“I think the pier is a disaster waiting to happen,” said Michael DiMino, a former career CIA military analyst and counterterrorism officer who is now a fellow at Defense Priorities, a Washington think tank.
“I don’t like to draw flippant comparisons to Mogadishu or Benghazi,” DiMino said in a recent call with reporters, referring to Somalia and Libya, where lax security led to American military and diplomatic deaths.
“I would just say there are a number of logistical and operational challenges here and I am very concerned about mission creep and what starts as a pier becomes U.S. Marines on the beach in Gaza.”
More on Middle East
Featuring Jennifer Kavanagh
October 8, 2026
Featuring Jennifer Kavanagh
September 29, 2026
Featuring Benjamin Friedman
September 25, 2026
Events on Israel-Hamas
