HASAKAH, Syria (Dispatches) — The United States has deployed new military reinforcements to its base in northeastern Syria’s Hasakah province, contradicting earlier pledges to scale back its presence and fueling fresh regional tensions over Washington’s long-term objectives in the war-torn country.
Local sources and the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a U.S. cargo plane carrying heavy weapons, ammunition, and electronic equipment landed this week at Kharab al-Jir Airport near the oil-rich town of Rmelan. 
The aircraft was escorted by an attack helicopter, marking the second such landing this month after a similar delivery of air defense systems and heavy arms on Oct. 12.
The reported buildup comes despite a June announcement by U.S. envoy Thomas Barrack that Washington planned to reduce its military footprint in Syria, leaving only one operational base. “Our current Syria policy will not resemble that of the last century because those approaches have failed,” Barrack said at the time.
Roughly 2,000 U.S. troops remain stationed across several bases in Syria’s northeast, officially tasked with supporting Kurdish forces. Syrian officials accuse Washington of using alleged counterterrorism operations as cover to maintain control over the region’s energy resources. 
Syrian media and local activists have repeatedly reported convoys of U.S. tankers transporting crude oil from Hasakah to bases in northern Iraq.
The renewed U.S. deployments have intensified Ankara’s concerns that Washington, and potentially Israel, are backing Kurdish groups aligned with the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). 
Turkish officials fear the moves could pave the way for a de facto Kurdish entity in northern Syria — a development Turkey sees as a direct security threat.
In Syria’s northwest, rivalries are deepening between Abu Muhammad al-Jolani’s Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and U.S.-backed Kurdish forces. Jolani has urged Kurdish militants to integrate into HTS’s structure, a call the Kurds have rejected. The collapse of recent ceasefire deals between the two sides has led to renewed clashes, further destabilizing a country already fractured by years of war.
At the same time, Israeli forces have reportedly expanded their presence in southern Syria, planting landmines and establishing new checkpoints near the Golan Heights.
Analysts say the combination of continued U.S. militarism, Turkish suspicion, Kurdish aspirations, and Israeli actions risks pushing Syria closer to fragmentation. Despite repeated pledges of withdrawal, Washington’s latest deployments suggest its involvement in Syria’s complex conflict is far from over.