Biden’s Gaza Floating Port Plan Generating Concern Among Military Professionals

[Elderberry]

Legal Insurrection by  James Nault 3/11/2024

“I don’t know a single maritime professional who thinks this is a good idea given the location and conditions ashore, but orders are orders.”

During President Biden’s State of the Union address, the President stated that he was directing the military to set up a temporary pier in Gaza that would enable supply of humanitarian aid the the Palestinians. We had predicted that he would say that: Biden to Announce Plans to Build Port in Gaza for Humanitarian Aid Shipments:

    President Joe Biden will announce during his State of the Union address plans to build a port on Gaza’s coast to help with humanitarian aid.

    From the AP:

        The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the announcement, said the operation will not require that American troops be on the ground to build the pier that is intended to allow more shipments of food, medicine and other essential items.

    Apparently, the building has already started:

        Details: Aid will arrive at the temporary port via Cyprus, U.S. officials said in a briefing with reporters ahead of the State of the Union.

•   The U.S. military will establish a temporary pier in the sea off the Gaza coast with a causeway that will allow trucks to bring aid to shore. National Security Council chief of staff Curtis Ried will head up the effort from the U.S. side.

•   U.S. soldiers will take part in the construction, but from U.S. Navy vessels offshore. “The current plan doesn’t include any U.S. boots on the ground in Gaza,” a senior U.S. official said.

We were not impressed when the news of this plan were released:

And now, guru of all things military but especially sea-borne, Commander Salamander, has weighed in, and it’s not pretty:

So, a Pier for Hamas it is…you’re paying for it – you might as well get briefed on it:

    A lot of people spent the weekend scratching their heads over this;

        The U.S. military will build a temporary port on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast to receive humanitarian aid by sea, President Joe Biden said in his State of the Union speech on Thursday.

        Planning for the operation, initially based on the island of Cyprus, does not envision deployment of U.S. military personnel in Gaza.

        Biden’s announcement came as he seeks to cool anger among many in his Democratic Party over his support for Israel in its offensive in Gaza since Oct. 7, given the steep toll on civilians in the Palestinian enclave.

    Ships are already underway;

        The U.S. Army has dispatched a ship to send humanitarian aid to Gaza, Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Sunday, days after President Joe Biden vowed to build a temporary pier to supply the besieged enclave.

    The General Frank S. Besson left Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia “less than 36 hours after President Biden announced the U.S. would provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza by sea,” CENTCOM said in a statement.

It will take a few weeks to make the transit from Virginia to the eastern Mediterranean. The 37-year old Besson can’t even break 12-knots fully loaded.

…and yes my friends – the Army has its own navy.

More: https://legalinsurrection.com/2024/03/bidens-gaza-floating-port-plan-generating-concern-among-military-professionals/

[DefiantMassRINO]

Battle of Mogadishu (1993), Part II

[240B]

I still cannot figure out how this is legal in any way under all international laws and maritime rules.

There are dozens of commercial piers and ports in Israel. Biden could easily ship the goods to Israel and then deliver them to Gaza by truck. But he does not want to involve Israel. Biden intends to make private covert deliveries to Gaza without Israel knowing what he is actually giving the terrorists. That is the entire point of a U.S. controlled private port in Gaza.

Objectively, it sounds very much like Biden intends to give Hamas weapons, ammo, and other military support/supplies. And he is attempting to circumvent Israel to do it. Why else would he need his own new port, solely under his control, when there are already a ton of commercial ports in Israel?

[PeteS in CA]

Does anybody believe that Biden is not doing this, in part, to create the risk of a deadly incident between US military personnel and the IDF?

Does anybody believe US military personnel won't be targeted by Hamas?

Does anybody believe this "floating port" won't be used to supply weapons and weapons materials to Hamas?

Does anybody believe won't steal food and medicines delivered?

Does anybody believe this "floating port" won't be a permanent installation and used to supply weapons and weapons materials to Hamas or a similar Arab Pali terrorist group?

[DefiantMassRINO]

My concern is that the "Floating Port" is the first stepof mission creep towards greater involvement in the larger Gaza / MidEast situation.

What Iran, and ironically ISIS/Al Queda, want is to draw the United States into a strategic regional Holy War.

Beirut Marines Barracks (1982), Battle of Mogadishu (1993), and Khobar Tower bombing (1996) were the result of mission creep for intially non-combat missions.

Unless the US military is prepared to kill everyone and destroy everything in the MiddleEast, they should not have any footprint in Gaza.  Let the United Nations, the Arab league, or some other multi-national organization put boots on the ground.

America's enemies are using our humanity, empathy, and generosity against us.  They need Americans to see video of starving Gaza children on their televisions to lure America into another MiddleEast kill box (trap).

The United States needs to change its strategic focus away from the Middle East towards the Western Hemisphere.  America no longer needs MidEast oil.  American blood and treasure should not be expended to protect Europe's, India's, Asia's oil supplies.

The MiddleEast is where great powers hemorrhage blood and treasury towards eventual collapse.

[240B]

As I see it, two scenarios are paramount.

1. Israel already knows what Biden is attempting to do, and they see a way around it to use his plans to their advantage. Israel controls Gaza. Biden is building a port for Israel regardless of what the propaganda says. There is no place in Gaza which is controlled solely by Hamas. Biden has to deal with Israel regardless of what he thinks or where he builds it.

2. Israel is already prepping to blow it up before completion. This Biden admin idea that he can just whimsically build a terrorist port in Israel's back yard is insane. If Israel decides they do not want it, then it will never be completed.

Is Biden going to build a port in the Philippines to aid the Islamic terrorist group there, Abu Sayyaf? Almost every nation on Earth has an Islamic insurgency group. Why does only Israel have the honor of having a private port built just for Hamas? Is Biden going to build a port on every continent for every Islamic group? Or is Hamas somehow more special than all of the other Islamic terrorists worldwide?

[240B]

Israel can just blow it up.

Or better, Israel can simple seize it and nationalize it as soon as it is completed.
Paint the whole thing with the flag of Israel.