On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby acknowledged that “there are risks” to airdropping aid into Gaza, but “we’ll see what we have to do to expand those going forward. But I do expect you will see additional airdrops from U.S. aircraft in coming days.”
After Kirby stated that there will be more airdrops, host Jake Tapper said, “This Saturday marked the first U.S. airdrops into Gaza. This one was in coordination with the country of Jordan, but one United Nations top official says, ‘[A]irdrops are good photo opportunities but a lousy way to deliver aid.’ A similar sentiment was shared by the World Food Programme Executive Director Cindy McCain on ‘The Lead’ in January, when I asked her about airdrops,”
Tapper then played video of McCain saying, “We’re talking about a very condensed population, to drop aid in could be harmful to the people on the ground. WFP’s been doing this for 60 years. We know what we’re doing, and we know what works. And so, right now, for us and for what we do, trucks are the only way to get help in there right now.”
Tapper then asked, “Are these airdrops a last resort?”
Kirby responded, “They are certainly an indication of how desperate things are that we are now going to have to resort to airdrops. It’s not by any means — and I agree with all of those comments, they’re not the ideal way of getting aid into people that are in need. Those trucks, you just can’t replicate the size, the scale, the scope, and the speed with which you can get things on the ground. But unfortunately, Jake, the numbers of trucks going in just haven’t been enough. There hasn’t been enough and they haven’t been getting in fast enough. And so, we’re trying to alleviate an urgent need. These airdrops are meant to supplement other ways, predominantly trucks, getting in. But we need the Israelis to open up additional border crossings, not just Kerem Shalom, but others, to assist in that ground delivery. So, again, we agree, trucks are the best way to do it. It’s not the only way to do it. And yes, there are risks when you do airdrops, which is why this first one was done so carefully. Now, we’ll see what we have to do to expand those going forward. But I do expect you will see additional airdrops from U.S. aircraft in coming days.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.