A senior Pentagon official says the Obama administration is "working closely" with members of the U.S. Congress to help restore military aid to Lebanon's army.U.S. Defense Undersecretary Michele Flournoy said Wednesday during a trip to Lebanon that the United States is committed to supporting the country's military.
In August, several U.S. lawmakers froze $100 million in military aid to Lebanon after expressing concerns the weapons could be turned on Israel and that Hezbollah may have influence over the Lebanese army.
But the Obama administration has made clear it wants the military aid to continue in the interest of America's national security and Mideast stability.
"We are working closely with members of the U.S. Congress to resolve the concerns they have over this assistance," Flournoy said in a statement after the meeting.
Washington has provided $720 million to Lebanon's poorly equipped army since 2006. It says the aid aims to strengthen the military at the expense of the Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah, which fought a 34-day with Israel four years ago.
But after last month's border clash, in which two Lebanese soldiers, a Lebanese journalist and a senior Israeli officer were killed, some U.S. politicians said the funding should be halted.
A day after they raised their objections, Iran's ambassador to Beirut said that his country was ready to "cooperate with the Lebanese army in any area that would help the military in performing its national role in defending Lebanon".
Israel said at the time it had complained to Washington and Paris about arming Lebanon's military because the weapons were being used against it. The U.S. State Department said it was not aware that any U.S. equipment had been used during the Aug. 3 clash.