U.S. Army General Visits Lebanon, Stresses Support for Army as Sole Legitimate Force in Lebanon

U.S. Army Central Command (ARCENT) Commander Lieutenant General Vincent K. Brooks stressed on Tuesday the role of the army as Lebanon’s “sole legitimate defense force in the country,” announced the U.S. Embassy in a statement.

He reiterated the U.S. military’s ongoing support in “strengthening the professional capacity of the Lebanese Armed Forces to serve the Lebanese people as the sole legitimate defense force to secure Lebanon’s borders and defend the sovereignty and independence of the state.”

Brooks visited Lebanon on Tuesday where he met with Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji and other senior military officials.

In his meetings, Brooks emphasized the “strong and sustained military cooperation between the two countries, including the full range of military assistance, as well as U.S. support for Lebanon’s initiatives to implement its obligations under United Nations Security Council resolutions 1559 and 1701.”

He renewed the United States’ commitment to a stable, sovereign, and independent Lebanon.