The United States is preparing to establish a military presence at an airbase in Damascus — not to defend Syria’s newfound freedom, but to enforce a “security pact” the U.S. is purportedly brokering between Syria and Israel. The move, reported by Reuters today, comes just 24 hours after Israel set up another checkpoint in Quneitra, the latest in an ongoing string of incursions and base-constructions justified under the banner of “protecting the Druze.” The interim government has so far remained diplomatically silent.