Lebanon defense spending climbs

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Facing increased security threats, Lebanon's defense and security spending is forecast to increase by 22 percent by the end of 2009, European analysts predict.

The Sweden-based Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in a study released this week that Lebanon's increase in military spending for 2009 alone was slightly under the total amount of funds that the war-ravaged nation has spent on defense in the past decade.

"The bulk of the increase," said the research institute, sprung "in the aftermath of the July-August 2006 war."

The report came hot on the heels of renewed violence on the Israeli border with Lebanon, when both sides last week traded rocket attacks.

At least two rockets were fired into northern Israel from southern Lebanon last Friday, prompting Israel to respond within minutes, unleashing 14 missiles and fighter jets across the border.

No casualties were reported, but the attacks along the tense border -- a frequent flashpoint between Israel and Lebanese or Palestinian militant cells -- marked the first trade of fire since February.

Defense spending in Lebanon has reached 5.1 percent of the country's gross domestic product, ranking the country fifth globally -- along with Yemen -- in terms of military burden, the Swedish institute reported.

Citing Lebanon's Budget Proposal Report, SIPRI said "the Lebanese Army's budget allocation will increase by 20 percent … constituting 8.3 percent of total expenditures."

"This is very standard, serving the wait-and-see environment," retired Army Gen. Elias Hanna told a regional news network.

The military official clarified that the spending --including wages, salaries and weapons' maintenance -- was "not nearly enough to reform the Lebanese army."

While the country is said to be probing prospective suppliers of arms to increase its defense capabilities, the SIPRI report indicated that Lebanon's increased military spending was due to increased salaries and wages following a 66 percent increase in the country's minimum wage.

Hanna said the Lebanese army purchased "very little of its own weapons and ammunitions, receiving the bulk of its supplies through donations from abroad."

The United States, for example, has already pledged at least $800 million in military aid to Lebanon as part of its decision to boost military assistance to the country since the 2006 war.

To date, Lebanon has received $400 million in aid in the form of vehicles, artillery, light weapons, aerial drones and tanks.

In 2006, Israel launched a deadly 34-day assault on Lebanon after Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed five more in a cross-border raid.