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)
LOL
And bombing them for fighting the Mohammedan terrorists and invaders was what?
It was a war crime. It was a crime against humanity. We started this for no good reason. The Serbs did nothing to us, and were our allies in two world wars. The Mohammedans fought with the Third Reich. There was even an Albanian SS Division. We bombed their cities and infrastructure in support of the Mohammedan terrorists they were fighting in their own country.
If the illegal aliens declared independence in our Southwest and Mexico recognized them as a country, wouldn’t you burn the Mexican Embassy? I sure as hell would!
We are, and have been, in the wrong in this case.
Exactly!...Legacy Time.
I'm with those who say that we were way too hasty to recognize Kosovo. I mean, it was almost instantaneous, as if we'd been given the heads up and had the document ready and waiting to go. The question is why?
The only reason which occurs to me (apart from gross incompetence, which may indeed be the case), is that this is seen by the US government as a single piece in a much larger jig-saw puzzle; namely the question of attempting to win over the hearts and minds of moderate Muslims and moderate Islamic nations, if there are such things. By recognizing a declaration of independence by a new Muslim nation, I think Bush is saying "OK, now you guys owe us one! We've helped Kosovo, now help us to fight al-Qaeda!" In other words, a trade-off
Probably a complete waste of time and utterly naive but that may be where Bush is coming from.
The Serbs are the fall guys in this deal of course and they get ripped off but we've probably decided that they don't really matter in the grand scheme of things. They obviously think we feel this way also, which is why they've just trashed our embassy
You must be if you never studied history. In the Civil War, the North invaded the South and the South invaded the North. Conclusion... Monty must be the idiot. Go to the corner and put on the dunce hat...
Yes, we need to differentiate the Ghegs and the Tosks.
I doubt they see it that way especially after we have gone out of our way to establish a bastion of radical Islam in Europe.
In light of the Abu Ghraib scandal, extradordinary renditions and tactics used at Gitmo, most of the world regards America as a nation that uses sexual assault and torture as instruments of national policy.
There is no "point" that can be made that would allow a real American to justify the burning of an American embassy.
I understand that the Serbs are sore losers and have lots and lots of sob stories about how mean everyone except Serbs are.
If they do not want a US embassy because they think the US has done them some injustice, they can simply revoke our diplomatic accreditation, compensate us for our diplomatic property and pull our diplomats' visas.
After all, that would be following the international law that Serbs are suddenly such well-versed experts in.
I can only imagine that there is a U.S./Russian power struggle going on here, otherwise our support of Kosovo’s independce makes little sense. But what we hope to accomplish other than angering Russia, providing fodder for European America haters, increasing the sphere of Muslim dominance and doing great and fatal damage to what should be our Christian brethren in the Balkans is beyond me.
They attack US Soil in a technical sense, this is an act of war. Unless you are saying it is an abandoned embassy
It was a very poor decision on the part of the Progressive Lite President here in the US. Progressive Lite used to be the GOP but have turned into quasi socialists with Madman McCain at the helm. Dear God we are DOOMED!!
“This is in fact, an act of war, folks.”
Well, we committed an acto f war and violated international law when Clinton started “Operation Stained Dress” and bombed Serbia.
Anyone who excuses the burning of a US embassy is not an American.
Period.
I can’t wait until we start bombing Israel so we can have a Palestinian state, can you?
I’m not sure I follow. Had we not been there bombing Christians into the stone age there would have been nothing to shoot down. Think of how they drum up support with lies in Pallywood and you get a better idea of what went on in the former Yugoslavia.
exactly
it was wesley clark and clinton what helped ethnically cleanse kosovo of serbs
it is a serb country
the albaninas move in through immigration then they started to ethnically cleanse the native serbs
when the serbs went to do something christianna ammanpour was there showing the world how those poor albanians were being diplaced yet never telling anyone about how the serbs had been booted out of their country
now bush says recognises indepndeance
clinton diod this to apopease the muslims nothing more or less
clinton and wesley clark should be done for war crimes as well
Bush , well I have non idea what he is thinking but we certainly don’t need this
Nice pic. And I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment.
You've a good start. We should get out of the un, raze the building and build a super gun store on the property. I'm all for getting out of NATO as well.
Very nice Gillman. It proves nothing. Based on what the Serbs did in Bosnia... why would they do any different in Kosovo? Answer THIS question! Don’t go off in any meaningless tangent... Be a man and answer that question!!! But you can’t... can you? A Freeper and yet so clueless...
You must have failed critical thinking in school.
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