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JSOU Report 16-1
Aflaq resigned in disgust as president (just ahead of the arrival of Alawite
security agents), and went to Baghdad where he held court on the deviations
of the Syrian Ba’th. In 1971, although gratuitous, further confirmation that
the Ba’th was no longer a political party but rather a political tool for maintaining
Assad’s control came in the form of treason trials for Aflaq and four
others, now resident in Ba’thist-controlled Baghdad. All were condemned to
death as a warning that Aflaq and his associates were persona non grata in
Syria and that he would not tolerate any interference from Iraq. 109
Ruling Syria became an exercise in controlled participation. At a foundational
level, Assad depended on his family and fellow Alawites; others filled
important positions, but they were not the bedrock of the regime. Nevertheless,
the façade of political participation provided a safety valve. In 1972, the
Syrian government announced the creation of the Ba’th dominated National
Progressive Front and local councils in each of the governorates. The councils
in particular were more apolitical and focused on practical issues affecting
the regions. This approach provided an outlet for political participation and,
perhaps more importantly, a tripwire for rising political discontent. The real
competition for power in Syria lay within the factions of the ruling elite. 110
The 1973 October War with its promising beginning for the Arabs
devolved into a series of ceasefires and, ultimately, agreements that removed
Egypt as a confrontation state. Syria and Assad were isolated and vilified
The real competition for
power in Syria lay within
the factions of the ruling
elite.
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despite having signed a ceasefire and disengagement
agreement over the Golan Heights.
The isolation extended beyond the immediate
participants in the 1973 war and the confrontation
with Israel. By 1975, hostility between
Assad and the Ba’th Party in Baghdad boiled
over into a vitriolic propaganda campaign pitting Damascus against Baghdad.
Michael Aflaq, from the safety of Baghdad, assailed Assad for betraying
the Arabs to Zionists and in return, Damascus accused Baghdad of abandoning
Arab lands (Khuzestan) to Iran. 111
To complicate bilateral relations, Soviet-sponsored dam building in
Syria on the Euphrates had severely limited water for agriculture in Iraq.
“From 1975 onward the two countries began abusing each other over the
airwaves—fascist rightwing criminal—was the standard invective—arresting
each others’ sympathizers, moving troops threateningly to the border, and
setting off explosives in each others’ capitals.” 112 As the Syrian-Iraqi war of