Russia can now do one the last decent thing on the matter of Libya: just shut up! Russia had the chance to prevent this impending war against Libya and it has chosen to tacitly support military strike vote lead by the usual imperialists by its vote of absenting. I do not blame Russia for this since China and Brazil and India but also wise Germany also voted for take this dubious option. If Germany had the courageous to vote absenting from this aggressive war Russia should have the moral courage to vote no. But that did not happened; thus, we can assume that Biden’s recent trip to Moscow was successful. Only what is clearly demonstrated here is Russia is no global leader; that Russia’s weakness cannot be masked and that called Brick bloc does not represent an alternative to the unilateral global dominance of the empire. We know Russia cannot resist the will of the empire and that is sad and tragic but Russia is not the Soviet Union. It is insecure country, headed by clearly insecure President. We just have to wait and see how things unfold from this point onward.

Has no-one spotted the enormous double standard here?  When Georgian forces fired Grad missiles at Tskhinvali on 7/8/08, Russian launched an all-out invasion "in defence of the civilian population".
Gaddafi has been killing his fellow Libyans for weeks (including through the use of Grad rocket attacks), and the best Russia can do is abstain from a UN Security Council vote seeking to protect civilians.
If Russia is so concerned about the impact of UN-sponsored military action on regional stability, maybe it should withdraw from South Ossetia and Abkhazia, as its intervention there did not have UN coverage and is just as destabilizing.

Zimbru wrote in #2

Has no-one spotted the enormous double standard here?  When Georgian forces fired Grad missiles at Tskhinvali on 7/8/08, Russian launched an all-out invasion "in defence of the civilian population".

Nope. No double standard. 

Funny how you forgot to mention that Russia was on a peace keeping mission in Tskhinal for many years prior to 08/08/08. And that it was their job to deal with the Georgian aggression.

Say US had its peace keepers separating two sides in a country right at it's border, and one side attacked another killing those peace keepers in the process. You would expect US to go to UN for approval? Good luck with that. Now, what you were saying about double standards?

I just don't understand. I do not understand why Russia did not block this. And then to have anyone from the Russian government warn about a possible invasion? What an insult. What happened to Russia?

Nothing could have stopped Russia from resisting if it wanted to, so I wonder what Biden offered Medvedev that's only going to be renegged in all likelihood like everything else they say they'll do. I wonder why Medvedev would allow it, knowing that the US is already violating the very arms embargo it supported and got into effect on Libya.

Instability in the ME is very good for oil producing countries/corporations.

These "peaceful protesters" just happened to wonder into military bases (took a wrong turn did they?) arm themselves and (by pure coincindence, you understand) they siezed the strategic oil refinery locations in the East and West of the country (Ras Lanuf, Brega, Zawiya etc...). Alas PR1O1 is right in his analysis. For whatever reason Russia and China are so terrified of the NATO Axis that they don't even dare use their power of veto. Sad times, indeed.

This is a pre-arranged "invasion" of Libya and its oil assets, by the banksters of the West.

We had read in the media that civilians have been killed yet no footage of that or any proof..and yes rebels have to be dealt with and how come they have all those arms from where?..  so if the West is arming them then the blood is also in the Western countries hands.. the West is making this look like Gaddafi is killing people as a justification to invade. Why? Oil oh yes. And the British know that if Gaddafi prevails they are in big trouble.. so that’s why they want if out.. no idea what France wants maybe oil as well. I was really surprised that Russia did not veto it.. why I wonder?

 We know what Is Ghaddafi all about, We knew what is the nature of western countries, we knew what their only nterest is oil. But, because of this huge amount of misleading information from  main stream medias, there was some doubt  regarding the real nature of this so called "revolution". Now we can see clearly: What kind of revolution beggs for Western Imperial forces intervention? Shame on them.

I just wonder why the people of Darfur or Tibet were not protected?

If Russia not take any action against west Imperialism at this moment. There it is no any occasion in future. Russia must insist on “all necessary measures to protect civilians." which that clear it meaning is NATO also unauthorized to Assassinate any Libyan civilian. It's has always must take decision to protect Libyan civilian rather than protect NATO properties. Have to pressure on it. we don't want to hear in future that NATO also killing Libyan civilians. This is not the Afghanistan or the Iraq where they inventions earlier without per authorized issue from the UNSC. Russia always must insist and warn on this “all necessary measures to protect civilians." issue favor to Libyan civilian. Russia must have to pressure to UN and NATO when we (no problem boycotted vote) UN decided to sanction actions on the Libya it was a single country and it must be always a single country in the further and we hope that there is no any dividing where people can't trust anymore UN activities. Russia, China can beautifully pressure one those things to UN and to NATO.

China and Russia are letting western powers committ same mistake again and again.We can t say that this  diplomatic strategy is not cynical but arn't they all?

No change of regime can be done through airstrickes, it will need ground force invasion. and tha is another story. France and England together again as in the Suez canal affair will certainly try  with US air, intelligence and logistic support. it will be intersting to see what will be the tunisian and egyptian army participation. Let's hope that  both egytian and tunisian  people  won t let their army serve  the empire again. That would be an arab revolution.

