US Moves to Establish Damascus Base Amid HTS–“Israel” Normalization Efforts

By Staff, Agencies

Reports indicate that the United States is preparing to establish a military presence at an airbase in Damascus as part of efforts to oversee a normalization pact between the Western-backed Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham [HTS] administration and the apartheid “Israeli” entity.

Multiple media outlets, citing informed sources, confirmed Thursday that Washington intends to use the facility to monitor progress on a potential Syria-“Israel” agreement being mediated by the Trump administration.

A US official, while declining to specify details, said Washington was “constantly evaluating our necessary posture in Syria” under the pretext of combating the Wahhabi Daesh [Arabic acronym or “ISIS” / “ISIL”]. “We do not comment on locations or possible locations of where forces operate,” the official stated. However, reports suggest the base is strategically positioned near southern Syria, an area expected to serve as a demilitarized zone under a proposed non-aggression pact between Syria and the apartheid “Israeli” entity.

The US already maintains roughly 2,000 troops across several bases in northeastern Syria, despite earlier pledges to reduce its military footprint. The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights [SOHR] recently reported that a US cargo plane carrying troops and military supplies landed at Kharab Al-Jir airbase in Hasakah’s Rmelan countryside.

President Trump has repeatedly acknowledged that American forces remain in Syria primarily for control over its oil fields. He is reportedly set to meet on Monday with HTS leader Abu Mohammed Al-Jolani — once affiliated with Al-Qaeda and Daesh — at the White House, a move that has drawn widespread criticism.

HTS forces, long accused of sectarian violence and persecution, continue to dominate parts of Syria. Rights groups have documented nearly 10,000 deaths under HTS rule, including massacres targeting Alawite and Druze communities in Suweyda earlier this year. Despite this record, Jolani and his movement have enjoyed consistent Western and Arab support, with Western outlets like The Telegraph recently describing HTS as “diversity-friendly militants.”

Following the collapse of the Assad government in December, Washington and its allies began framing Jolani as a stabilizing figure capable of steering Syria toward normalization with the “Israeli” entity. During a regional tour, Trump announced plans to lift all sanctions against the HTS-led regime in exchange for formal recognition of the entity.

Under the terms of the proposed deal, Jolani has reportedly pledged to normalize ties, exchange ambassadors by 2026, and formally recognize “Israel’s” sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights — effectively cementing a new political order in post-Assad Syria under Western oversight.