US pier in Gaza 'most tangible symbol for American fecklessness'
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According to Andreas Kluth, the US pier in Gaza delivers little aid and proves the US cannot fix every problem.
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Humanitarian aid trucks loaded with aid cross the Trident Pier before arriving at the beach in the Gaza Strip on May 17, 2024. (AP)
Eight months after October 7, it is time to accept that a diminished United States is neither willing nor capable of resolving the situation in the Middle East, according to Andreas Kluth.
Kluth wrote in Bloomberg that while US troops and engineers attempted to build a pier that would eventually become a bridge, a storm damaged the pier and delayed those intentions, which he claims were already "doomed".
Within weeks, the pier was reconstructed. Still, he noted that it is not being used as intended as the World Food Program's Director Cindy McCain revealed that two WFP warehouses in Gaza were struck by rockets on Saturday, injuring a staff member. This day coincided with a massacre, which resulted in the killing of at least 274 Palestinians, committed by Israeli occupation forces to retrieve four captives who were held by the Palestinian Resistance in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
The announcement comes to add to the suffering of Gaza’s starving population as "Israel" continues to block much-needed aid to the Strip.
Since announcing his pier idea in March, Kluth noted that the US President has been unable to improve the situation during the past three months. Although he said Biden should be given credit for avoiding a regional war between the US and Iran, he has not used "the full power of the Oval Office" to constrain or direct the Israeli government nor has he used such power to pressure Hamas and "Israel" through their mediators to agree to a truce that would free the captives and prepare for the Gaza Strip's ultimate restoration.
According to Kluth, the pier is the most tangible image of "American fecklessness".
He stated that when he first heard the president's State of the Union address announcing the pier, he thought of other "heroic American feats of logistics," like the Berlin airlift of 1948-49. Although ambitious, he noted Biden's operation was not on the same scale.
The alleged intention was that massive supplies of food and medication are first transported to Cyprus and then to an offshore platform where they are reloaded into vessels bound for the pier where they will move around the Strip by truck under UN supervision.
In actuality, just a few dollops have landed in Gaza. During the limited period the dock was operational before the storm, roughly 27 trucks per day departed, with plans for 150, knowing that the Gaza Strip needed at least 600 per day to avoid famine.
Kluth added that the US, which he called a long-running super-power, believes it can or should fix every problem, warning that the pier could be a target for regional attacks against US troops, which may pull the US into deeper turmoil.
Rather than focus on "symbolic gestures", Kluth believes Biden and those to come after him should understand that Washington cannot fix every problem and must engage prudently, with "full commitment."
Aid resumes via 'temporary' US pier right after Nuseirat massacre
Aid deliveries to Gaza are being resumed from the temporary pier, according to the US military on Saturday, following storm damage and repairs in a nearby port.
CENTCOM said on social media platform X: "Today at approximately 10:30 am (Gaza time) US Central Command (USCENTCOM) began delivery of humanitarian assistance ashore in Gaza. Today, a total of approximately 492 metric tons (~1.1 million pounds) of much needed humanitarian assistance was delivered to the people of Gaza."
"No US military personnel went ashore in Gaza," it added.
Humanitarian Aid Flow Resumes in Gaza
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) June 8, 2024
Today at approximately 10:30 a.m. (Gaza time) U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) began delivery of humanitarian assistance ashore in Gaza. Today, a total of approximately 492 metric tons (~1.1 million pounds) of much needed humanitarian… pic.twitter.com/NBOzeoAEzL
CENTCOM also claimed that "including its equipment, personnel, and assets," the pier played no role in "Israel's" operation earlier to retrieve four captives in Gaza amid reports that it was actually used to facilitate the entry of forces through the seaside.
It did admit though that "an area south of the facility was used by the Israelis to safely return the hostages to Israel," adding that "any such claim to the contrary is false. The temporary pier on the coast of Gaza was put in place for one purpose only, to help move additional, urgently needed lifesaving assistance into Gaza."
