US military aid to Lebanon continues amid protests
The Pentagon is not cutting off military aid to Lebanon amid countrywide protests.
The Defense Department will continue sending military aid to Lebanon, a Pentagon spokesman told Al-Monitor, as nationwide demonstrations sparked by a proposed tax on WhatsApp calls continue. The United States hopes the demonstrations will force major economic reforms in the sectarian-ruled country.
US-backed Lebanese Armed Forces, or LAF, received nearly $105 million in Pentagon military aid over the past year, providing vehicles, ammunition and spare parts to service armed light-attack helicopters first sent to Beirut two years ago, according to congressional documents analyzed by the Security Assistance Monitor.
