US to send $7.2 mln worth of military equipment

 

The US Department of Defense said it would begin shipping $7.2 million worth of light weapons, trucks and clothes to the Lebanese Armed Forces 30 days after the US Congress passed the request without objections, according to reports published in various Gulf newspapers on Friday.

 

The newspapers said that US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Eric Edelman said the equipment would enable the Lebanese military to create a special unit to combat terrorism, the dailies reported. The Department of Defense justified the request to the Bush administration by saying it counteracted Syrian and Iranian efforts to undermine stability in Lebanon through their support of Hizbullah, the papers added.