Analysis: US loses patience with Syria opposition group

[NewsCaster]

Slideshow: Syria uprising / A look back at the violence that has overtaken the countryLaunch slideshowBy Paul Nassar, NBC NewsNews analysis

BEIRUT -- The Obama administration’s suggestion this week that it was prepared to sideline the opposition-in-exile Syrian National Council and attempt to handpick more representative leaders at a crucial meeting next week came after months of frustration over the group's dysfunction and ineffectiveness.

Made up of Syrian intellectuals and political exiles, the Istanbul-based SNC has barely been able to coordinate the simplest of tasks, let alone run the opposition against a well-entrenched regime such as Bashar Assad’s.

NBCNews