Washington lifts hold on $105m aid to Lebanon

The Trump administration told Congress on Monday that it had lifted a hold last week on $105 million of military aid to Lebanon that budget officials had imposed without explanation.

In recent weeks, lawmakers and reporters had asked administration officials about the mysterious monthslong hold, which echoed the freeze of military aid to Ukraine over the summer, but got no answers. On Monday, a senior State Department official said the Lebanon aid was good to go.

Officials halted the funding to the Lebanese armed forces, which Congress, the Pentagon and the State Department had approved, at a critical time.

Lebanon has been shaken by the country’s largest street protests since its independence in 1943 and a change in leadership forced by the demonstrations.

Analysts said the holdup could give Iran and Russia an opening to exert greater influence over the Lebanese military, and perhaps even allow the Islamic State group and Al Qaida to gain greater footholds in the country.

Although administration officials notified Congress on Monday that they had reversed the decision on Lebanon, according to two congressional aides, it was still unclear why the aid had been frozen in the first place.

Fears of misuse

Some congressional officials have said foreign policy specialists sought to cut off the aid out of fear that the funding could end up helping Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shiite group. In some right-wing circles, concern has been growing over Hezbollah’s influence in the Lebanese government and possibly the military.

Both the State Department and Pentagon, however, have pushed to ensure that aid continues to flow to the Lebanese armed forces, arguing that the military serves as a significant counterweight to both Hezbollah and Sunni extremist elements.