Posted on 04/29/2024 8:56:20 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) released the first photos of the pier under construction off the coast of Gaza which is intended to provide a means of getting aid to the war-torn region.
"Construction of the floating JLOTS pier in the Mediterranean is underway," they wrote Monday:
Pier-building begins
Construction of the floating JLOTS pier in the Mediterranean is underway.
The pier will support @USAID and humanitarian partners to receive and deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. @USTRANSCOM and @USEUCOM support the movement of of #humanitarianaid.
pic.twitter.com/tC9J12wz4Z— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 29, 2024
JLOTS stands for "Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore."
The pier was announced at Joe Biden's March State of the Union speech and was met with mixed reactions.
See:
Even Dems Protest Biden's SOTU in the Chamber, As He Caves With Move That May Endanger U.S.
Military Experts Warn of Extreme Dangers to American Troops Building Floating Pier off Gaza Coast
The progress is visible from space:
The progress can be seen from satellite images from the port where the Israel Defense Forces are constructing the port, with US Navy vessels nearby.
The Pentagon has said [the project] involves about 1,000 U.S. service members, mostly from the Army and Navy....
A satellite image from Sunday by Planet Labs PBC showed pieces of the floating pier in the Mediterranean Sea alongside the USNS Roy P. Benavidez.
However, according to Reuters, the cost of the project is now estimated to be $320 million, more than double the original price tag. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) blasted the expense and said the project puts our forces in danger:
'The cost has not just risen. It has exploded,' Senator Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Democratic-led Senate Armed Services Committee, told Reuters, when asked about the costs.
'How much will taxpayers be on the hook once - or if - the pier is finally constructed?' Wicker asked.
'For every day this mission continues, the price tag goes up and so does the level of risk for the 1,000 deployed troops within range of Hamas' rockets.'
'This dangerous effort with marginal benefit will now cost the American taxpayers at least $320 million to operate the pier for only 90 days.'
Wicker's fears were already realized on April 24, as RedState's Streiff reported:
Biden's 'Humanitarian Aid' Pier Off Gaza Gets 'Humanitarian' Mortar Barrage From Hamas
When complete, the pier is expected to eventually handle up to 150 aid trucks daily:
The pier will initially handle 90 trucks a day, but that number could go up to 150 trucks daily when it is fully operational. The United Nations said last week that the daily average number of trucks entering Gaza during April was 200 and that there had been a peak on Monday of 316.
A senior Biden administration official said last week that humanitarian aid coming off the pier will need to pass through Israeli checkpoints on land.
That is despite the aid having already been inspected by Israel in Cyprus before being shipped to Gaza. Israel wants to prevent any aid getting to Hamas fighters that boosts their war effort.
Israel Defense Forces posted their own video of construction on the mainland:
We are committed to increasing the amount of humanitarian aid transferred daily into Gaza. The IDF is working closely with our partners at @Israel_MOD, @cogatonline and @CENTCOM, we are preparing to receive a temporary floating pier and to organize the space for receiving humanitarian aid directly, in Gaza.
The area of the project covers around 67 acres which are allocated for the operation and the passage of large amounts of goods to the field.
The temporary floating pier, through which the humanitarian aid will be transferred, is being built by the U.S. and will be connected to the Gaza shore. pic.twitter.com/qt8aAWJXLI— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) April 27, 2024
The Department of Defense estimates that construction will be complete in early May.
watch this
this may be the biggest foreign policy mistake of the last 50 years
Nah. 1979 when we failed to back The Shah in Iran.
Has it sunk yet? Why not?
And then took out the one guy that was keeping the Iranians in check.
It will be destroyed and looted in no time. Just like the greenhouses.
Translation: 10 times
Can someone explain why the other muslim countries aren’t handling this??
Yes that was a particularly awful “mistake”
RE: Can someone explain why the other muslim countries aren’t handling this??
1) Most of the Muslim countries are Sunni and they hate the guts of the Shiite Power in the region — IRAN ( and the feeloing is mutual ). Since Hamas is being supported by their enemy, they could care less what happens to Gaza.
2) Whether it is Egypt or Jordan, the Palestinian Arabs havwe caused nothing but trouble, unrest and wars in the countries that would host them. They want NOTHING to do with these people.
Can you believe that when Condoleezza Rice was Sec of State, she actually was of the opinion that Iran was an ally of the United States and the Mullahs were our friends?
She literally blocked a plan formulated by a team of Iraqi and US military to keep Iran from getting a foothold in Iraq because she felt the Iranians were US allies.
There is no supply crisis in Gaza nor has there been one.
There has always been more aid flowing into Gaza than can be distributed because Hamas steals whatever it wants to care for itself and use control of food and other necessities to keep the civilians in Gaza in line. On the other hand, they want to prevent adequate supplies form being distributed to manufacture a "humanitarian" narrative for propaganda purposes
This pier only makes sense for one purpose - a launching point to evacuate the residents in Gaza to new refugee camps (probably in Europe and America) by sea without the need to have to deal with the political fallout of crossing Israeli or Egyptian borders
Camp of the Saints, here we come
Because the voters are morons.
Probably holding, if not smashing the record for the speed of the cost estimate doubling.
I wonder if they could have sunk an old aircraft carrier.
Everyone who works for the State Dept. is a moron.
‘The cost has not just risen. It has exploded,’
________________________________________________
The pier doesn’t look that complicated. How was the cost so underestimated? At least it wasn’t money wasted on our own border./sarcasm
I can’t help but think there are connected people in DC who are getting a slice of this..otherwise why is it happening! This isn’t our responsibility. Where is the worthless UN?
10% for The Big Guy!
I can’t help but think there are connected people in DC who are getting a slice of this..otherwise why is it happening! This isn’t our responsibility. Where is the worthless UN?
we just gave them 9 billion
let them build their own f’ing pier
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