Editing Hafez al-Assad (section)

=={{anchor|The 1963 coup: 1959–1963}}Runup to 1963 coup: 1958–1963==
{{main|1963 Syrian coup d'état}}
Assad was not content with a professional military career, regarding it rather as a gateway to politics.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=98}} After the creation of the UAR, Ba'ath Party leader [[Michel Aflaq]] was forced by Nasser to dissolve the party.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=98}} During the UAR's existence, the Ba'ath Party experienced a crisis{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=65}} for which several of its members—mostly young—blamed Aflaq.{{sfn|Seale|1990|pp=60–61}} To resurrect the [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region|Syrian Regional Branch]] of the party, [[Muhammad Umran]], [[Salah Jadid]], Assad and others established the Military Committee.{{sfn|Seale|1990|pp=60–61}} In 1957–58 Assad rose to a dominant position in the Military Committee, which mitigated his transfer to Egypt.{{sfn|Reich|1990|p=53}} After Syria left the UAR in September 1961, Assad and other Ba'athist officers were removed from the military by the new government in Damascus, and he was given a minor clerical position at the Ministry of Transport.{{sfn|Reich|1990|p=53}}

Assad played a minor role in the [[Jassem Alwan#Opposition to secession|failed 1962 military coup]], for which he was jailed in Lebanon and later repatriated.{{sfn|Zahler|2009|p=38}} That year, Aflaq convened the 5th National Congress of the Ba'ath Party (where he was re-elected as the Secretary-General of the National Command) and ordered the re-establishment of the party's Syrian Regional Branch.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=75}} At the Congress, the Military Committee (through Umran) established contacts with Aflaq and the civilian leadership.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=75}} The committee requested permission to seize power by force, and Aflaq agreed to the conspiracy.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=75}} After the success of the [[February 1963 Iraqi coup d'état|Iraqi coup d'état]] led by the Ba'ath Party's [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region|Iraqi Regional Branch]], the Military Committee hastily convened to launch a [[8th of March Revolution|Ba'athist military coup]] in March 1963 against President [[Nazim al-Kudsi]]{{sfn|Seale|1990|pp=76–78}} (which Assad helped plan).{{sfn|Zahler|2009|p=38}}{{sfn|Reich|1990|pp=53–54}}
[[File:Syrian military officers after Ba'ath coup d'etat in 1963.jpg|thumb|Syrian military officers after the coup.]]
The coup was scheduled for 7 March, but postponed until the next day.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=76}} During the coup Assad led a small group to capture the [[Dumayr]] airbase, {{convert|40|km}} northeast of Damascus.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=77}} His group was the only one that encountered resistance.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=77}} Some planes at the base were ordered to bomb the conspirators, and because of this Assad hurried to reach the base before dawn.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=77}} Because the 70th Armored Brigade's surrender took longer than anticipated, however, he arrived in broad daylight.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=77}} When Assad threatened the base commander with shelling, the commander negotiated a surrender;{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=77}} Assad later claimed that the base could have withstood his forces.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=77}}