The U.S. ambassador to Lebanon announced on Wednesday that the United States would provide a $120 million worth of military aid to Lebanon. The announcement followed a meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
Included in the package are to be “six new MD 530G light attack helicopters, six new Scan Eagle unmanned aerial vehicles and leading-edge communication and night vision devices,” according to Ambassador Elizabeth Richard, who added that this equipment is aimed at helping the army “build on its steady strong capability to conduct border security and counterterrorism operations and importantly to defend the country and the people of Lebanon.”
Also present at the meeting was the commander of U.S. Central Command, General Joseph Votel, who said the military was proud to be in partnership with the Lebanese Armed Forces. The command oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East.
“They are professional, proficient and focused on the Lebanese people, and I speak from the helm of US Central Command: We are extremely proud of their performance and very glad to be associated with them,” Votel said, according to CNN.
The U.S., a State Department official said, has provided the country’s armed forces with $1.5 billion in security aid in the past decade, in order to help Lebanon secure its borders and combat extremism.
The package would be a boon for the Lebanese prime minister, who rescinded his resignation as prime minister after returning to his country from Saudi Arabia not long ago. Hariri’s resignation caused a political crisis and raised fears of a possible conflict between a Saudi-backed government faction and Iranian-backed Hezbollah.
The U.S. considers Hezbollah a terrorist organization, and officials point out that arms supplied to the Lebanese Armed Forces are to support the government’s authority.
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