The United States would respond favorably to the military needs of the poorly equipped Lebanese Army in its fight against terrorism, Lebanese Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi has reportedly said.
The local newspaper Al-Mustaqbal, quoting sources following up on Kahwagi’s visit to Washington, reported Thursday the Army chief has been assured by American officials that the United States was prepared to support the military and supply it with weapons to combat terrorism.
The sources said the assurances came during meetings Kahwagi held at the U.S. State Department.
They said Kahwagi received similar backing from Arab officials who took part in a meeting in Washington Tuesday of military leaders from the anti-ISIS coalition.
An Army source had told The Daily Star that Lebanon was not concerned by the decisions made during the Washington meeting.
“We are attending as a country that receives military aid and training from the United States and because our Army is confronting terrorism on Lebanese territories,” the source had said.
Spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, Alistair Baskey, said the meetings were "part of ongoing efforts to build the coalition and integrate the capabilities of each country into the broader strategy," according to media reports.
U.S. President Barack Obama said the campaign was still in its early stages. "There will be days of progress and there are going to be some periods [of setbacks], but our coalition is united behind this long-term effort."
A U.S. military official told Reuters after the talks that there was an acknowledgement that ISIS was making some gains on the ground, despite the airstrikes. But there was also a sense that the coalition, working together, would ultimately prevail, the official said.
The Army source said Kahwagi, who has been in Washington since the weekend, had traveled to the country on an invitation from U.S. Army General Martin Dempsey.
“The aim of the visit is to discuss the pressing needs of the Lebanese Army and seek additional military assistance from the United States,” the source explained.
The Lebanese Army has already received weapons shipments from the United States over the past weeks.
Overstretched and underequipped, the Lebanese Army is confronting ISIS and the Nusra Front, which have thousands of fighters on Lebanon’s borders with Syria.
