(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made a shocking admission Tuesday during a congressional budget hearing, where he told Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., that the Pentagon is purposely putting U.S. troops’ lives in danger in the Israel-Palestine war.
Austin admitted this when Gaetz was asking about the implications of the U.S. agreeing to build a $320 million pier on the coast of Gaza to help deliver aid to Palestinian civilians. President Joe Biden recently ordered the military to construct the pier instead of pressuring Israel to open more land border crossings.
The construction entails at least 1,000 US troops operating just off the coast of Gaza, making them prime targets for Hamas. A staging area for the pier has already come under mortar fire, as noted by antiwar.com.
Expressing concern about this precarious situation, Gaetz asked Austin whether the 1,000 troops will fight back if they’re attacked.
BREAKING: Secretary Lloyd Austin ADMITS likelihood of shooting warfare between U.S. service members and Gaza forces soon 👇
GAETZ: “This is a very telling moment, Mr. Secretary, because you've said something that's quite possible that could happen. Shots from Gaza on our service… pic.twitter.com/HmS1bfqeWB
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) April 30, 2024
“They have the right to return fire to protect themselves,” Austin responded.
Gaetz then asked if he thinks an attack is likely, and the defense secretary said it’s “possible.”
“Don’t you think that’s boots on the ground? President Biden told the country we weren’t going to have boots on the ground in Gaza,” Gaetz continued.
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.
“You guys seem to be sort of saying that boots on a pier connected to the ground connected to servicemembers shooting into Gaza doesn’t count as boots on the ground,” Gaetz remarked.
“It does not,” Austin responded.
Gaetz suggested that the entire operation is illegal because it hasn’t been authorized by Congress.
“I think you’re going to find that Americans’ have a different perspective on that. And if we’re going to have people shooting into Gaza, we should probably have a vote on that pursuant to our War Powers Act,” he said.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