We are witnessing a typical scenarios of an American military fiasco in the making:
1. Weeks of indecision and confusion while America's Kenyan president, Barak Hussein Obama, dribbles basketballs, takes trips, plays golf and sleeps.2. When Obama finally is shaken awake by Hillary and told to pay attention to his role as the "president of America", a bewildering, reckless look comes across his face and he calls for the advice of his Pentagon generals.3. Obama's generals are hot-to-trot for another "little war" and present their now famous "contingency plans" to strike Libya.4. This is followed by a frantic rush to construct a facade of "Coalition of the Willing" nations to give the American military option legitimacy.5. Then the brave American pilots launch a midnight sneak "shock and awe" attack against Libya, killing men, women and children - as they did in Iraq.6. After the initial attack the Obama looks at his Pentagon generals and asks: "... now what??.."7. Obama decides to go back to sleep and his Pentagon generals are gleefully looking forward for more attacks on Libya.
Russia, China, and Germany were clever to stay out of this brewing American military fiasco in Libya.

Russia acted decisively to protect her nationals when that madman Saaksahvili attacked S. Ossetia.  
Neither Barak Hussein Obama, Hillary Clinton, nor their general pals at the Pentagon, have the slightest clue as to how to deal with the problem in Libya.  Their response is to rev up the bombers, armed with cruise missiles and cluster bombs, and send them off to bomb the defenseless people of another country.  America "The Beautiful" - sure.                                                    
How many millions of tons of explosives and napalm have the Americans now dropped on Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Serbia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan????

The problem here is that the UN should have intervened earlier to save the lives of civilians and the reason that Russia didn't support the intervention is that it's selling arms to dictatorships like Gaddafi's Libya.

we can see the meltdown of Russia or at east the unmasking that this country has never recovered the collapse of the Soviet Union. The West can ignore Russia. More critical is who in the Paris meeting when it comes to Arab leaders? Most of them are fighting or suppressing their population. So the meeting in Paris cannot be about the defense of the civilian population in Libya. So we see if this colonial project succeeds of fails but Russia is not active agent of history at this moment. It was not able to steer the events unfolding in the Arab world away from western military interventions that will bring not peace but death and destruction in mass scale. Russians are happing with little things at this moment and they will receive little goodies from London, Paris and Washington by not spoiling this show. Last night I’ve one of the Soviet films called Liberation. Anybody who has ever seen these films or actual documentary of the Eastern Front on WWII, know today Russia is mere shadow of the Soviet Union both in military might and in human spirit.

Sorry few typo corrections: we can see the meltdown of Russia or at east the unmasking that this country has recovered from the collapse of the Soviet Union. The West can ignore Russia. More critical is who is in the Paris meeting when it comes to Arab leaders? Most of them are fighting or suppressing their populations. So the meeting in Paris cannot be about the defense of the civilian population in Libya. So we see and wait if this colonial project succeeds of fails but Russia is not active agent of history at this moment. It was not able to steer the events unfolding in the Arab world away from western military interventions that will bring not peace but death and destruction in mass scale. Russians are happy with little things at this moment and they will receive little goodies from London, Paris and Washington by not spoiling this show. Last night I’ve one of the Soviet films called Liberation. Anybody who has ever seen these films or actual documentary of the Eastern Front in WWII knows that today’s Russia is a mere shadow of the Soviet Union both in military might and in human spirit.

Has America abdicated her "leadership" role in the Libyan affair??  Sure seems like it.
Any of you getting the feeling that America's first Kenyan president, Barak Hussein Obama, tends to disappear as soon as a crisis erupts.  While the European leaders are meeting in Paris today to determine what military action to take against Libya, Obama is nowhere to be seen.  Where is Barak Hussein Obama when his country is about to get into another war??? Obama is where he has always been when a crisis erupts - as far away from decision making as possible, say Argentina for example.
I am truly surprised that the American people, who are known for their naivete, would be so naive as to vote this Kenyan to be their president without knowing anything about his life-long pattern of failing to accept responsibility for any important decision making.  He simply refuses to make a decision - which was his pattern when he served in the Illinois senate.
So now, NATO finds itself without American leadership just at the moment when an important decision has to be made with respect to a military attack on Libya. Perhaps, it's better that Obama is grinning and playing basketball in South America, because he would make a total fool out of himself in Paris.
At least President Bush was involved in the decision and planning of attack on Afghanistan and Iraq. 
I suspect the folks in Kremlin have a good idea as to who  Barak Hussein Obama is.

Mee: "The problem is that the UN should have intervened earlier to save lives of civilians..."
Like they did when America attacked Afghanistan and Iraq???
The UN does not seem to be concerned about the civilians killed by American drones and predator missiles in Pakistan.  Almost 40 Pakistani civilians were killed by Americans yesterday, and as usual, the UN takes no action except to say "sorry about that".