Biden Administration Reallocates Egyptian Aid to Fund Lebanese Armed Forces

Latest Developments

State Department Withholds $95 Million From Egypt: The outgoing Biden administration will withhold $95 million of its foreign military aid to Egypt and redirect it to Lebanon to provide additional funds for the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). The move was signaled in a January 6 letter to Congress from the State Department, which stated that the funds are being redirected to help the LAF “strengthen border security, combat terrorism and address security requirements affected by the shift in power in Syria.”
LAF Seen as Critical to Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire: The change reflects the prominent role given to the LAF under the U.S.-brokered Israel-Lebanon ceasefire agreement signed on November 27. The plan envisions the LAF assuming control of southern regions of Lebanon — where the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization had previously dominated — as the IDF gradually withdraws. The arrangement aims to give the LAF a monopoly on the use of force south of the Litani River, but Lebanon signaled that its military would need $400 million to equip its troops for the mission. In 2006, a UN peacekeeping force and the LAF were tasked with preventing Hezbollah from reconstituting in southern Lebanon under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, but both forces turned a blind eye to Hezbollah’s rearmament.
Egypt’s Funding Withheld Annually Due to Human Rights Concerns: Congress appropriates $1.3 billion in foreign military financing (FMF) to Egypt annually but, by law, is required to make a portion of that amount contingent on Cairo’s efforts to improve its human rights record. In 2023, the United States withheld $85 million for Egypt’s failure to meet conditions related to its treatment of prisoners, on top of having “reprogrammed or withheld” $655 million in FMF between fiscal years 2020 and 2022. On September 11, Secretary of State Antony Blinken requested that the law be waived, claiming controversially that Egypt was “making clear and consistent progress in releasing political prisoners, providing detainees with due process, and preventing the harassment and intimidation of American citizens.”

FDD Expert Response

“Egypt has a demonstrable, decades-long record of being a reliable, if imperfect, partner to the United States. Lebanon has the inverse record. The Biden administration’s shift in aid is misguided because it assumes that Lebanon and its army’s failure to act against Hezbollah — a U.S. priority in Lebanon — stems from a lack of capabilities rather than a lack of will.” — David Daoud, Senior Fellow

“It makes little sense to increase support for the Lebanese military absent any follow-through on Lebanon’s part to forcibly remove Hezbollah from areas south of the Litani River. If we actually saw the LAF take on Hezbollah, there might be value in this support, but right now, we are throwing away taxpayer money to a Hezbollah enabler. Egypt should be pressured to do much more to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas, but moving money from a Hamas enabler to a Hezbollah enabler makes no sense.” — Richard Goldberg, Senior Advisor

“The U.S. decision to reallocate $95 million in military aid from Egypt to Lebanon reflects shifting priorities and mounting congressional pressure over Cairo’s human rights record. Withholding aid from Egypt to put them on short notice is welcome, but redirecting funds to an ineffective actor diminishes the impact.” — Mariam Wahba, Research Analyst