Lebanese Army Funding Gets International Boost
Mar. 7, 2014 - 03:45AM | By AWAD MUSTAFA
http://www.defensenews.com/article/20140307/DEFREG04/303070026/Lebanese-Army-Funding-Gets-International-Boost

BEIRUT — The International Support Group for Lebanon has pledged US $17.8
million for the Lebanese Army, which has been overstretched from the Syrian
conflict spillover and increase in terrorist activities.

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman told foreign ministers of 10 countries at
a conference in Paris this week that international support for the Lebanese
Army is vital for the country to implement a national defense strategy.

“I hope that the international decision to support the Army is realized on
the ground [because this would allow us to] implement the defense strategy
that I presented to the Dialogue Committee last year,” Suleiman said during
a press conference at the Élysée Palace in Paris.

Suleiman submitted a defense strategy last year suggesting the incorporation
of Hezbollah’s arms under Lebanese Army command.

The Lebanese Armed Forces’ Capabilities Development Plan (CDP) would ensure
it can fulfill its duties as security deteriorates in the region over the
next five years. The plan, which has an initial budget of $1.6 billion to
cover the 2013-17 period, is the first attempt by the Lebanese Armed Forces
to formulate a strategic vision, moving beyond the focus on immediate
requirements that have influenced foreign military assistance allocations in
the past.

The armed forces have identified four main goals that will shape the plan:
defending Lebanon from external aggression and securing its land and
maritime borders; supporting the Internal Security Forces, especially in the
fight against terrorism; implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701,
which helped end the 2006 war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group
Hezbollah; and supporting Lebanese civil defense in disaster/humanitarian
relief operations.

France contributed $10 million, Norway $4.8 million and Finland $3 million,
according to the Élysée Palace. The grants were transferred to a multi-donor
trust fund, managed by the World Bank.

Suleiman, during the meeting, also thanked Saudi Arabia for its $3 billion
grant to the Army, while hailing the Italian government for providing
equipment and training to Lebanese troops, according to the presidential
statement.

The Saudi grant, described by Suleiman as the largest ever given to the
country’s armed forces, represents the more proactive role Saudi Arabia is
playing in Middle Eastern politics, according to Riad Kahwaji, founder and
CEO of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis in Beirut and
Dubai.

Kahwaji said that with the Lebanese military receiving a grant that is
double its existing budget, the centralized government will have more power
and will be well-equipped to deal with the security threats. In addition,
the capability will present a counterbalance to Hezbollah, which is the main
anchor of military might in Lebanon.

“The Lebanese Army will have access to weaponry worth $3 billion from
France,” he said. “The Lebanese follow the French doctrines and are expected
to equip their special forces, naval capabilities and air support
capabilities.”

Lebanon has 12,000 special operations forces who have been “unevenly
equipped.”

“The special forces, I expect, will be the first to be armed with high-tech
equipment in addition to communications systems and short range air defense
systems,” he said.

However, Yezed Sayigh, a senior associate at the Carnegie Middle East Center
in Beirut, said the obscureness of the grant may pose a challenge if not
incorporated into the CDP.

“The unclarity of how the grant funds will be utilized could pose a
challenge for the CDP,” he said. “If the Saudis said that the grant would be
to support the CDP of the Lebanese Armed Forces that would provide a very
strong boost to the [armed forces] and help them accelerate their
development.”

Retired Lebanese Brig. Gen. Elias Farhat, an independent strategic analyst,
said that, despite the grant, the Lebanese Armed Forces are facing
challenges presented by Israeli pressures.

“What is unclear is the French readiness to cooperate fully especially when
it comes to equipping the Air Force and air defense,” Farhat said.

“In Lebanon, there are no fixed-wing aircraft and what we are in need of are
two or three squadrons to establish many objectives; furthermore, the [armed
forces have] no warning radar systems, and the 155 howitzer artillery guns
are of a reduced capability,” he said.

The Lebanese Navy is also in need of patrol boats with rocket launchers as
well as arming the Army’s Gazelle helicopters.

“Currently, the French are in a hard situation as Israeli and US pressure
increases to limit the capabilities provided,” Farhat said. â–

Email: amustafa@defensenews.com.