U.S. Army Sergeant Quandarius Davon Stanley died earlier this month from injuries sustained while building a pier in Gaza last spring. Rest in peace, soldier.
He died because of a futile act of American arrogance. Disturbed by reports of “famine” in Gaza – the UN never said there was such a famine and admitted it never existed – the Biden administration plans to build a floating pier in the Mediterranean Sea in the Gaza Strip authorized the US military to do so. Fee Depending on which Pentagon report you read, that’s either $320 million or $230 million of U.S. taxpayer money.
The United States was going to lord it over and do what the administration said Israel couldn’t do. However, the pier was flooded and the ship was towed to the Israeli port of Ashdod where it was repaired at a cost of $20 million. it was Canceled in July.
Fast forward to October, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin called on Israel to increase food aid to Gaza and accused Israel of continued illegal activity in the northern region. If Israel fails to meet the U.S. conditions, they blackmailedU.S. military aid may be delayed or canceled. Israel had one month to comply. The Department of State has appointed the following officials: audit aid provision by Israel;.
After the ultimatum, Blinken visited Israel and demanded that Israel:useThe killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar by “ending the war.” As if Israel didn’t want it.
I wrote at that time“The ‘dire humanitarian situation’ in northern Gaza is due to Hamas stealing aid supplies.” sell at a huge profit (Please watch the video here or see @Imshin on X). Is[the US]proposing that Israel return to northern Gaza and perform police functions against Hamas to protect its cargo? ”
Whether it was or not, Israel did indeed return to northern Gaza in late October, where Hamas reestablished itself. Jabariya refugee campfired rockets at Israel and again hid behind Palestinian civilians. hundreds of Gazans Head to the south safe zoneHamas shot at them. According to the IDF, hundreds of Hamas and PIJ operatives killed or arrested The operation aims to ensure that Hamas a) cannot fire rockets into Israel from Gaza, and b) cannot control, steal, or sell humanitarian aid.
In other words, in the midst of a larger war, the IDF returned to supposedly civilian locations to root out terrorists who were causing shortages of food and medical supplies.
According to some, not enough. Headlines now scream that Israel is not meeting the standards imposed by the US and “time is up”.
Some statistics. According to COGATIsrael’s Ministry of Aid Coordination said 125 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza on November 12 — the “deadline”. “98 went through Kerem Shalom and 27 went through Erez Crossing. 27 trucks arrived in Gaza with food, shelter equipment and medical supplies, including one loaded with influenza vaccines for the coming winter. However, on November 11, COGAT said: “Only 26 trucks were collected by international organizations from the Gaza side of Kerem Shalom. Approximately 900 truckloads of aid are awaiting collection. click here Let’s see what it’s like. ”
Yes, please click. Aid agencies such as UNRWA, the World Food Programme, the World Central Kitchen and the ICRC are either a) choosing not to provide aid to make Israel look bad, or b) deciding they are unable to help. It’s either. Attack in the middle of the battle zone. The second idea is kinder and perhaps partially true. When terrorists are implanted among civilians, someone has to root them out and force them to surrender before the people can eat safely.
What does this have to do with Sergeant? Stanley’s death?
a Report from the Government Board of Audit (GAO) found that the U.S. Army’s watercraft that conducted pier missions were poorly maintained and had low readiness due to “aging vessels, inadequate supplies, and obsolete parts.” Boondogle, who is 4 months old, has operating life Over four months and 20 days of action, we delivered an estimated £19.4 million in aid. For comparison, 25,155 tons of food aid entered Gaza in october.
The Biden administration arrogantly believed that the pier would avoid many of the border-crossing problems authorities are having—there would be no Hamas navy to stop them, and the coastline would be protected by Hamas. It hasn’t been. And they believed that by doing it themselves, they could demonstrate Israel. It should have worked. Maybe it worked. But that wasn’t the case.
In other words, Israel has done, and continues to do, more than we could, despite delivery delays and an ongoing battle against entrenched terrorist forces.
After all this posturing, teasing, and threats, does it matter that the Biden administration decided not to sanction Israel under the terms of the October 13 letter?
yes.
Because we sent Sgt. Stanley and his friends are on a fool’s mission. It shouldn’t have happened to him.
Shoshana Bryan is senior director of the Jewish Policy Center and editor of the quarterly magazine inFocus.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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