 The ousting of Aflaq , Bitar , and the National Command is the deepest schism in the Ba 'ath movement 's history . While there had been many schisms and splits in the Ba 'ath Party , Aflaq and Bitar always emerged as the victors , and remained party leaders , but the 1966 coup brought a new generation of leaders to power who had different aims to their predecessors . While Aflaq and Bitar still had supporters in Syria and in non @-@ Syrian Regional Branches , they were hampered by the lack of financial means – the Syrian Regional Branch had funded them since 1963 . Jadid and his supporters now had the Syrian state at their disposal , and were theoretically able to establish new party organisations or coerce pro @-@ Aflaq opinion , this failed to work since most of the regional branches changed their allegiance to Baghdad . Later in 1966 , the first post @-@ Aflaqite National Congress , officially designated the 9th , was held , and a new National Command was elected . Another change was to the ideological orientation of the Syrian Regional Branch and the new National Command ; while the Aflaqites believed in an all @-@ Arab Ba 'ath Party and the unification of the Arab world , the Syria 's new leaders saw this as impractical . Following the coup , the National Command became subservient in all but name to the Syrian Regional Command , and ceased to have an effective role in Arab or Syrian politics . 
