The United States is preparing to establish a military presence at an airbase in Damascus, the capital of Syria. According to six reliable sources cited by the British news agency Reuters, this step is part of implementing a U.S.-led security agreement between Israel and Syria.
If this plan is implemented, it will be a major indication of strategic restructuring between the United States and Syria after the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad, who was closely aligned with Iran.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump will hold a meeting in Washington with Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara. This will be the first official visit to Washington by any Syrian head of state.
Reuters reports that six sources familiar with the preparations at the base confirmed that the United States will use the facility to monitor the Israel–Syria agreement. Among these sources are two Western officials and one Syrian defense official.
The Pentagon and the Syrian Foreign Ministry declined to comment. However, one U.S. administration official said, “We regularly assess our posture in Syria regarding the fight against ISIS, but we do not comment on troop deployments or potential deployments.”
A Western military official said the Pentagon has conducted multiple surveillance missions in the past two months, and reports indicate that the base’s long runway is already usable.
Two Syrian military officials stated that the technical discussions are focused mainly on logistics, surveillance, fuel supply, and the use of the base for humanitarian operations. However, Syria will maintain full sovereignty.
A defense official told Reuters that the United States has already tested the base’s runway using a C-130 military aircraft. A security guard said U.S. planes have been landing there experimentally.
The new plan will resemble two U.S. observation bases in Lebanon and Israel, where the Trump administration has been monitoring various ceasefires in the Middle East.
U.S. troops have also been deployed for years in northeastern Syria, where they support Kurdish-led forces in fighting ISIS. In April this year, the Pentagon announced that troop numbers there would be reduced by half, to 1,000 personnel.
President Shara recently said that any U.S. military presence must occur only with the formal approval of the Syrian state. Officials from both countries have stated that Syria will soon join the U.S.-led global coalition against ISIS.
According to Reuters, during a visit to Damascus on September 12, Admiral Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), and U.S. envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack held talks with President Shara.
After their meeting, the United States issued a statement saying that Shara’s role in suppressing ISIS in Syria would help implement President Trump’s vision of peace and prosperity in the Middle East. However, Israel was not mentioned in the statement.
Washington has long been trying to implement a security agreement between Israel and Syria. The plan was supposed to be announced during the UN General Assembly session in September, but discussions were postponed at the last moment.
A Syrian diplomatic source told Reuters that the United States wants the agreement finalized within this year — preferably before President Shara’s visit to Washington.
