Report: US not opposed to appointment of army chief of staff

The appointment of a new army chief of staff has become the most likely choice to avoid vacuum in the army command after the expiry of the term of Army Commander General Joseph Aoun on December 10, a media report said.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea has not insisted on extending Aoun’s term although she has considered his departure to be a great loss, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Quoting informed sources, the daily said “the Americans will deal pragmatically with the army command, the same as they previously dealt with the vacancy in the central bank governor post.”

The sources also quoted Shea as saying that Washington prefers extension for the current commander or naming a new commander, although it considers the appointment of a chief of staff to be better than vacuum.