Editing Hafez al-Assad (section)

===={{anchor|The beginning}}Beginning====
[[File:Syrian women in military uniform during a Ba'athist demonstration.jpg|thumb|Military demonstration of the neo-Ba'athist regime.]]
After the coup, Assad was appointed Minister of Defense.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=104}} This was his first cabinet post, and through his position, he would be thrust into the forefront of the Syrian–Israeli conflict.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=104}} His government was radically socialist, and sought to remake society from top to bottom.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=104}} Although Assad was a radical, he opposed the headlong rush for change.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=104}} Despite his title, he had little power in the government and took more orders than he issued.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=104}} Jadid was the undisputed leader at the time, opting to remain in the office of Assistant Regional Secretary of the Syrian Regional Command instead of taking executive office (which had historically been held by Sunnis).{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=105}} [[Nureddin al-Atassi]] was given three of the four top executive positions in the country: President, Secretary-General of the National Command and Regional Secretary of the Syrian Regional Command.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=105}} The post of prime minister was given to [[Yusuf Zu'ayyin]].{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=105}} Jadid (who was establishing his authority) focused on civilian issues and gave Assad ''de facto'' control of the Syrian military, considering him no threat.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=105}}

During the failed coup d'état of late 1966, [[Salim Hatum]] tried to overthrow Jadid's government.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=110}} Hatum (who felt snubbed when he was not appointed to the Regional Command after the February 1966 coup d'état) sought revenge and the return to power of [[Hammud al-Shufi]], the first Regional Secretary of the Regional Command after the Syrian Regional Branch's re-establishment in 1963.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=110}} When Jadid, Atassi and Regional Command member Jamil Shayya visited Suwayda, forces loyal to Hatum surrounded the city and captured them.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=112}} In a twist of fate, the city's [[Druze]] elders forbade the murder of their guests and demanded that Hatum wait.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=112}} Jadid and the others were placed under house arrest, with Hatum planning to kill them at his first opportunity.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=112}} When word of the mutiny spread to the Ministry of Defense, Assad ordered the 70th Armored Brigade to the city.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=112}} By this time Hatum, a Druze, knew that Assad would order the bombardment of Suwayda (a Druze-dominated city) if Hatum did not accede to his demands.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=112}} Hatum and his supporters fled to Jordan, where they were given asylum.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=113}} How Assad learned about the conspiracy is unknown, but Mustafa al-Hajj Ali (head of [[Military Intelligence Directorate (Syria)|military intelligence]]) may have telephoned the Ministry of Defense.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=113}} Due to his prompt action, Assad earned Jadid's gratitude.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=113}}

In the aftermath of the attempted coup Assad and Jadid purged the party's military organization, removing 89 officers; Assad removed an estimated 400 officers, Syria's largest military purge to date.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=113}} The purges, which began when the Ba'ath Party took power in 1963, had left the military weak.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=113}} As a result, when the [[Six-Day War]] broke out, Syria had no chance of victory.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=113}}