U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the United Nations must act to end what she calls the Syrian government’s “divide and conquer” strategy against its own people. But Russia vows to veto any U.N. action against its allies in Damascus. A Look at the Arab League The League of Arab States, or Arab League, is an association of 22 Arab states, based in Cairo. It was founded on March 22, 1945 in Cairo, with the aim of strengthening the relationships between member states through political, cultural and economic cooperation. The first six members of the organization were Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan (later renamed Jordan), Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Syria. Yemen joined a few months later Nabil Elaraby was elected secretary-general of the Arab League in May 2011. Syria’s membership was suspended in November 2011, following bloodshed caused by brutal government crackdowns on pro-democracy protests. On Jan. 22, 2012, the Arab League proposed to Syria that President Bashar al-Assad should transfer power to a deputy and form a national unity government within two months. The plan was rejected by Syria. After meeting with her French and British colleagues in New York, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went before the United Nations Security Council to support Arab League action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. “The United States urges the Security Council to back the Arab League’s demand that the Syrian government immediately stop all attacks against civilians and guarantee the freedom of peaceful demonstrations,” she said. Secretary Clinton says President Assad has driven his country to the brink of chaos and the longer he continues, the harder it will be to rebuild Syria once he is gone. “We all know that change is coming to Syria.  Despite its ruthless tactics, the Assad regime’s reign of terror will end and the people of Syria will chart their own destiny.  The question is how many more innocent civilians will die before this country is able to move forward to the kind of future it deserves,” she said. But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says U.N. action could make the situation even worse. “An essential element of any U.N. resolution must be the firm statement that this resolution can not be interpreted to justify any kind of outside military intervention in Syria,” he said. Steve Heydemann, a Middle East analyst for the United States Institute of Peace, says Moscow fears a change of government in Damascus would weaken Russia’s position. “If the regime were to change and Syria were to move in a more pro-Western direction, I think the Russians would view that as a blow to their strategic posture in the region. And so one of the things that the U.S. might do is to offer reassurances to the Russians that even if a process of regime transition happens in Syria, they won’t be left out,” he said. In order to avert a Russian veto, U.S. officials say they are ready to work with all U.N. members to pass a resolution supporting Arab League efforts to end the crisis. Secretary Clinton says failing to do so would abandon the Syrian people and embolden a dictator. Join the conversation on our social journalism site – Middle East Voices . Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page.

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Tens of thousands of Syrian government loyalists have rallied in major cities in a second day of protests against an Arab League decision to suspend Syria’s membership for continuing a deadly crackdown on an opposition uprising. Syrian state television broadcast images of large pro-government crowds in Damascus, Aleppo and other cities on Sunday. Many of the demonstrators waved Syrian flags and held pictures of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In a vote Saturday, the Arab League agreed to suspend Syria beginning Wednesday if the Assad government continues to ignore the regional bloc’s call to engage in dialogue with the opposition and end the crackdown on the eight-month-old revolt. Assad loyalists angered by the Arab League’s move stormed the Saudi and Qatar embassies in Damascus late Saturday, angered that both nations were among the 18 that voted in favor of suspending Syria in the 22-member body. Saudi Arabia condemned the assault on its embassy in the Syrian capital, saying it holds Damascus responsible for the the security of all Saudi interests in the country. The official Saudi Press Agency says anti-Arab League protesters threw stones at the embassy building, smashed windows and ransacked offices. A large crowd also gathered outside Qatar’s embassy and broke through the gates. Turkish news agency Anatolia says pro-Assad demonstrators also tried to break into the Turkish embassy in Damascus and Turkish consulates in Aleppo and Latakia. Turkey is not an Arab League member but has been strongly critical of neighboring Syria’s use of force to suppress peaceful opposition protesters. Syria signed on to the Arab League plan for dialogue on November 2, but the violence has escalated, with more than 150 people killed in attacks by security forces on anti-Assad protesters and in deadly battles between the military and army defectors. The Arab League vote drew praise from the United Nations, the United States and Britain. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the move “strong and courageous” and welcomed the league’s intention to provide protection for Syrian civilians. Ban said the world body is “ready to provide the relevant support when requested.” U.S. President Barack Obama said the Arab League decision increases the diplomatic isolation of a government that has “flagrantly failed to keep its commitments” and “systematically violated human rights and repressed peaceful protests.” A spokesman for British Prime Minister David Cameron reiterated a call by Western powers for Assad to step down after 11 years in power and allow a political transition to begin. Syria’s ambassador to the league, Youssef Ahmed, rejected the vote as illegal and contrary to the organization’s charter. He said the Syrian government remains committed to fulfilling the Arab League peace plan. The U.N. human rights agency says at least 3,500 people have been killed in Syria in connection with anti-Assad protests, which have been under way since March. Syria blames much of the deadly violence on foreign-backed “terrorists” and extremists. Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.   Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page.

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This dynamic duo is almost too much! The adorably precocious Nicki Minaj girls returned to Ellen to discuss how their lives have changed, and how Ellen dressed up as them for Halloween! While they were here, they couldn’t help but perform another amazing song for Ellen. Take a look here!

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