ANALYSIS – Barely begun, behind schedule and recently under attack by Palestinian terrorists, Joe Biden's floating humanitarian aid pier in the war zone of Gaza is now estimated to end up costing over $320 million FOR A 90-DAY EFFORT.
Of course, this means the final price tag will likely be closer to $400 million, which is kind of creeping around half a billion dollars.
The $320 million official estimate is still a massive cost explosion. Initially, Team Biden claimed the pier would not involve any U.S. troops on the ground and would cost half as much. (RELATED: Trump Calls For Peace In Gaza)
Now we see the cost doubling, and the number of U.S. troops needed to build and operate the pier estimated to be about 1,000 soldiers and sailors, all supposedly at sea.
Biden announced the floating pier in March during his State of the Union address. This, as aid officials implored Israel to ease access for relief supplies into Gaza over land routes, which is the cheaper and more effective method. By opening a sea route, Biden says it will help avert a famine in northern Gaza.
Republican lawmakers, in particular, aren't happy. (RELATED: Congressman Present At Party With Human Trafficking Victim And Drugs, Sworn Statement Says)
The Free Beacon quoted Sen. Roger Wicker (Miss.), the top Republican on the Democratic-led Senate Armed Services Committee, as saying: “The cost has not just risen. It has exploded.”
The outlet added:
Wicker and some other lawmakers have questioned whether the Gaza pier is a worthwhile endeavor, particularly given the risk that U.S. military personnel could become targets of Hamas militants.
“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.”
Concerns about the threat to American troops getting caught up in the Israel-Hamas war were underscored on Thursday as news emerged of a mortar attack near the area where the pier will eventually touch ground.
According to multiple news reports, under the Pentagon plan, aid will be loaded on to commercial ships in Cyprus to sail to the floating platform now under construction off Gaza. Pallets will then be loaded on to trucks which will be loaded on to smaller ships that travel to a floating two-lane causeway.
The temporary 600-yard-long causeway will lead to shore.
U.S. officials say the pier will be operational by early May but there will be no U.S. boots on the ground in Gaza. The Pentagon has claimed that U.S. troops working on the pier would not set foot on land.
The causeway will be fully assembled at sea. That doesn't mean that they can't be targeted and hit, though – by missiles, fast attack boats or drones. But a British naval vessel in the Eastern Mediterranean will be a floating dormitory for the American soldiers and sailors.
They will live and sleep aboard RFA [Royal Fleet Auxiliary] Cardigan Bay. (RELATED: Will Iran Go Nuclear Under Biden?)
Once the system is operational, up to 150 trucks of aid could be delivered a day with two million meals, enough to feed almost all of the territory's 2.3 million population.
Aid coming off the pier will need to pass through Israeli checkpoints on land. This, despite the aid also being inspected by Israel in Cyprus before being shipped to Gaza. Israel wants to prevent any aid getting to Hamas terrorists, as has happened repeatedly before.
Meanwhile, reported ABC News, “Security plan for Gaza aid workers still unclear with military pier to open soon.” The U.N. wants its security forces to protect aid workers, one official says.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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