Senior Pentagon Official Visits Lebano

January 25, 2013

Media Notice
For Immediate Release

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East Policy Dr. Matthew Spence visited Lebanon today and met with President Michel Sleiman, Lebanese Armed Forces Commander General Jean Kahwagi, United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly, United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon Commander Major General Paolo Serra, and other senior Lebanese military officials.    

In his meetings, Dr. Spence discussed the political and security situation in Lebanon and other regional issues.  He further emphasized the strong and sustained military cooperation between the two countries as well as U.S. support for Lebanon's initiatives to implement its obligations under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701. 

Dr. Spence renewed the United States' commitment to a stable, sovereign and independent Lebanon.  He underscored the Department of Defense's continuing joint effort to strengthen the capacity of the Lebanese Armed Forces, recognizing its importance, as Lebanon's sole legitimate defense force, in securing Lebanon's borders and defending the sovereignty and independence of the state.