begun in the early morning of 17 July, when the military and Ba'ath Party activists seized several key positions in Baghdad, such as the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence, television and radio stations and the electricity station. All the city's bridges were captured, all telephone lines were cut and at exactly 03:00, the order was given to march on the Presidential Palace. President Arif was asleep and had no control over the situation. al-Bakr masterminded the plot, but Hussein and Saleh Omar al-Ali led operations on the ground. A power struggle began between the Ba'ath Party led by al-Naif and the military led by Daud, which al-Bakr had anticipated and planned. Daud lost his ministership during an official visit to Jordan, while al-Naif was exiled after Hussein threatened him and his family with death. At the time of the 1968 coup, only 5,000 people were members; by the late 1970s, membership had increased to 1.2 million. In 1974, the Iraqi Ba'athists formed the National Progressive Front to broaden support for the government's initiatives. Wrangling within the party continued, and the government periodically purged its dissident members, including Fuad al-Rikabi, the party's first secretary-general of the Regional Command. Emerging as the party strongman, Hussein used his growing power to push al-Bakr aside in 1979 and ruled Iraq until the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. Several major infrastructures were laid down to assist the country's growth, and the Iraqi oil industry was nationalised with help from the Soviet Union. Alexei Kosygin, Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers, signed the bilateral Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in 1972. 2003 invasion and new Iraqi government Downfall and de-Ba'athification In June 2003, the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority banned the Ba'ath Party, and banned all members of the party's top four tiers from the new government and from public schools and colleges, a move which some criticised for blocking too many experienced people from participating in the new government. Thousands were removed from their positions, including doctors, professors, school teachers and bureaucrats. Many teachers lost their jobs, causing protests and demonstrations at schools and universities. Under the Ba'ath Party, one could not reach high positions in the government or in schools without becoming a party member. Membership was also a prerequisite for university admission. While many Ba'athists joined for ideological reasons, many more joined as a way to improve their options. After much pressure by