A US State Department document has revealed that the Biden administration will divert $95 million in military aid allocated to Egypt to Lebanon.
According to Reuters, a document submitted by the State Department to Congress regarding the “planned transfer” described the Lebanese Armed Forces as a “key partner in upholding the November 27, 2024 agreement between Israel and Lebanon to cease hostilities and prevent Hezbollah from threatening Israel.”
According to the State Department document, “The funds will be made available to enhance professionalism in the Lebanese Armed Forces, strengthen border security, counter terrorism, and address security requirements affected by the transition of power in Syria.”
The document stated, “The United States remains Lebanon’s preferred security partner, and US support for the Lebanese Armed Forces directly assists in securing Lebanon and the broader Middle East region,” and could also “help ensure that the transition process in Syria is not disrupted by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group, which has previously played a key role in supporting Assad during the Syrian civil war.”
According to the document, “Egypt has been a vital partner in the Biden administration’s efforts to get more aid into Gaza and has helped mediate, so far unsuccessfully, efforts to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.”
Under US law, Congress has 15 days to object to the reallocation of military aid, but a congressional aide familiar with the process commented on Monday, saying he “expects lawmakers to welcome the administration’s transfer of funds to Lebanon.”
The aide told Reuters, on condition of anonymity, “It’s a way of saying, ‘This funding that Egypt didn’t really deserve or really need, let’s reprogram it and put it in a better place.”
