...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
has provided Leb's army, battling jihadists on the Syrian border, with one billion dollars to strengthen security, al-Mustaqbal
... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri...
movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri
Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's assassination. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too.
told news hounds in Jeddah on Wednesday.
King Abdullah "has informed me of his generous decision to provide the Lebanese army... with one billion dollars to strengthen its capabilities to preserve Leb's security," Hariri told news hounds in Jeddah.
Speaking from King Abdullah's palace in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah, Leb's Sunni community's most prominent political representative added that "we have received this aid."
"This aid is very important especially at this time when Leb is fighting terrorism," said Hariri at the overnight conference.
Lebanese troops have been clashing with turbans since Saturday in the country's northeastern border town of Arsal.
Sunni-dominated regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia is already financing a $3-billion package of French military equipment and arms for Leb's army.
Army chief General Jean Qahwaji on Tuesday urged La Belle France to speed up the promised weapons supplies to help his troops.
Abdullah has expressed his oil-rich state's support for Beirut against "terrorism" during a phone call with former President Michel Suleiman
...before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Leb Armed Forces. That was after the previous commander, the loathesome Emile Lahoud, took office as president in November of 1998. Likely the next president of Leb will be whoever's commander of the armed forces, too...
The king also "stressed his determination to speed up the implementation of support for the Lebanese army," according to Suleiman's office.
Suleiman finished his term in office in May, but consensus has yet to be reached on his successor.
The fighting in Arsal is the worst violence to hit the volatile border region since the 2011 outbreak of the armed uprising in Syria against
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Lord of the Baath...
Leb is hosting one million Syrian refugees, and despite an official policy of neutrality towards the conflict in its larger neighbor, it has regularly seen the fighting spill over the border.
The Arsal violence has left 16 soldiers dead and 85 maimed, while dozens of jihadists are said to have been killed, along with three civilians.