The Lebanese army received a new shipment of weapons from the United States on Feb. 8 as part of aid protocol. A high-ranking Lebanese military official told Al-Monitor that Washington is Lebanon's primary and most committed ally in its war on terrorism.
Since confrontations erupted between the Lebanese army and terrorist groups — such as the Islamic State (IS) and Jabhat al-Nusra — on the Lebanese-Syrian border, the United States has taken the initiative to support the Lebanese army with arms, ammunition and the exchange of information and expertise. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that this support was further reinforced following a meeting of army commanders in Washington on Oct. 13, 2014, in the context of the international coalition against IS.