Biden Administration Knew In March That Gaza Temporary Dock Would Cost Taxpayers US$160 Million, But Refused To Disclose. Now, Cost Is US$320 Million For Dock Whose Lifespan May Be 90 Days
Biden-Harris Administration Knew In March 2024 That Gaza Temporary Dock Would Cost United States Taxpayers US$160 Million, But Refused To Disclose. Now, Cost Is US$320 Million For Dock Whose Lifespan May Be Ninety Days.
United States Taxpayers Required To Borrow US$320 Million When Government Of The State Of Israel Is Responsible For Constricting Land Route Deliveries Of Products Into Gaza From Egypt And From The State Of Israel.
Taxpayers In The State Of Israel Should Be Paying For The Temporary Dock Rather Than Taxpayers In The United States.
Rather Than Hold Accountable The Government Of The State Of Israel, Biden-Harris Administration First Instinct Is To Dig Into The Pockets Of United States Taxpayers.
Roger Wicker (R- Mississippi), United States Senate: “The cost has not just risen. It has exploded. This dangerous effort with marginal benefit will now cost the American taxpayers at least $320 million to operate the pier for only 90 days.”
QUESTION SUBMITTED- 8 March 2024
What is the U.S. Dollar cost for the JLOTS which the Biden-Harris Administration will construct on the shore of Gaza? From media reporting: "President Joe Biden plans to announce a new mission to deliver aid to Gaza using sealift and a temporary pier, senior advisors told multiple media outlets Thursday. The description of the plan matches Joint Logistics Over The Shore (JLOTS), a capability of U.S. Transportation Command. JLOTS involves using floating bridge sections to build a working cargo pier (or Trident Pier) from an unimproved beachhead. It draws on the capabilities of civilian-crewed Military Sealift Command, the Navy's beach master units, the Seabees and the assault craft community. The U.S. Army typically handles the shoreside arrangements. It is a complex, rehearsed ballet involving multiple units in coordination, and the U.S. military practices it regularly in drills at home and abroad. A senior defense official told ABC that the pier will allow hundreds of truckloads of aid to be delivered to Gaza every day, helping alleviate starvation. The plan will take several weeks to prepare and carry out, the official said. Uniquely, no American troops will need to be on the ground, the official said, though JLOTS typically involves some amount of shore preparation by Seabee units."
United States Department of Defense
Washington DC
8 March 2024
“Attributable to a Defense Spokesman: In coordination with the U.S. Interagency and international partners, DoD is actively reviewing options for a maritime corridor for humanitarian assistance into Gaza, including commercial and contracted options. We do not have more to announce at this time, but we will provide updates when we have more information to provide. Very respectfully, OSD/PA Duty Officer”
QUESTION SUBMITTED- 10 March 2024
Now that the Gaza dock process has been publicly confirmed, may I have the projected costs for the deployment of the approximately 1,000 troops, vessels, dock structure, and dock construction? From media reporting: "Over the next 60 days, roughly 1,000 troops will deploy to the Mediterranean Sea to build a floating platform where cargo ships can offload aid onto smaller military vessels, which will transfer them to a causeway attached to the beach, where trucks can pick it up and distribute it within Gaza, Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters."
United States Department of Defense
Washington DC
10 March 2024
“We don’t have anything beyond Maj Gen Ryder’s statements Friday to provide at this time but will have more fidelity on costs associated with the effort in coming weeks. Thanks. V/R, Duty Officer”
QUESTION SUBMITTED- 10 March 2024
Now that the Gaza dock process has been publicly confirmed, may I have the projected costs for the deployment of the approximately 1,000 troops, vessels, dock structure, and dock construction? I reasonably believe Antony Blinken, United States Secretary of State would not authorize/support such an effort without first requesting and receiving a projected cost to United States taxpayers. From media reporting: "Over the next 60 days, roughly 1,000 troops will deploy to the Mediterranean Sea to build a floating platform where cargo ships can offload aid onto smaller military vessels, which will transfer them to a causeway attached to the beach, where trucks can pick it up and distribute it within Gaza, Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters."
United States Department of Defense
Washington DC
10 March 2024
“Hello, we refer you to DoD.”
QUESTION SUBMITTED- 10 March 2024
Now that the Gaza dock process has been publicly confirmed, may I have the projected costs for the deployment of the approximately 1,000 troops, vessels, dock structure, and dock construction? I reasonably believe The White House National Security Council would not authorize such an effort without first requesting and receiving a projected cost to United States taxpayers. From media reporting: "Over the next 60 days, roughly 1,000 troops will deploy to the Mediterranean Sea to build a floating platform where cargo ships can offload aid onto smaller military vessels, which will transfer them to a causeway attached to the beach, where trucks can pick it up and distribute it within Gaza, Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters."
The White House
Washington DC
12 March 2024
“… refer you to CENTCOM [United States Central Command] for more that they can share. On background, we are working with our close partners and allies in Europe, the Middle East, and beyond to build a coalition of countries that will contribute capabilities and funding for this initiative.”
Reuters
London, United Kingdom
29 April 2024
Exclusive: US military's pier in Gaza to cost $320 million
By Phil Stewart and Daphne Psaledakis
WASHINGTON, April 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. military's cost estimate to build a pier off Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid has risen to $320 million, a U.S. defense official and a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The figure, which has not been previously reported, illustrates the massive scale of a construction effort that the Pentagon has said involves about 1,000 U.S. service members, mostly from the Army and Navy. Still, the cost has roughly doubled from initial estimates earlier this year, according to a person familiar with the matter.
"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. "This dangerous effort with marginal benefit will now cost the American taxpayers at least $320 million to operate the pier for only 90 days."
Democratic President Joe Biden announced the pier in March as aid officials implored Israel to ease access for relief supplies into Gaza over land routes. By opening a second route for aid, this one by sea, Biden administration officials hope to avert famine in northern Gaza.
Israel's military campaign against Hamas, in response to Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7, has devastated the tiny Gaza Strip and plunged its 2.3 million people into a humanitarian catastrophe.
Still, Wicker and some other lawmakers have questioned whether the 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. No U.S. forces were present, however, and they were miles off shore -- beyond mortar range. Biden has ordered U.S. forces to not step foot on the Gaza shore.
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. The prospect of checkpoints raises questions about possible delays even after aid reaches shore.
The United Nations has long complained of obstacles to getting aid in and distributing it throughout Gaza. The United Nations has appealed for $2.5 billion to try and meet the most urgent needs of the people living in the Gaza Strip between April and December.
