US RELEASES $105m OF WITHHELD AID TO BOLSTER LEBANON’S ARMED FORCES
▶ White House funding freeze was called ‘the dumbest thing we could do to weaken Hezbollah’
The Trump administration has told Congress it had released $105 million (Dh385.7m) in aid to the Lebanese military it had formerly withheld at Washington’s request.
No official explanation was given for the move, which some officials attributed privately to “bureaucratic measures”.
“The United States remains committed to strengthening the capacity of the Lebanese Armed Forces to secure Lebanon’s borders, defend its sovereignty and preserve its stability,” a senior US official said.
Another representative who confirmed the move to The
National said the armed forces was the only legitimate defence arm of the Lebanese government.
It was reported last month that the Trump administration was withholding the sum and had informed Congress of its decision.
On Monday, congressional staffers confirmed the release of the aid and said there had been no delay in deliveries.
Since 2005, Washington has provided $2.29bn in military assistance to Lebanon.
A US defence official also confirmed the continuity of the Train and Equip aid programme for the Lebanese forces.
“There is no change to Section 333 assistance at this time,” the Pentagon official told The National.
Hanin Ghaddar, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, attributed the release of the aid to pressure from Congress, the State Department and the Pentagon against what was seen as a White House push to freeze the aid.
Ms Ghaddar said there was also “a general realisation in Washington that this is the worst time to hold the aid”.
Chris Murphy, a US senator, visited Lebanon last week and sharply criticised the administration for the freeze, calling it “the dumbest thing we could do to weaken Hezbollah”.
Ms Ghaddar said: “Despite violations of the military intelligence, it has been generally doing a great job at protecting the protesters and challenging Hezbollah’s plans.”
Since mid-October, Lebanon has been shaken by anti-corruption protests which toppled the government of Saad Hariri and have met opposition from Hezbollah.
Firas Maksad, an adjunct professor at George Washington University, said the release of aid was a boost to the armed forces at a critical time.
“The military, with a good
but imperfect record of dealing with peaceful protesters, has been resisting significant pressure from Hezbollah to forcefully reopen major highways and stand aside as its supporters attack the demonstrators,” Mr Maksad told The
National.
“Despite its shortcomings and much room for improvement, the US aid to the Lebanese army remains key for maintaining some US leverage in Beirut and preventing near-total Iranian dominance.”
The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on the Lebanese army and security services “to continue to ensure the rights and safety of the protesters”.
Washington’s ambassador to Lebanon, Elizabeth Richard, is preparing to leave her post and the Trump administration has nominated career diplomat Dorothy Shea for the position.