In mid-1957 western powers began to worry that Syria was close to a Communist takeover; it had a highly organized Communist Party and the newly appointed army's chief of staff, Afif al-Bizri, was a Communist sympathizer.
A mediados de 1957, Siria estivo a piques de ser comunista; tiña un partido comunista altamente organizado e o Xefe de Persoal do Exército, Afif Bizri, era un simpatizante do Comunismo.