We're going to help it a lot."Aoun, the first Lebanese president invited to Washington since 2009, asked Trump for political support and continued backing for the Lebanese army, which has begun deploying in southern areas under a US-backed framework agreement with Israel."We need to support the LAF," Aoun said, referring to the Lebanese Armed Forces Hezbollah has rejected the government's direct talks with Israel as well as efforts by the state to disarm it.The talks highlighted Aoun's delicate balancing act — seeking Trump's help to secure an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon while simultaneously facing pressure from the US and Israel to disarm Hezbollah, which remains a formidable fighting force despite recent setbacks.The Lebanese president, a former army commander, said the military was "the backbone of security and stability" and the country's most trusted institution.In a statement after the talks, the Lebanese presidency said Aoun stressed to Trump the "urgent need for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory," calling it "an essential step to consolidate stability and enable the Lebanese state to extend its full sovereignty exclusively through its own forces."Following his meeting with Aoun, Trump said he would direct his administration to allow all US airline carriers to fly directly to Lebanon— a historic policy shift more than 40 years in the making