Congress adopted last month a Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 3671) allowing the continuation of military aid to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). The toppling of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri's government last year had cast doubt on the issue of the continuation of aid, given U.S. lawmakers' concern that it would be channeled to Hezbollah, an organization the U.S. deems terrorist.

Months of debating the issue resulted in the drafting of the Hezbollah Anti-Terrorism Act (HATA), a law which was introduced by Rep. Howard Berman. Backed by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, the law stipulated that military hardware transfers would be halted, but that security training and exchange programs between Lebanon and the U.S. would continue. The lawmakers said that they were concerned that U.S. taxpayers money would reach the hands of Hezbollah. HATA was not ratified by the House or the Senate. Last month, Congress approved the continuation of aid to the LAF.

According to the this Act, the funds will be available "only to professionalize the LAF, to strengthen border security and to combat terrorism, including training and equipping the LAF to secure Lebanon's borders, interdicting arms shipments, preventing the use of Lebanon as a safe haven for terrorist groups, and to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701."

Observers in Washington increasingly argue that supporting the LAF is especially valuable with the recent shifts in power in neighboring countries. The Syrian uprising and the passing of funding for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon has made times equally challenging for Hezbollah as it struggles to maintain credibility among the Lebanese people. With the recent spat over terrorist operations in Lebanon, the numerous security violations, and the porous borders between Lebanon and Syria, the LAF has a unique opportunity to assert itself as the prime defense institution in Lebanon, but it will need both resources as well as political backing to do so. Aid from the U.S. contributes to capacity building, but the LAF's ability to act remains largely constrained by an unresolved debate on the role of the resistance versus in the army in national defense.