Posted on 02/21/2008 11:04:42 AM PST by 11th_VA
BELGRADE, Serbia - Serb rioters broke into the U.S. Embassy Thursday and set fire to an office after a massive protest against Kosovo's independence that drew an estimated 150,000 people.
Masked attackers broke into the building, which has been closed this week, and tried to throw furniture from an office. A blaze broke out inside one of the offices and parts of the facade also caught fire.
Authorities drove armored jeeps down the street and fired tear gas to clear the crowd. The protesters dispersed into side streets where they continued clashing with authorities.
The neighboring Croatian Embassy also was attacked by the same group of protesters.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack strongly urged the Serbian government to protect the U.S. Embassy. He said the U.S. ambassador was at his home and was in contact with U.S. officials.
More than a dozen nations have recognized Kosovo's declaration of independence on Sunday, including the United States, Britain, France and Germany.
But the declaration by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leadership has been rejected by Serbia's government and the ethnic Serbians who populate northern Kosovo. Russia, China and numerous other nations have also condemned the declaration, saying it sets a precedent that separatist groups around the world will seek to emulate.
Kosovo, which is 90 percent ethnic Albanian, has not been under Belgrade's control since 1999, when NATO launched airstrikes to halt a Serbian crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists. A U.N. mission has governed Kosovo since, with more than 16,000 NATO troops and KFOR, a multiethnic force, policing the province.
But Serbia — and Kosovo's Serbs, who make up less than 10 percent of Kosovo's population — refuse to give up Kosovo, a territory considered the ancient cradle of Serbs' state and religion.
Earlier Thursday, police estimated that about 150,000 people had attended a rally in the Serbian capital. The crowd waved Serbian flags and carried signs reading "Stop USA terror." One group set fire to a red-and-black Albanian flag.
The U.S. embassy in Belgrade burns after masked attackers broke into the building and set an office on fire at the end of a massive protest against Western-backed Kosovo independence, in the Serbian capital, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008. More than 150,000 Serbs gathered at the rally vowing to retake the territory which is viewed as Serbia's religious and national heartland. (AP Photo)
Prayers Up...
Ya’ll Be Safe...
That "you" is very revealing.
It's a poorly kept secret that the Chinese were using their embassy to assist Serbia against NATO assets - but not for very long :).
Serbia and Russia are historic allies. Russia has ties to the Balkens that go back hundreds of years. It is simply trying to defend one of its allies. On the other hand we are moving into a region in which we have no historical ties and have occupied the territory of a sovereign territory of one of Russia’s allies. I see how we are provoking Russia - I fail to see how Russia is provoking us.
Is that story number 16 or number 17 that NATO told about why we bombed the Embassy. I thought it was the bad maps, or, oh wait, perhaps a mistake by the CIA’s poorly trained staff that couldn’t be stopped in time. So, if China’s embassy was supporting the Serbs how is that any different from U.S. who are sopporting the Albanian Rebels in Kosovo against the legitemite Serbian Government.
True. Let’s go trash the UN building!
You were screaming at the TV? I wish I had the ability to do so myself. But I was at work when I saw the pictures. And it’s generally not a good idea to scream at the TV at work in front of your boss. Especially when your “job” is the military, and your “boss” is a full-bird Colonel. So no screaming for me. :-(
“..he has to prove that he doesn’t favor Christians and in fact doesn’t even give them routine protection.”
Then don’t claim to be a Christian. I hope that this is not going to bite him in the hereafter.
.
It was sorta embarrassing since I usually don’t scream at inaminate objects but refreshing in a way ;) The kids were concerned since I was all “red in the face” lol. But we had a wonderful discussion on the topic so it was all good.
Don’t worry, I screamed enough for both of us, and half the military at least. Then screamed some more when my husband got home and as he stated “I’m not the enemy and while you’re at it take a look at the front page article in the courierpost.” Then I screamed about that. I was having a screaming day :) My Church and some Muslim church signed some agreement about the new muslim center in Voorhees, NJ. I’m still trying to find info about this.
What are you? A jihadist drama queen?
I just hope that Americans know that Serbs was always good guys and always on right side and that on the end they always win.
