Campaigning for the Coalition

THE WAR ROOM: The Syrian National Coalition released this video shot in the cinema vérité style of an American political campaign earlier this week. The video, which was filmed in a five-star hotel conference room in Istanbul, according to sources close to the interim government, appears to aim to convince Syrians the Coalition is at work representing them. Entitled “Behind the Scenes of the Interim Syrian Government,” it drew varied reaction from pro-revolution Syrians.

 “The video is over the top and silly,” said Jude al-Akad a Damascus resident. “It’s not serious. Are these guys really going to be the leaders of Syria?”

Nayef, a Damascus attorney and a Hitto supporter who was reluctant to criticize the video said, “The video does not show Hitto at his best, he deserved a better presentation. I know him to be a serious and respectable man but this kind of video does not really communicate his positive attributes as leader.”

“The video would have been stronger if it had presented the views of people on the ground inside Syria, “said Samir Mattar, a member of the Modernity and Democracy Party who currently works as a television producer in Germany. Video courtesy of the Syrian National Coalition.