Earlier this year, under the pressure of war-torn skies and a desperate plea for aid, President Joe Biden made a call that rippled through the ranks of government and beyond. He ordered the construction of a temporary pier to send humanitarian supplies into Gaza, a place where every moment feels like a last stand. Even as Biden’s pen met paper, a quiet wave of dissent rolled through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Staffers questioned the wisdom of the endeavor, fearing it might unravel the more grounded strategy of negotiating land crossings with Israel—a path historically proven to deliver relief with greater speed and less risk. This unease found its way into an inspector general’s report released Tuesday, painting a picture of bureaucratic discord amid a humanitarian crisis.
Biden and Harris CHOSE to put our troops in direct danger and waste millions of YOUR taxpayer dollars on the Gaza Pier stunt.
All just to try to appease the progressive Left and score a talking point for a State of the Union address. https://t.co/JTa4hJKNb6
— Rep. Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) August 28, 2024
In his State of the Union address, Biden unveiled the ambitious plan to the world: a military-run project named the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore system, or JLOTS. It promised a lifeline to the besieged, a beacon of hope on stormy waters. But hope, as the days turned into weeks, proved as elusive as a ghost in Gaza’s haunted streets. The $230 million effort, meant to span 20 days, found itself battered by relentless waves and encircled by the smoke of conflict. By July, aid organizations, exhausted and disillusioned, withdrew, leaving the mission half-finished, like a poem without its final stanza.
“Some USAID voices were lost in the clamor for immediate action,” the inspector general’s report quietly revealed, the words heavy with the weight of what might have been. “They worried that JLOTS would overshadow the push for land crossings—an approach grounded in the logic of geography and history.” But once Biden’s directive rang out, the agency had no choice but to press forward, navigating choppy waters both literal and political.
By the time the temporary pier was announced, Gaza was more than a war zone; it was a cry for help echoing across the desert. The United Nations had painted a bleak picture: nearly 2.3 million people in Gaza teetering on the brink of starvation. The pier was supposed to be a bold answer, aiming to feed 1.5 million souls for three months. Instead, it faltered, feeding only a fraction of that number for a fleeting month before nature and necessity forced its closure.
US staff warned that the Gaza aid pier would fail, but Biden reportedly ordered it built anyway
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
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) August 28, 2024
The endeavor faced calamities both foreseeable and sudden. Fierce winds whipped the pier into disrepair, while geopolitical crosswinds did the rest. The U.N. World Food Program (WFP) backed away after an Israeli military operation near the pier’s shadow made neutrality a distant dream. U.S. National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett defended the decision with the pragmatism of a weary soldier: “Despite all, the pier served its purpose at a critical moment.” The words hung in the air, part defense, part lamentation.
Yet, the pier’s troubled journey also highlighted broken promises. The United States had made commitments to the WFP to place the pier in Gaza’s north, where the need was greatest, and to secure a neutral guardian for its delicate operations. Instead, it anchored in central Gaza, a choice made under the looming specter of safety concerns, with Israeli forces eventually stepping into the void left by the absence of a willing third party.
Biden had disastrous $230M Gaza aid pier built despite warnings: watchdog https://t.co/SEjPjcHl3r pic.twitter.com/5Cpgpdbqzu
— New York Post (@nypost) August 28, 2024
Behind closed doors, USAID moved to calm internal storms, expanding its staff to juggle both the sea route and the land routes, trying to do right by a mission fraught with conflict. But in Gaza, as elsewhere, even the best-laid plans can become sandcastles before the tide—a truth as ancient as the land itself, and as stark as the current struggle for survival that unfolds within it.
Major Points
- President Joe Biden ordered the construction of a temporary pier, the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore system (JLOTS), to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, sparking concerns within the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) over its effectiveness compared to established land crossings.
- The $230 million project faced significant challenges, including rough seas and conflict, causing delays and ultimately delivering less aid than intended, only supporting a fraction of Gaza’s population for one month.
- An inspector general’s report revealed internal USAID skepticism, with some staff fearing the pier project would undermine more reliable methods of delivering aid via land.
- The pier’s placement in central Gaza, rather than the more needy northern areas as initially planned, further complicated efforts, especially after a nearby Israeli military operation deterred the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) from participating.
- Despite the setbacks, U.S. officials defended the pier’s construction, asserting it provided crucial, albeit limited, support during a critical moment in Gaza’s ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Susan Guglielmo – Reprinted with permission of Whatfinger News
