Israel Matzav

Obama administration decided to continue aid to Lebanese Armed Forces?

Lebanese newspaper an-Nahar reported on Saturday that the Obama administration has decided to continue providing military assistance to the Lebanese Armed Forces.

Diplomatic sources revealed that the American administration has decided to continue its military aid to the Lebanese army, reported the daily An Nahar Saturday.

They said that U.S. President Barak Obama had recently praised the Lebanese army and supported State Department efforts to stop the Israeli campaign calling for halting military aid to the army in light of the Adeisseh clash in southern Lebanon.

"Washington also demanded that the army command exercise restraint and not grant Israel an excuse to attack," the sources continued.

"The situation in the region is very sensitive because if Israel attacks Iran then the front in southern Lebanon will erupt," they stated.

Silly me. I thought it was Howard Berman (D-Cal) and Nita Lowey (D-NY) who had blocked aid to the LAF. So how can the Obama administration unblock it?

The answer is that they can't. But perhaps an-Nahar misinterpreted this.

UPDATE 3:41 PM

JPost adds:

The US State Department has reportedly been working to allay the concerns of members of Congress who put a hold on the funding.

So does that mean that Lowey and Berman have given in? Hmmm.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:45 PM