Editing Hafez al-Assad (section)

=====Differences with Jadid=====
Assad believed that Syria's defeat in the Six-Day War was Jadid's fault, and the accusations against himself were unjust.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=144}} By this time Jadid had total control of the Regional Command, whose members supported his policies.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=144}} Assad and Jadid began to differ on policy;{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=144}} Assad believed that Jadid's policy of a [[people's war]] (an armed-guerrilla strategy) and [[class struggle]] had failed Syria, undermining its position.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=144}} Although Jadid continued to champion the concept of a people's war even after the Six-Day War, Assad opposed it. He felt that the Palestinian guerrilla fighters had been given too much autonomy and had raided Israel constantly, which in turn sparked the war.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=144}} Jadid had broken diplomatic relations with countries he deemed [[reactionary]], such as [[Saudi Arabia]] and [[Jordan]].{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=144}} Because of this, Syria did not receive aid from other Arab countries. Egypt and Jordan, which participated in the war, received [[Pound sterling|£]]135&nbsp;million per year for an undisclosed period.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=144}}

While Jadid and his supporters prioritised socialism and the "internal revolution", Assad wanted the leadership to focus on foreign policy and the containment of Israel.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=145}} The Ba'ath Party was divided over several issues, such as how the government could best use Syria's limited resources, the ideal relationship between the party and the people, the organization of the party and whether the class struggle should end.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=145}} These subjects were discussed heatedly in Ba'ath Party conclaves, and when they reached the Fourth Regional Congress the two sides were irreconcilable.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=145}}

Assad wanted to "democratize" the party by making it easier for people to join.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=146}} Jadid was wary of too large a membership, believing that the majority of those who joined were opportunists.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=145}} Assad, in an interview with Patrick Seale in the 1980s, stated that such a policy would make Party members believe they were a privileged class.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=146}} Another problem, Assad believed, was the lack of local government institutions.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=146}} Under Jadid, there was no governmental level below the [[Government of Syria|Council of Ministers]] (the Syrian government).{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=146}} When the [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region|Iraqi Regional Branch]] (which continued to support the Aflaqite leadership) took control of Iraq in the [[17 July Revolution]], Assad was one of the few high-level politicians wishing to reconcile with them;{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=146}} he called for the establishment of an "Eastern Front" with Iraq against Israel in 1968.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=147}} Jadid's foreign policy towards the [[Soviet Union]] was also criticised by Assad, who believed it had failed.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=147}} In many ways the relationship between the countries was poor, with the Soviets refusing to acknowledge Jadid's [[scientific socialism]] and Soviet newspapers calling him a "hothead".{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=148}} Assad, on the contrary, called for greater [[pragmatism]] in decision-making.{{sfn|Seale|1990|p=148}}