ABSTRACT
By mid-August 1957, the Syrian government felt secure enough in its position to manipulate the parliamentary process, push through the chamber obvious political devices, and agree to a far-reaching economic accord with the Soviet Union. The American attempt to overthrow the Syrian regime was expected and the leftist groups could exploit it to their own advantage. One could say that the Syrian leadership played the international diplomatic game at the domestic level better than the United States played the domestic diplomatic game at the international level. The denouement of Sa'ud's mediation efforts during the American-Syrian crisis signaled the end to his brief tenure in the spotlight of Arab politics. Sa'ud realized that he could not totally alienate the United States, which was, and still is, Saudi Arabia's ultimate guarantor of security.
