The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that the pier the US military built off the coast of Gaza will be reattached to the shore on Wednesday and then permanently removed after a few days.
The idea is to clear aid that has piled up in Cyprus and on the offshore floating dock before ending the mission, which has not brought any relief to the starving Palestinians in Gaza.
Aid groups have criticized the pier as a public relations stunt to make it appear that the US was doing something to get more aid into Gaza while continuing to support the Israeli military’s genocidal war and starvation blockade. President Biden ordered the construction of the pier instead of pressuring Israel to open more land border crossings, which is by far the most efficient way to get aid into the Strip.
The Pentagon initially estimated the pier would cost $320 million to build and operate for 90 days but later revised the estimate to $230 million. The Pentagon also had to spend $22 million on repairs after the pier was damaged by heavy seas.
The pier was removed from the coast several times due to weather that it could not handle. It was designed to be safely operated in a maximum of 3-foot waves and winds less than approximately 15 miles per hour, and heavier conditions are common in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Aid delivered through the pier also couldn’t be delivered due to the security situation for aid groups. On June 9, the UN’s World Food Program halted operations in the area after the Israeli military struck its warehouses during the massive assault on Nuiserat that killed over 270 Palestinians and freed four Israeli hostages.
AP previously reported that the UN was investigating whether or not the US-built pier was used in the Nuiserat massacre. Video that surfaced online showed an Israeli military helicopter operating near the pier during the operation, and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said some of the Israeli troops who carried out the raid arrived in an aid truck.
It served its trojan horse purpose.
Well that was a colossal waste of US taxpayers money, but I guess they are good at something.
No pier and no 2000 lb bombs would be cheaper and just as effective
$320 million? But a penny to the military industrial complex. BUT, in my city, would've paved potholes for a couple of CENTURIES. But alas, the only way to fix our damned potholes to tax ourselves some more while all of the federal tax gets completely WASTED.
Our federal government is ,like that pier.
The Military knew the pier was NOT going to deliver aide to Palestinians. It was the STALL, STARVE, KILL more Palestinians, to continue helping Israel commit GENOCIDE. Biden should be IMPEACHED ASAP.
They touted the pier as costing $320m and being 'built by our military'- but the truth is those pier sections were built years ago by a civilian contractor and were sitting in a holding yard near Del Mar, CA. They are standard pier sections that have LONG been known to have structural issues, yet we use them anyway.
I do have a question about the article's attached photo, though. Why would there be a need for Military Police- with dogs, no less!- on the seaward end of a military pier that is in absolutely no danger of attack from either the surface warships or submarines of the dreaded Gaza Navy?
Someone's pocketing that money, as usual.
Theyre something like this, right?
https://youtu.be/6Nh_feflEx0?si=VwR1BRyQMjx_zHl1
John, I will bet a photographer convinced the solider to take the dog and stand with the ship in the background.
THAT SPEAKS VOLUMES OF THE ISRAELI/US ALLIANCE AND THE NETANYAHU AND BIDEN LEADERSHIP.
Biden is not the only demented, deranged leader, we can say that about Israel and the whole USA/NATO & EU leadership.
IF WE ONLY HAD one ORBAN or PUTIN in the Room.
Biden's Follies, your tax dollars at work.
Poor dog. Tried to flee to Canada but forgot they don't take draft resisters anymore.
That dog is more loyal to the USA than you.
I did my 3 years, how about you? But I must admit that you should know how a dog thinks since you are on the same intellect level as most breeds. Some breeds are much smarter.
Of course…! The pier that was designed for calm water such as lakes cannot perform on rough sea…!
Another Pentagon Fiasco…!
Who would have thought?
Wonder what the US will do once in terms of supplying logistical military aid to Israel once Hezbollah has destroyed all the airfields and ports in the upcoming war… That was the real purpose of the pier.
But apparently the US can't even do that right – and it wants a war with Hezbollah in support of Israel? I wonder if the Pentagon isn't trying to sabotage that by removing the pier. More likely, it's simple incompetence.