US Destroyer Parks in Lebanon as ‘Security Reminder' Amid Israeli-Hezbollah Tensions
The US guided missile destroyer USS Ramage has docked at the Lebanese capital, becoming the first US warship to do so since 1984.
According to the Twitter account of the US Embassy in Beirut, the ship's arrival serves as “a symbol of the enduring partnership between the US and Lebanon to ensure security and stability in the eastern Mediterranean.”
Later, the Embassy called the docking a “goodwill visit” aimed at “showcasing” the “strong US-Lebanon relationship”.
US Ambassador to Lebanon Elizabeth Richard called the destroyer's visit a “security reminder,” meant to demonstrate that “the US Navy is not far away,” and will continue to patrol the area.
According to Richard, the US-Lebanon partnership was not limited to military cooperation, but economic aid as well, with the US “committed to help the Lebanese people through this period of economic hardship, and to supporting the Lebanese institutions that defend Lebanese sovereignty.”
Lebanon has been hit hard by several regional crisis, including the estimated 1.5 million plus Syrian refugees which the country has hosted in the wake of the Western-backed civil war in Syria, and the conflict between Hezbollah, a local political and militant movement, and Israel, a major US ally.
On 1 September, the Israeli military launched massed mortar, artillery and…
