(Ken Silva, Headline USA) About two weeks ago, the U.S.-built pier to Gaza was broken apart by strong winds and heavy seas just days after it became operational—the latest setback to a Biden administration boondoggle that faces criticism for failing to live up to its $320 million price tag.
The pier had distributed less than 7,000 tons of food before collapsing.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who’s been monitoring the situation from its beginning, did some number crunching Wednesday on the house floor.
“At a cost of $320 MILLION, we can only use it to deliver 7,000 metric tons of food. This means EACH POUND costs American taxpayers $20,730 dollars! Remember that the next time you think your grocery bills are too high under Joe Biden,” he said on Twitter this week.
The Biden administration’s pier in Gaza has been a debacle!
At a cost of $320 MILLION, we can only use it to deliver 7,000 metric tons of food. This means EACH POUND costs American taxpayers $20,730 dollars!
Remember that the next time you think your grocery bills are too… pic.twitter.com/6DRDCBOD0H
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) June 5, 2024
Gaetz may have misspoke when he said only 7,000 tons of food can be delivered over three months. Pentagon officials have claimed their goal is to get 1 million pounds of food and other supplies moving through the pier into Gaza every two days.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon is scrambling to get the pier back up and running as soon as possible.
Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, told reporters by phone Friday that the Defense Department has successfully reattached the temporary pier to the Gaza beach.
“We expect to resume delivery of humanitarian assistance from the sea in the coming days,” he said.
The Pentagon has also warned that the pier could lead to the U.S. military being directly involved in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin admitted as much during a congressional budget hearing last month.
At the hearing, Gaetz expressed concerns that the 1,000 US troops operating just off the coast of Gaza are prime targets for Hamas. A staging area for the pier has already come under mortar fire, as noted by antiwar.com.
Gaetz then asked if he thinks an attack is likely, and the defense secretary said it’s “possible.”
Austin insisted that there won’t be American boots in Gaza. But Gaetz said he didn’t see the difference of U.S. boots being on Gaza’s physical land and them being on a pier connected to Gaza.
The Pentagon still apparently doesn’t have a firm plan for protecting the pier.
When asked about the matter at the daily Pentagon briefing earlier this month, Air Force Gen. Pat Ryder said that U.S. Central Command has been working very closely with a number of entities, including USAID, the Israelis, and other partners in the region, on putting together a comprehensive security plan for this temporary pier and the aid distribution routes.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
