On 30 March 1949, Col. Husni al-Za'im seized power from President Shukri al-Quwatli in a bloodless coup d'état.
Available evidence, however, suggests that Za'im was in little need of prodding from the U.S. According to the British military attaché in Syria, Za'im had been contemplating a coup since March 1947-over a year before he was introduced to Meade on November 30, 1948.