The Syrian authorities on Wednesday, November 14 ordered airstrikes close to the tense Turkish border for the third consecutive day, and said a French decision to recognize and consider arming a newly formed coalition of Syrian government opponents was an “immoral” act “encouraging the destruction of Syria,” The New York Times reported. France on Tuesday became the first Western nation to fully embrace the new umbrella organization, the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, which came together last weekend in Qatar. The six Arab countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council recognized the rebel coalition on Monday as the legitimate Syrian government. The United States, however, has withheld that level of recognition. President Obama on Wednesday praised the new coalition as “a legitimate representative of the Syrian people” but said Washington was not yet prepared to recognize the group as a government in exile.