.
The Pentagon said that the pier, which cost $320 million for the US to build, was damaged and sections of it need to be repaired. According to CNN, it will be removed from the coast of Gaza over the next 48 hours and taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod for repairs.
Just a few days earlier, four vessels supporting the pier broke off their moorings due to heavy seas. Two of them washed up ashore, while the other two were able to drop anchor. Before that, the Pentagon said three US troops suffered non-combat injuries on the pier, which were likely also caused by rough seas.
CNN previously reported that the pier could only be safely operated in a maximum of 3-foot waves and winds less than approximately 15 miles per hour. Heavier conditions caused a delay in the first aid deliveries through the pier, which only began on May 17, and were suspended for a few days due to distribution issues.
Biden ordered the construction of the pier instead of pressuring Israel to open more land border crossings to aid deliveries, which is by far the most efficient way to get humanitarian assistance into Gaza. Barely any aid has been entering the Strip since Israel captured the Rafah border crossing on May 7.
Besides being an incredibly expensive and inefficient project, the pier also risks a major escalation of US involvement in Israel’s slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza. About 1,000 troops have been supporting the project just off the coast of Gaza, putting them in range of Hamas rockets. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has acknowledged that there’s a risk of the US troops deployed for the pier mission coming under attack and said they would be able to shoot back.
“American Exceptionalism” on full display. Oy.
Good ol’ Yankee no how.
Made in USA.
waste of money
Why? Offer us an opinion as to why you feel this way….
Yeah, especially when we have these perfectly good things called “trucks” that drive on these things called “roads” and we are a super power. . .
If only Zionist youths would not attack the trucks that do make it through, and throwing the humanitarian aid to the ground, rendering it unusable. The trucks that have not made it through have rotting food on the trucks. The pounding of the tent city with 2,000 lbs bombs is the coups de grace’. Heard the poor people to a “safe zone”, then drop bombs on them. At night. When the Palestinians are sleeping. It was no “terrible mistake” as sh*thead Netanyahu called it. It was murder in the most foul.
considering the fires and burned bodies, is it possible white phosphor was involved? The Israelis are evil sadistic people, anything is possible.
A few weeks ago such a thought would never have crossed my mind.
The tents were plastic, highly combustible by themselves.
Seeing the charred body of a headless baby against a mammoth background fire can cause one to have thoughts they never expected to have. Particularly when this headless burned baby is a video image not the debunked hasbara we’ve been hearing repeated over and over and over again, included by our president, as justification of every sadistic evil act of the past 7 horrific months.
You know who’s worse than a génocidaire? The person who can stop it and doesn’t.
Thank you, and yes there is video proof, unlike the debunked claims by the Zionists in Israel. Does that stop f*cking Biden from supplying more weapons? Nope.
There was no need. A fucking Fourth of July sparkler could have done the job.
Yep. Many cheap tents are made of inflammable materials. One burning tent falls on another, then another, pretty soon there are hundreds of tents burning, along with the occupants. Gallant knew exactly what the result would be.
I don’t think they dropped 2000 lb bombs on those plastic tents. Those were the bombs that would make it a “major” operation. Had to keep the carnage within Kirby’s parameters that keep it under a major operation after all.
We went from, “No, that’s not Genocide” to “No, that was not a Major Operation” in 6 months?
Knowing that there was a more then even chance there would be tent fires that would kill many. Many were killed, More were injured. Several decapitated babies were retrieved from the charred remains.
Not really that much in the schemes of things yet to come.
While back you were a big supporter of the project and attacked those who stated that it would be waste of money, time and was nothing more than a publicity stunt.
And he claimed the Palestinians wouldn’t even “thank us”.
Please encourage Tim’s intelligent realization.
Keep it up, Tim. Nobody in their right mind hates Jews. The idea of a religious state has led to slaughter of Palestinians. This ugly slaughter of innocents os exactly why the US is founded on separation of church and state,
Keep going, Tim.
Maybe replacing an economy based on making things with one based on Wall Street pencil necks shuffling money around wasn’t such a good idea after all
Financialization ruined other countries.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! It was never intended to be an answer. Who did the $320 million go to, KBR? Halliburton?
It’s called a JLOTS (Joint Logistics Over The Shore) operation, using the Navy’s INLS (Improved Navy Lighterage System) pier, which apparently has been in occasional use since 2007.
https://www.ustranscom.mil/cmd/panewsreader.cfm?ID=28897AED-5056-A127-598D8E76D713C73A&yr=2007
The original $404,800,000 contract was granted to Marinette Marine of Marinette, WI in 2003. They get a lot of Navy contracts, sometimes for things that just barely fit through the locks on the Niagara Canal.
https://www.defense-aerospace.com/marinette-wins-us-navy-lighterage-contract-aug-13/
Our Politicians only know how to destroy, the pier is so symbolic of that. It was a bad idea, had to be built fast and cheap for political reasons and that is the result, add that to all the destruction they already made.
