He also outlawed all newspapers that were not pro-Shishakli, and banished the Ba'ath leaders Akram al-Hawrani, Michel Aflaq, and Salah al-Bitar to Lebanon, where they then actively worked against his government.
On 25 August 1952, he established an official government party, the Arab Liberation Movement, but it was boycotted by powerful representatives of the civilian political society, such as Hashim al-Atassi.
After the overthrow of President Shishakli in a 1954 coup, continued political maneuvering supported by competing factions in the military eventually brought Arab nationalist and socialist elements to power.
He had also arrested a lot of active officers in the Syrian Army, including the rising young Adnan al-Malki, also a prominent Baathist.
In 1958, following the unification of Syria with Egypt to form the United Arab Republic, the party was banned by the Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser.