US airbase planned in Syria, strengthening pact with Israel
US airbase planned in Southern Syria near Damascus
A US airbase is being planned and tested for establishment in Southern Syria as part of the Trump administration-mediated pact for non-aggression between Syria and Israel, according to a report by Reuters on 6th November.
Syria, which has been a long-time ally of Russia and Iran, signals a strategic realignment to Washington after the fallout of its leader, Bashar al-Assad.
The US already has its military presence in northeastern Syria, claiming to fight ISIS alongside Kurdish forces. A US airbase closer to the capital city of Damascus is new, where only Russian and Iranian forces have previously been present.
Western and Syrian officials confirmed to Reuters that the airbase will be used to prepare for a potential Israel-Syria agreement, of which a demilitarised zone is one of the elements. The preparations for the base have been underway, with the runway being tested to confirm it is usable.
The USA has recently established other military presences in the region; in Lebanon to monitor the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, and in Israel to watch the Trump-era truce between Hamas and Israel.
A Syrian-Israel truce has been high on the list of Washington’s agenda, with US envoy Thomas Barrack mentioning Trump’s “vision of a prosperous Middle East and a stable Syria at peace with itself and its neighbors.” with no mention of Israel.
The Syrian foreign ministry has denied the report of the US airbase as false, without elaboration on the false details, and a Syrian source has mentioned that Syria is under pressure to truce with Israel before the end of the year.
Syria and Israel have been long-time foes, with Syrians feeling that a normalisation of Israel in Syria could lead to war. The Syrian regime is opposed to the Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights, which is a demilitarised zone set up by the UN in 1974. Israel has repeatedly carried out ground and airstrikes in the territory and refused to leave the occupied Golan Heights.
Besides this, Israel complicates the situation further by demanding that Syria’s new army post the Assad era stay in North of Damascus and leave the southern regions demilitarised, which attempts to control military activity in southern Syria and undermine Syrian sovereignty.
While Syria attempts to move out of global isolation with diplomatic and strategic moves, Israel continues to push its Greater Israel agenda and shape its regional role.
Reuters, Maghrebi.org
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