Saudi Arabia promises record $3 billion in military aid to Lebanon

Saudi Arabia is flexing its muscles in Lebanon, where the army is overshadowed by the powerful militant group Hezbollah, a key ally of Saudi rival Iran. Saudi Arabia has agreed to pay for a Lebanese army purchase of $3 billion worth of French weapons systems and equipment, the largest aid package ever provided to the tiny Mediterranean country. The deal, which has been elicited mixed reactions by rival Lebanese factions, is being analyzed through the prism of Saudi interests in Lebanon and Syria. One Saudi goal is to blunt the political and military power of the Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite militant organizationHezbollah, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Iran, which is Saudi Arabia's chief regional rival. Hezbollah, not the Lebanese army, is the most powerful military force in the country. The Saudi leadership recently voiced frustration at what it says is the failure of the US and the West to provide sufficient support to Syrian rebel forces seeking Mr. Assad's ouster and has vowed to adopt a more assertive policy against the Assad regime.