As we’ve reported, Biden’s disastrous $230 million Gaza humanitarian aid pier has been an abject failure —as we predicted it would be—and has had only 10 days of successful operation. Very little, if any, aid has been delivered to the citizens of the war-torn region, with most of what did make it onto shore being quickly stolen by Hamas.
Almost as soon as the boondoggle was built, it had to be taken out of service and towed away for repairs after it suffered damage from heavy seas (which weren’t all that heavy). But now the news gets even worse for Biden’s folly as officials say that the pier—originally designed to be in operation at least through September—may be permanently shuttered as soon as next month.
Even the administration cheerleaders over at the New York Times had to admit the thing’s a disaster:
The $230 million temporary pier that the U.S. military built on short notice to rush humanitarian aid to Gaza has largely failed in its mission, aid organizations say, and will probably end operations weeks earlier than originally expected.
In the month since it was attached to the shoreline, the pier has been in service only about 10 days. The rest of the time, it was being repaired after rough seas broke it apart, detached to avoid further damage or paused because of security concerns.
But now the news gets worse — it’s probably going to be shuttered for good by July:
The Biden administration initially predicted that it would be September before surging seas would make the pier inoperable. But military officials are now warning aid organizations that the project could be dismantled as early as next month
Want some answers on what the current status is? Don’t ask White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby because he has no clue:
The hastily built pier was designed to withstand level three sea state conditions—but the Mediterranean routinely experiences level four. Oops.
“Supplies from the pier aren’t flowing to Palestinians, and never really have,” Stephen Semler, a national security expert at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, wrote in an essay last week. “The reality is that the [pier] is not working, at least not for Palestinians.”
This idea was hastily conceived, hastily designed, and now it’s looking like it's hastily making its way into the “Engineering Disasters” guidebook. It’s an embarrassment for Biden, for our military, and for America.