ABSTRACT
The focus of political attention in Syria by 1957 was in the foreign policy arena, With the pro-Nasser hysteria in the Arab world following the Suez war the most popular political positions could not help but fall within this sphere. To the Syrians, the doctrine was a unilateral action by the United States in its attempt to assume the "imperialist" mantle of Britain and France, and with the recent American interventions in Iran and Guatemala fresh in the minds of Syrian leaders, the next assault would emanate from Washington. The Eisenhower Doctrine would not be the vehicle of return for the rightwing elements in Syria as it had been for pro-West forces in Jordan in April 1957 or Lebanon in 1958—it couldn't be. Meanwhile, the conservative opposition in Syria, desperately trying to find ways to stem the leftist tide, chose the annual parliamentary debate over the budget as the next battle-line.
