President Joe Biden has ordered the US military to definitively dismantle an offshore military pier designed to assist the US deliver aid to Gaza.
The pier, known as Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS), had been temporarily dismantled due to rough weather in early June.
Earlier in May, the pier had already been rendered inoperable by turbulent seas.
President Biden lamented the pier’s decommission.
"I've been disappointed that some of the things that I've put forward have not succeeded as well, like the port we attached from Cyprus – I was hopeful that would be more successful," Biden said.
Conservative lawmakers, who have criticized Biden’s overall Middle East humanitarian and military strategy, had warned of the futility of Biden’s offshore pier idea.
US Representative Mike Waltz (R-FL) called the pier’s earlier collapse a “kind of a metaphor for this administration's Middle East policy."
Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) underscored the pier’s inefficiency on the House floor earlier last month.
“The Biden administration’s pier in Gaza has been a debacle,” claimed Representative Gaetz. “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”
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
Meanwhile, military officials claimed the pier served to deliver historical aid levels.
Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, deputy commander for U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), claimed the pier helped deliver “the highest volume of humanitarian assistance that the U.S. military has ever delivered into the Middle East."
Over 19 million pounds of aid were reportedly delivered to Gaza in the 20 days the pier was operational, which would bring Gaetz’s calculations down to $16 per pound of aid.
