The Pentagon is ‘proud’… and so is the Biden administration. But the US taxpayer?…

“Today we began delivery of aid from the temporary pier on to the beach of Gaza for further distribution to the people by our partners,” US Central Command announced Friday. “This unique logistics capability facilitates the delivery of lifesaving humanitarian aid enabling a shared service for the international community to use to serve the people of Gaza.” Below are some of the first overhead images since its completion. 

It’s “unique” we’re told… and only costs about $350 million. 

But critics have pointed out the grim irony and contradictions which abound in that the Biden administration has very publicly criticized the way that Israel’s military is waging war in Gaza (and especially the high civilian death toll) while simultaneously Washington is funding it, ultimately to the tune of billions.

So the US is funding the weapons used to execute the war and risky projects (it remains high risk in that US personnel could come under attack by Hamas) like of US Army-built pier for the sake of delivering humanitarian aid.

In short the US taxpayer is on the hook for both the bombs and humanitarian aid, even as all parties have seemed to essentially give up on finding a political solution or reaching a truce deal.

Reminder to American taxpayers: This floating pier cost you $350 million (and counting), while using existing roads for aid delivery remain the most practical solution. The question is…why? https://t.co/h0eOLL9eTO

— Daniel McAdams (@DanielLMcAdams) May 17, 2024

The Ron Paul Institute’s Daniel McAdams has pointed out: “Reminder to American taxpayers: This floating pier cost you $350 million (and counting), while using existing roads for aid delivery remain the most practical solution.”

“The question is…why?” he wrote.

The first batch of aid to reach Gaza by sea in weeks has started making its way through a US-built pier anchored off Gaza’s coast, the US Central Command said https://t.co/IgVwgNgw3r pic.twitter.com/FEnXVkYThG

— Reuters (@Reuters) May 17, 2024

As for US Progressives, they’ve decried that the Democratic administration is aiding in active war crimes. Biden is fast losing a key part of his base going into November where he faces Donald Trump. 

For example The Intercept’s Jeremy Scahill says, “The fact that the US is establishing a pier off the Gaza coast because the genocidal Israeli government, which the US funds, arms, politically bolsters & shields from international & US law, won’t allow aid into Gaza by land is a damning statement about the Biden administration.”

At the same time America’s own bridges, roads, border, energy infrastructure… continue to remain neglected. And again, this while we erect complicated piers and loading zones in foreign hot conflict zones.