Friday, March 18, 2011

Anyone Else Notice That The Nations Abstaining in the U.N. Libya Vote Were the BRICS?

The vote was 10-0-5 with the five abstainers being India, China, Russia, Germany and Brazil.
One of these is not like the others.
From Foreign Policy's Passport blog:

The BRIC Wall
We'll have much more on the implications of what just transpired on the security council, but it's worth taking note right now of the countries that abstained from voting for a no-fly zone consist of the so-called BRIC countries, as well as longtime security council aspirant Germany.
David Bosco notes
"The fissure in the UN between a Western-led interventionist group and a "sovereignty bloc" led by Moscow and Beijing, but with real appeal to key emerging powers like Brazil, South Africa and India... may be one of the most critical dynamics at the UN. For the moment, the West still has the pull to carry the day. Whether that will be true a decade from now is anyone's guess. "
Moreover, this is a debate in which the Western powers are actually pushing for a system under which it is far less likely that their vision of global governance will hold sway....MORE
The Times of India notes:
Libya thanks countries that abstained UN vote
I'm trying to picture Muammar giving Frau Merkel a big smooch. I think she'd deck him
(Chinese Laugh At Gordon Brown Kiss Of Chancellor Merkel)
A neck rub à la George Bush might be nice though.
From Deutsche Welle:
Opinion: Germany isolates itself with Libyan vote abstention