by AP – BEIRUT — The commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East has met with
top officials in Lebanon to discuss American military aid and other
efforts to contain the fallout from the civil war in neighboring Syria. Army Gen.
Joseph Votel, the head of U.S. Central Command, met with Lebanese
President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Defense Minister
Yaacoub Sarraf upon his arrival in Beirut on Monday. Votel did not make any public comments in the Lebanese capital. The
U.S. has been speeding up delivery of ammunition to help Lebanon’s
military combat jihadi groups near the border with Syria. Washington has provided more than $1 billion in military assistance to Lebanon since 2006.