Report: U.S. Unblocks Military Aid to Lebanon
The Obama administration decided to resume its military assistance to Lebanon although by Thursday there was not yet any official confirmation about the decision, As Safir daily said.
The chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Howard Berman, suspended a $100 million assistance to the Lebanese army in August 2010 over concerns that Hizbullah may have influence over the country's army and American-supplied weapons could be used to threaten Israel.
But As Safir said Thursday that the Obama administration in consultation with the House of Representatives agreed to send weapons and military equipment to Lebanon.
The first batch of light and medium-sized weapons could reach Lebanon soon given that the decision is only waiting for bureaucratic procedures, it said.
The newspaper added that the U.S. will also provide Lebanon with heavy weaponry at a later stage.
But As Safir stressed that by the time the daily was sent for print, there was no official confirmation or denial about the decision.
Following the 2006 summer war between Israel and Hizbullah, the army deployed in southern Lebanon — Hizbullah's heartland — for the first time in decades, with the help of U.N. peacekeepers. Since then, the U.S. has stepped up its military assistance to the Lebanese army.
It has since 2006 provided over $720 million in military aid, including assault rifles, Humvee vehicles, missile and grenade launchers and night vision goggles, in addition to training.
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