West Asia At War: Repression, Resistance and Great Power Games

by Talmiz Ahmad

In February 1966, the Military Committee, backed by younger members of the Ba’ath party, ousted the top Ba’ath leaders, Aflaq and al Bitar, and established a Marxist, neo-Ba’athist leadership under Salah Jadid. Their ideology was a mix of Arab nationalism and Marxism, calling for mass struggle and the liberation of Palestine. This included support for cross-border raids by Palestinian guerrillas into Israeli territory. Nasser was wary of Syrian radicalism, but, given his ongoing competition with the traditional Arab monarchies, he felt compelled to back the Syrians. He entered into a defence agreement with Syria, which provided that an attack on one country would be considered an attack on the other. This made them partners in the 1967 war with Israel. In November 1970, the Corrective Movement, led by defence minister Hafez al Assad, ousted Salah Jadid and his supporters, and brought al- Assad to power in Damascus.