April 1, 2024 (EIRNS)—The Washington Post consulted with a number of retired military officers some of whom said that Biden’s plan for building a floating pier on a Gaza beach is fraught with danger that could blow up in Biden’s face politically if something bad happens. Paul Kennedy, a retired Marine Corps general who led major humanitarian operations after natural disasters in Nepal and the Philippines, called it a “worthy goal” for the United States to reduce civilian suffering in Gaza. But he questioned whether the U.S. military is the proper entity to be involved. “If a bomb went off in that location,” he said, “the American public will ask, ‘What the hell were they doing there in the first place?’”
Those who defended the plan said the risk is real, but manageable, and that the United States is showing leadership by looking for new ways to feed Palestinians trapped by the fighting, the Post said. Several, however, cited the deadly terrorist bombings in Beirut in 1983 and during the U.S. evacuation of Afghanistan in 2021 as examples of the immense difficulty protecting U.S. service members during extended stays in vulnerable conditions.
The most critical of those consulted was Jerry Hendrix, a retired naval officer and senior fellow at the Sagamore Institute, who asserted that no matter what security is put in place, the causeway will be “highly vulnerable.” He called the plan “stupid.”
