Syrian Arab News Agency
On 8 July 2013 the Central Committee, convening for the first time since 2005, elected a new Regional Command, composed of 16-members. Bashar al-Assad convened the meeting to discuss the performance Ba'ath Party and its cadres in overcoming the current situation facing Syria. According to the Syrian Arab News Agency "The members' speeches dealt with the Party's performance during the crisis and its role in defending the homeland, while other speeches criticized the role of al-Baath cadres at this delicate stage as it 'fell short of the desired performance.'" Bassam Abu Abdullah, director of the Damascus Centre for Strategic Studies, believed changes were made because "There has been a lot of criticism from within the base towards the leadership, which has been accused of being inflexible, both before and since the crisis [...] A complete change indicates the failure of leadership and the dissatisfaction from within the Baath party base". Syrian commentator Adnan Abdul Razak believed the changes to be cosmetic only, stating "Assad changed names but did not change the role of the Baath command as a mere loyal supporter to Bashar Assad". The following is a list of members of the now reformed 10th Regional Command;