Questions That Need Answers
For example, is a temporary port really needed to provide humanitarian aid to the Palestinian civilian population? The United States, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Jordan are already providing aid via airdrops. There’s no reason why that can’t continue and even increase, if warranted.Furthermore, just how “temporary” would the port be? What are the criteria for putting it in? What are the criteria for removing it?
Those questions need answers.
Under the current circumstances, the reasoning for installing the port is compelling only in its potential to make things even worse in Gaza than they already are.
What makes the administration think that the same risk factors affecting Israeli aid won’t apply to U.S. aid?
American Boots on the Beach Born of Cynical Politics?
There is also the great possibility that the U.S. presence via the port could widen the war. After all, American boots may not be “on the ground” in Gaza, but they’ll be wading along the shoreline. That’s a distinction without a difference and puts American troops at unnecessary risk. Therefore, some questions about this new policy are certainly in order, even though few in the mainstream media seem to be in the mood to ask them.Perhaps the Biden administration’s port idea isn’t born of a desire to benefit the people in Gaza but is much more cynical than that.
Another Opportunity to Hit the United States
But the Biden administration may not be the only group with cynical ideas. Clearly, once the port is in place, U.S. troops will be in the theater of war. That makes the dynamics of war operations and the political implications more complex. All kinds of events become possible, most of them not good.Would this administration return fire against Iran? If such a situation developed, the outcomes could escalate faster than anyone imagined.
What About the Hostages?
Another question: Why wouldn’t the Biden administration make the release of American hostages held by Hamas a condition for aid to the Palestinians?In fact, why aren’t the American hostages at the forefront of the Biden administration’s policy toward Hamas? Why not tell Hamas that U.S. pressure on Israel for a ceasefire is contingent upon the release of the hostages?
No Ceasefire From Hamas
Could such a U.S. presence in Gaza hinder the Israel Defense Forces in its mission and send Hamas the message that the United States has got its back at the same time that the Biden administration is supporting Israel? Some version of that is likely.Will a US Presence Be the Catalyst for More Nations to Join the War?
The reality is that Hamas will never make any permanent peace with Israel. How can Israel agree to any deal when it knows Hamas wants to destroy it?It’s clear that Israel sees itself as waging a war for its very survival, and Hamas is happy to oblige. That is why, as a political group and a military force, Hamas must be destroyed. Its leaders, no matter where they may live, in luxury penthouses in Qatar or in London mansions, must be brought to justice.
The focus of the Biden administration should be on doing all it can to secure the release of American hostages. It should not be rewarding Hamas for its Oct. 7 attack or, for that matter, putting U.S. lives unnecessarily at risk for the Palestinian civilians who cheered when the attacks happened.
Nor should it engage in behavior that could make things much worse than they already are.