For two weeks now, American media has given plenty of airtime and front-page space to US humanitarian aid initiatives in Gaza. The United States Air Force has started participating in aid airdrops on Gaza, while US President Joe Biden announced plans to build a temporary floating dock in order to increase the supply of food and other essential goods to the 2.3 million Palestinians under Israeli siege and bombardment.

These initiatives may sound like a noble effort to save Palestinian lives, but the reality is very different. This is because the American plan is not a serious attempt by a credible and disinterested state to relieve Palestinian suffering. Rather, it is just another diversionary ruse, which – with the help of the media – has been deployed to cover up what really is a diplomatic band-aid for an Israeli-made famine and to divert attention away from the Israeli genocide the US itself has enabled.

The American government regularly uses its military abroad for spectacular feats that often have three common characteristics: they do not achieve their main aim, they mainly respond to domestic American political dictates, and they offer theatrical displays of America’s impressive power.

Yet the power in action behind these mediagenic moves ultimately reflects Washington’s inability to conduct rigorous foreign policy that is anchored in global realities.

Indeed, the US could achieve its declared goals of saving Palestinian lives more quickly and at far less cost, if it forces Israel to stop its genocidal campaign in Gaza and allow normal levels of food and medical aid to flow into the........

© Al Jazeera