Talk:Husni al-Za'im

Responsibility for Coup

Though the article cites four sources for the claim that the CIA was behind Za'im's coup, these sources all ultimately rely on the claims of Miles Copeland (Damascus CIA station chief at the time) and Stephen Meade (Assistant Military Attache in the U.S. embassy in Damascus). In his book on the history of covert action in Syria, however, Andrew Rathmell makes a strong case for withholding judgment regarding the CIA's responsibility for the coup. Rathmell notes that while Copeland initially asserted that he and Meade were behind the coup, he later claimed that he only advised Za'im on the planning. Rathmell also notes several CIA sources who say that Copeland was prone to exaggeration, quoting a former CIA director as saying that "'if you can sort out fact from fiction in [Copeland's book] 'The Game of Nations', you are a clairvoyant.'" Rathmell casts doubt on the purported rationale for the CIA's backing of the coup, arguing that all of the issues that supposedly motivated the coup (e.g., approval of the Tapline) were moving toward a satisfactory resolution under the 'Azm administration. Rathmell concludes: "Without access to CIA archives it is not possible to determine precisely what role the Agency played before the coup. Nonetheless, from the evidence available, it appears that the United States' role was far more limited than is often believed." Rathmell takes into account Little's argument (cited in this article) and makes full use of the available unclassified sources. In light of this, I believe the article should be edited to reflect more uncertainty regarding the United States' role in the coup. Kzndr (talk) 01:35, 17 May 2013 (UTC)