“fast and cheap” and still came in at 2x budget. This pos really is a metaphor for our drowning empire.
How about a regiment of U.S. soldiers to escort the aid bearing trucks through the Rafah gates?
US regiments, ALL gates open, escort to destinations and guard. Oh and BTW – get ur f’g asses outta Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank or we’ll shut down Iron Dome, give you time to evacuate to “safe zones” (better hope they’re not ur kind of safe zones) & drop some 2k pounders on Tel Aviv …. too much?
Only idiots would build a pier designed to be surrounded by break water barriers in the open ocean.
This is the Mediterranean not the North Sea FFS
Well, we knew they are idiots, even before they build it.
The thing happened sooner than expected.
They knew there was a good risk of it breaking lose. All the more to delay aid. The other delay is the attacks by settler youths who took the aid off of the trucks, then smashing it on the ground.
Oh, it’s worse than that. This essentially useless system (breaks up in 3-foot waves? Really?) has been in use since 2007. It’s called the INLS, Improved Naval Logistics System (I suspect the “improved” part is “better than an LST). I’ve put some links to it higher in the thread.
Sounds like an oxymoron to me………………….
Note – Gaza already has a small harbor.
The pier was demolished by Israel a long time ago, along with the airport, to make sure Israel controls everything going into and out of Gaza. The Oslo Accords gave Palestinians minimum self movement within the borders, but Israel controlled the borders. It got worse with the brutal blockade. The ICJ has been attacked since the two previous criminal acts, Cast Lead and Protective Edge. Family members of the members of the ICJ have been threatened. Over a decade. Communication has been hacked. Our GOP issued a mafia-like threat against the court last week.
I thought the little breakwater still existed
The Navy bought this piece of crap back in 2003, and has only been in occasional use since. Breaks up in 3-foot waves? Really? It was built by a company in Wisconsin (link higher in the thread), there are 3 foot waves **IN** the harbor of Marinette so it was never actually designed to be a usable tool. The more I look into this thing the more I wonder if the Navy didn’t want an excuse to unload this white elephant and suggested it to Genocide Joe as a good PR op. Even better if *cough* (IDF) *cough* “Hamas” destroys it.
The purpose, and the only purpose, of the so-called “U. S. constructed pier” was to permit the ethnic cleansing and genocide to continue uninterrupted, and to permit “Genocide Joe” and the U. S. to appear as “he” and “it” are “acting” to lessen the ethnic cleansing and genocide.
In a word, propaganda.
Any person who uses the word “slaughter” rather than ethnic cleansing and genocide for what is occurring in Palestine is “controlled opposition.”
No more; no less.
dennis hanna
Your first paragraph hits the nail on the head. Thanks for saving me the trouble of saying the same.
I suspect it’s also to enable the
ethnic cleansing“humanitarian evacuation” of survivors of the ongoing massacre by ship.“Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has acknowledged that there’s a risk of the US troops deployed for the pier mission coming under attack and said they would be able to shoot back.”
That’s all well and good, but do those same Rules of Engagement apply if the incoming fire is from the Israelis? Or are we simply setting ourselves up for another “USS Liberty Moment”?
And although I already know the answer, I have to wonder who is on the hook for the repairs to the pier- the contractor(s) who built the thing, or the US taxpayers?
The Navy assembled the thing, it’s a $405 million dollar piece of crap built called the INLS in Wisconsin in 2003 and in (very) occasional use since. Some links higher in the thread.
Spare crap to make some money off of.
The U.S.S. Liberty attack has been long gone down the memory hole.
A metaphor for Joey Biden. America is rudderless ship crewed by a ship full of fools.
Nope. Not fools in control. Not at all. They know. Everything. Something bigger is going on that will have huge consequences. Judging Freedom: https://www.bing.com/search?pglt=41&q=judging+freedom+col+douglas+macgregor+escalation+at+israels+border&cvid=b3dbf5b35d92412a8b8f84fa0b269c59&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBggAEEUYOzIGCAAQRRg7MgYIARBFGDsyBggCEEUYOzIGCAMQRRg7MgYIBBAAGEAyBggFEAAYQDIGCAYQABhAMgYIBxBFGEEyBggIEEUYPdIBCDY4MjBqMGoxqAIIsAIB&FORM=ANNTA1&PC=DCTS
The Joke of the Week…!
wow isn’t that a surprise. not.
Biden is shedding his cover of being helpless against Israel and entering the realm of a being a clown.
He gives food to the victims while giving bombs to the executioners. He builds a $350 million platform because Israel does not allow him to drive trucks into Gaza and the pier is demolished; not by Israel’s bombs or tanks but by the sea! By the sea for Pete’s sake. THAT is a clown.
Now some people might think that spending $320,000,000.00 for a pier that breaks up in 15 mph winds is a problem. Well, they would be wrong. Uncle Sam merely prints up another $320,000,000.00 to cover the repair costs! Viola!