Biden's $320M Gaza pier: Over budget and under constant threat, a 'purely political' misadventure
An Army vessel was beached on Saturday attempting to retrieve a piece of the pier
By Peter Aitken Fox News
Published May 25, 2024 3:11pm EDT
The temporary piers established at President Biden’s order have run way over budget and caused several issues since USAID commenced deliveries, leading some lawmakers to question the value of the operation.
"At the end of the day, it's unnecessarily putting our people in harm's way. It's costing a lot. It's pulling assets that should be used elsewhere, and I just don't think it's going to accomplish anything near what he's promised," Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital in an interview.
President Biden, during his State of the Union speech in March, pledged to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of the Gaza Strip to increase the delivery of humanitarian aid to the territory as millions remain displaced while Israel continues to hunt Hamas.
The Pentagon announced the completion of the piers – one that would remain several miles offshore while the other acted as a causeway onto the Gazan shore – were completed around May 9 but faced difficulty during deployment over the following week.
Waltz said the cost for the project totaled over $300 million, with some reports citing a figure as high as $320 million – which would be double what initial estimates indicated, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told Reuters, calling the operation a "dangerous effort with marginal benefit."
The image, provided by U.S. Central Command, shows U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), U.S. Navy sailors assigned to Amphibious Construction Battalion 1, and Israel Defense Forces placing the Trident Pier on the coast of the Gaza Strip on Thursday, May 16, 2024. (U.S. Central Command via AP)
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https://www.foxnews.com/world/bidens-320m-gaza-pier-over-budget-under-constant-threat-purely-political-misadventure
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