State Department officials have affirmed support for the LAF as “the sole legitimate defense arm of the Government of Lebanon” and as a counter to reliance on Hezbollah, who has been designated by the US as a foreign terrorist organization for more than two decades.
In a briefing Friday, State Department Counterterrorism Coordinator Nathan Sales noted that the US had “worked over the years, over many years, to strengthen the institutions of the Lebanese state, such as the Lebanese Armed Forces, to ensure that there is no felt need in Lebanon to rely on any purported services that Lebanon might receive from Hezbollah.”
“That has been our policy and that remains our policy,” Sales said.
The State Department spokesperson reaffirmed said Saturday that “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 administration official told CNN Saturday, “We have no decision to announce at this time, nor do we comment on internal deliberations.”
“At this time, we continue to advance (Department of Defense) security cooperation activities with the Lebanese Armed Forces. DoD remains committed to bolstering the LAF’s capabilities, and reinforcing its standing as the sole legitimate defender of Lebanon,” Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich said in a statement to CNN Saturday.
An initial report from
Reuters that the security aid was being withheld came just days after Lebanon’s prime minister Saad Hariri announced he would
resign after weeks of nationwide protests. The massive demonstrations were sparked by proposed austerity measures amid the country’s economic crisis.
Despite concerns of economic collapse in Lebanon, a senior State Department official said that there would be no “bailout” for the nation until reforms were implemented.
“There will be no bailout for Lebanon,” the official told reporters on Wednesday.
“They should have done reform and they had plenty of time to do reform and they somehow couldn’t make it happen,” they said.
CNN