re-accommodation with the Nasserites. The cabinet was composed of Ba'athists and unionist independents, who were brought in to signify wide popular support for the government. Hafiz left the cabinet and was succeeded as interior minister by Nureddin al-Atassi. Bitar's third cabinet was the first in which the Ba'athists controlled the government. However, things were not going according to Bitar's and Aflaq's plan. The reconstituted party was divided into many factions which differed on policy issues, but most of them supported Aflaq's ouster as Secretary General of the National Command. Immediately after the attempted coup, Aflaq and Bitar re-delegated basic organizational work to Hammud al-Shufithe eventual Regional Secretary of the Syrian Regional Branch. By doing this, they were giving momentum to their opponents. Shufi, who was at first believed to be an Aflaq supporter, was a radical Marxist. Shufi's group, which controlled the Syrian Regional Command, became allies of the Military Committee in their fight to topple Aflaq and Bitar. Aflaq and Bitar could not rely upon support in the National Command from the Iraqis; the Iraqi Regional Branch had undergone a sudden radicalization under the leadership of Ali Salih al-Sa'di. A moderate faction within the Iraqi Regional Branch, headed by Talib El-Shibib and Hazim Jawad, still supported the National Command. At the 1st Regional Congress (held 5 September) and the 6th National Congress (5–23 October 1963), the erosion of Aflaq's and Bitar's influence became evident. Unlike the highly unorganized March Regional Congress, the 1st Regional Congress followed the party's "Internal Regulation". The elections to the 1st Regional Congress were rigged in favor of the anti-Aflaq civilian factions and supporters of the Military Committee. The doctrinal and political resolutions of the 1st Regional Congress reflected an anti-Aflaqite discourse. Bitar was not elected to the Syrian Regional Command; all eight seats went to supporters of Shufi, who was appointed the Regional Secretary. The majority of the Syrian delegates elected at the 1st Regional Congress were anti-Aflaqites or radical Ba'athists. Bitar and Aflaq also failed to get elected at the 6th National Congress. Bitar was not elected to the National Command, and of the nine seats allotted to the Syrian and Iraqi Regional Branches, only three were won by moderates. The Points of Departure was approved by the congress, which signaled a radical change in Ba'athist thinking. Arab unity was replaced as the primary ideological focus of the party with a Marxist-inspired definition