Serb break Osmanlian empire,Austro-Hungarian Empire,and Hitler have bad memories from Serbia so maybe next is USA if they don’t change politics.
Welcome, Dalibor.
I understand where you’re coming from. I am sure your nation is feeling like they’ve been left hanging from a cliff with a very frayed rope about now.
I kind of figured this reaction would occur in Serbia, but that doesn't make it any less painful to watch as an American. I believe that the United States made the "right" decision in supporting independence for Kosovo. People on this forum can spend all day arguing about what did or didn't happen 800 years ago, but all we can really control is what happens in the present. The Serbians need to understand that you cannot treat people the way they did and expect things to just stay status quo. I think it is unrealistic for them to expect legitimizing treatment (such as EU membership) by the west when nationalist fringe elements still run the country and their two worst war criminals are at large. Where are Mladic and Karadzic? Romania? Belgrade? Pale? They are still loved and well protected, for sure.
I posted about this the other day here;
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1972252/posts?page=102#102
I for one understand how you feel completely. Clinton got us involved in a conflict that has been going on longer than his brain has the ability to contemplate. If Bush had any sense he would have been out of there years ago. This is none of America’s business and we should never have been involved in the first place.
Now Bush has come out on the side of this session which is a compounding of the earlier stupidity. What happened to his promise that he would not be a nation builder? What national interest of the USA is there in being there? We don’t have a horse in this race.
Any moron that thinks they are going to go into the Balkans and “fix it” is not looking at history and that is a very stupid thing to do when you are running a country.
So what have we got here? We have major powers lining up on each side of this because some of them shouldn’t be over there and the others can’t let this secession stand because it causes problems all over the world if it does!
Well GW this is a fine mess you’ve gotten us into!
This just shows that you don't really know what went on in Kosovo
I don’t think Russia is going to be real happy about another Islamic state with ties to the Chechens....
“This is probably closest of all to the example of appeasing Hitler in his territorial moves.”
This is a repeat of the story of the Sudetenland all over again - someone giving the enemy something that doesn’t belong to him. It’s called kneepad politics.
Please tell me what the Serbians did. Less than 10,000 people died TOTAL in 1999. That’s counting OUR airstrikes against the Serbs. Afterwards, 200,000 Serbs were forced out of Kosovo (a fact the media conveniently forgets when they mention that only 120,000 live there now). Hundreds of Orthodox churches have been burned and vandalized.
I know what happened at Srebrenica, by the way. 6,000 Muslims were massacred there. By Serbs. I acknowledge that. In fact, I wrote my history thesis in college about that very event. I also, however, know about all of the other massacres. Including the Muslim massacres of Serbs. Which YOU conveniently forget. I also know that the crackdown in 1999 was started when the KLA, listed as a TERRORIST GROUP by the US, began an armed effort to violently break Kosovo from Serbia.
Slobodan Milosevic said, while in prison, that the West would understand the Balkans better when the Muslims started blowing us up as well. Nobody in the world is better at picking a fight, then crying for concessions when they get their tail kicked, than Muslims.
They send suicide bombers into pizza parlors in Tel Aviv, then act enraged when Israel attacks them back. They behead Russian POW’s in Chechnya and try to blow up Opera Houses in Moscow, then cry to the world when Russian drops hate on them in a big way. They fly jetliners into the WTC and Pentagon, and can’t figure out why we’re bombing Afghanistan. And they sided with the Huns in WWI and the Nazis in WWII, and have massacred the Serbs during World War I AND II (while totally killing off the Jewish population, btw), and then cry out to Western powers when the Serbs finally get the upper hand.
And ignorant people like you buy it. Just so you know, I passed a college stand last year. The guy manning it was asking people to sign petitions. One was to demand the US government to recognize Kosovo. The other petitions he had were to cut ties with Israel, pull out of Iraq, and end our illegal treatment towards Cuba. That should show you who’s side you are on in this battle.
Excellent post my man!
Salute!
I was reading a white paper from Heritage the other day and it contained a good quote from Margaret Thatcher, which is still very relevant: "[I]t would be both cruel and stupid to expect the Albanian Kosovans now to return to live under any form of Serbian rule." I have to agree. This seems so straightforward to me, I guess I'm surprised to see so many opinions to the contrary.
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