The United States and Syrian political "Rodeo" (1961-1963)

The history of US-Syrian relations includes periods of alienation and attempts to establish cooperation between Washington and Damascus. One of such attempts occurred during the presidency of John F. Kennedy. 10 presidents and 22 cabinets of ministers were replaced in Syria during the period from 1946 to 1958. In the early postwar decades, to lead Syria was like to participate in a cowboy rodeo contest, in which participants will fall on the ground sooner or later. American diplomats believed that Syria's political instability was caused by the lack of identity in Syria. In addition, Syria was divided by ethnic, religious and political differences. The United States often used instability in this Arab country. The coups in Damascus were often carried out with the participation of the United States. Exit of Syria from the United Arab Republic in 1961 created new opportunities for the administration of the 35th President of the United States. Philip Talbot, the head of Middle East Bureau of the U.S. State Department, believed that Syria could become a model of liberal democracy to other Arab countries. His view was disputed by Robert Komer, the National Security Council expert. He believed that any regime in Damascus would be unstable and would not last long. So, the United States should not stake on Syria. Instead, R. Komer suggested focusing on improving relations with Egypt. He asked a rhetorical question to his superiors: ''From the strategic point of view, is it more important to cozy up to five-million volatile Syrians or to make our peace with the largest and most influential country of the Arab world''? Thus, the administration of John F. Kennedy had to choose either to make Damascus one of the pillars of its Middle Eastern policy, or to take a pragmatic approach and to act as an outside observer. Involvement of Kennedy's administration in resolution of other Middle East issues, especially the Arab-Israeli conflict, as well as the unpredictability of the situation in Damascus determined the choice of the United States in favour of the second option. In the spring of 1963 the Baath party came to power in Damascus. This fact seemed to the U.S. leaders to be just another change of power in Syria. No one in Washington knew that the Baath Party would remain in power for at least the next fifty years. The new Syrian regime suited the United States. There were no communists in the government of Sallah Bitar, Western economic interests were not disputed by Damascus, and Syria made a counterbalance to the influence of Nasser in the Arab world. The administration of Kennedy was convinced that American aid to Syria should be carried out at the lowest level that could save the U.S. presence in this Arab country.

Keywords

Authors

References