That will be on the top of the current funds of some 1.5 million dollars already earmarked for the Lebanese army, that is aimed to help enable its ability to control southern Lebanon, which the U.S. side believed to be dominated by Hezbollah at present, State Department spokesman Tom Casey said at a press briefing.

Casey stressed that the U.S. side intends "to make sure the government of Lebanon does have full sovereignty and control over the complete length of its territory."

The additional aid for the Lebanese military will be for "some very basic issues, such as providing spare parts and maintenance and other kinds of things for trucks and personnel carriers and other vehicles," he said, noting that "a lack of logistical capabilities" has been worrying the Lebanese army.

In January, Saad Hariri, son of the assassinated former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, met Bush administration officials in Washington on the issue of military aid.