In the wake of some of the worst violence to hit Lebanon since 1990, the U.S. military and the Bush administration began lavishing attention onto their Lebanese allies today. 

The Bush administration asked Congress to speed up its approval of additional military spending for Lebanon’s Army. In addition, acting U.S. Central Command commander Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey arrived in Beirut on a Navy helicopter to meet with Lebanon’s Defense Minister, Elias Murr and Lt. Gen. Michel Suleiman, the commander of the Lebanese armed forces.

The U.S.S. Hue City, a cruiser, and the U.S.S. Winston S. Churchill, a destroyer, have been operating in the eastern Mediterranean as well. And Pentagon officials said the U.S. Navy is moving the U.S.S. Mount Whitney, an amphibious command ship, toward Lebanon, in part to get supplies to the U.S. embassy in Beirut.

Dempsey’s arrival was an unannounced but a clear signal from the U.S. that it was standing by its ally, Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, who has been locked in a power struggle with Hezbollah militants.  Since Monday, Lebanon has been relatively calm under a shaky truce.  Gen. Dempsey asked Suleiman what kind of weapons and ammunition his Army needs to keep the peace.

The administration already has spent roughly $1.3 billion in the past two years, including about $400 million in military aid, in support of Siniora’s government. And during previous crises, the military has sent Navy vessels to the Mediterranean in a sign of support for the government.

But it is unclear what impact Gen. Dempsey’s visit and the Navy’s activities can have on Lebanon, if any. After all, the U.S. has not been able to stop the outbreaks of violence that have plagued in Lebanon over the past two years.   And this week’s truce came about without any U.S. help.

So far, Wednesday’s events appeared to be largely symbolic, a reminder to the region that the U.S. intends to back its allies, as much as it can anyway.