He practiced in this field from 1950-1958, in his home town and Atassi political base of Homs, until lured into the public arena by the Arab nationalist movement led by the Egyptian president, Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Once again eschewing his medical training, Atassi returned to journalism and became chief editor of the pro-Nasser daily, Al Jamaheer (The Masses) until the union became defunct in 1961.

He then formed his own party, the Arab Socialist Union, an umbrella group of dedicated unionists who wanted to restore the UAR and reappoint Nasser as president of Syria.

He invited Atassi, who by this time was one of the most venerated nationalists in the country, to join a 13-member committee delegated with administering the NPF's political affairs.

Realizing that Assad opposed restoring the UAR or the NPF, he left within a year and formed a new organization, the Democratic Arab Socialist Union.

During the Damascus Spring (June 2000 through the autumn of 2001), a reformist pro-democracy political discussion forum was named in his honor, until it was disbanded in a crackdown by the Syrian Government.