The Untied States has given Lebanon 25 million dollars worth of weapons to fight Islamic extremists. Yahoo/AP

Artillery being delivered from the ship holding $25 million worth of weapons. Yahoo/AP

$25 million worth of weapons and ammunition have arrived in Lebanon from the United States, for use in the fight against Islamic militants. Yahoo/AP. 70 M198 howitzers along with over 26 million shells were among the weapons delivered. The American assistance comes after several incursions from the Syrian border from both the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Nusra Front and forces from the Islamic State. In August, fighters from both groups captured a couple dozen Lebanese soldiers, and still hold around 20. Lebanon is now the fifth largest recipient of American aid with over $100 million worth of weapons in the past year and $1 billion in the past 8 years. Saudi Arabia is also pledging to provide $3 billion worth of weapons, bought from the French, as well. Lebanon's military is seen as an unifying force and is made up of Christians, Druze and both Sunni and Shia Muslims. 

My Comment:

Lebanon has long been a country that has been surrounded by threats. They pulled themselves out of a long civil war, and several minor wars with Israel, only to be threatened by the utter chaos that is Syria right now. It is not surprising that they are looking for new weapons, and America is only too happy to provide. ISIS and the Al-Nusra front have been content to conduct small scale raids and attacks but have not had a major campaign in Lebanon. Given the success both groups are having in Syria and the relative weakness of both the Syrian government and the Free Syrian Army, it is possible that this will change. If and when that happens Lebanon needs to be prepared, and these weapons will go a long way to help them. 

Given how chaotic the region is, it is no surprise that there are tons of weapons flowing into the Middle East right now. America is a major player in the arms trade, and in many cases they are just giving these weapons away. That is of course a double edged sword. ISIS managed to capture huge amounts of tanks, humvees, artillery, guns and ammunition from the Iraqi army. This could happen again in Lebanon or any of the other states in the region, should ISIS, or any other Islamic extremist group, manage to have success in the region. 

Still, if Lebanon can use these weapons effectively none of that should happen. Lebanon's army is much better then Iraq's and the country is much less divided then Iraq's was and is. Overall, giving these weapons to Lebanon is probably a good thing, but I would much rather have them actually pay for these weapons then have them just get them for free. Still, as far as tax dollars go, it could be spent on worse things. Fighting Islamic extremism is a just cause, but if we have to do it, why do it for free?