Obama recognizes legitimacy of Syrian Opposition Coalition

President Barack Obama recognizes the leading Syrian Opposition Coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, he said in an interview released on Tuesday night. "We have made a decision that the Syrian Opposition Coalition is now inclusive enough, is reflective and representative enough of the Syrian population that we consider them the legitimate representative of the Syrian people in opposition to the Assad regime," Obama told Barbara Walters of ABC News. "So we will provide them recognition and obviously with that recognition comes responsibilities on the part of that coalition," he said. "It is a big step." The decision means the US joins Britain, France, Turkey and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in recognizing the coalition. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was scheduled to attend the Friends of Syria meeting in Morocco this week, but canceled her trip due to a stomach flu. Deputy Secretary William Burns was to attend the Marrakesh meeting in Clinton's place.