It was the Americans who orchestrated the first coup d'etat in Syria in 1949, toppling the democratically elected president Shukri al-Quwatli and replacing him with General Husni al-Za'im, a stooge of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), because the latter promised to respond to US needs in the Middle East.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GF28Ak03.html


From Information Clearing House