U.S. Security Assistance to Lebanon

Casey L. Addis | Congressional Research Service | 2010-09-01

This report offers an examination of U.S. involvement in Lebanon during recent years and calls on U.S. Congress to address broad political questions about the purpose and potential limits of U.S. assistance to the country. "After the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, the United States refocused its policy toward building state institutions including the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the Internal Security Forces (ISF) to enable them to assert control over the entire territory of the country and fulfill the principals of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701," the report states. "To that end, the Bush Administration requested and Congress appropriated an expanded program of security assistance to the LAF and ISF. The Obama Administration has maintained this commitment, requesting for FY2011 more than $132 million for the LAF and ISF."