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)
Look at the link in post #200. There is evidence there that has yet to be refuted. Please, read that first and then we can debate this on equal terms.
Hey, I got an idea....why don’t you refer to Pres. Bush as Jorge in every single one of your posts. It’s such a mature method of discourse.
depends on who wins. the victor writes the history
great post
no one seems to know much about how serbs were ethnically cleansed from their own country by albanians and helped by certain countries led by wesley clark and clinton
as for Bush
seems both presidents are to balme here all because they want muslim appeasment
about time for the media to tell the truth and tepp everyone how serbs were forced fromtheir homes before the serb army went in
clinton and wesley clark should be up for war crimes and we are on the wrong side of this
Dude! Thank you! You would BELIEVE the insults and demagoguery that I have gotten for stating this position! My position was all groups hate each other and NONE of them are right when it comes to genocide and rapes. And I still haven't gotten an answer WHY we have to step in and stop the fighting. It is in the Europeans' backyard. Can't they take care of their messes?
Can we finally, finally put an end to all this and have a global Crusades? Let’s just freaking finish this instead of continuing to let it fester.
You’re right.
I agree with you this time. Miracles never cease.:)
Agreed. Just wait until Azatlan declares independence from the USA and how Americans will feel if China bombs Washington DC to force American troops out of what used to be called California and Nevada.
First of all what does Bosnia have to do with Kosovo? Srebrenica has a lot of blood on the muslim side of the isle that never wants to be talked about. Start another thread sparky.
You really don't have a clue, do you?
The place is and has ALWAYS been called "Kosovo Metohija" "Kosovo" translates to "Field of Blackbirds" in Serbian and has NO meaning in Albanian.(Nor does "Kosova", the Albanian bastardization of that name). "Metohija" means "Church/Monastery Land".
We are trying to turn it into "Land of the Mosques"!
Tito looks like an angel afterwards. He was a communist SoB, but he kept distance to the Soviets and had this HELLHOLE (it’s probably worse than the Middle East regarding deep rooted hatred) under control. If there only was a way to resurrect Tito.
View it through an islamist sympathizers and appeasers eye, then you will understand why they don't sympathize with them.
Dude, your the dumbass that dug your hole with making crap up, not me, and now you’re looking for an out. What a wuss.
Were it nonsense, then the following statement would be true:
"Americans support the burning of US embassies."
Thank you for reducing your own argument to an absurdity.
Thomas Jefferson would probably be somewhat sympathetic to this grassroots rebellion against a travesty.
Pretty much every anti-American traitor has invoked Thomas Jefferson to justify lawlessness at some point or other.
In reality, Thomas Jefferson openly negotiated with the Pasha of Tripoli despite his violent provocations on the open sea - until the Pasha's subjects vandalized the US consulate in Tripoli and the Pasha refused to apologize or punish those responsible.
At that point, Jefferson went to war.
No I don’t. Serbia doesn’t deserve to govern other territories based on their actions. The South based on slavery. Stop insulting me. I’m not the enemy. I encapsulated my position on post #285.
great post
but the medioa are not telling everyone how the ,muslim albanians have been forceing serbs formtheir won country this was the reason why the serb amy went on in the first place
Bush needs to pull back on this and get on the serb side as all we are doing is ethnically cleansing the native serbs and helping muslim fanatics
Now where is the far left to denounce the ethnica cleansing done by clinton and wesley clark
seems even the media don’t knwo the full story
I was over there and saw first hand how the serbs were scared and had to have a army protection as their churches were beng atttacked and burnt along with them inside, all done by muslim fanatical muslim albanians
This is what Clinton should have been impeached for, not his loose zipper. And now—it is time for the I-word again. The lame duck is running wild, donating our money freely to failed states in Africa and anywhere in the world especially Muzzie-controled areas. He has time now to take us to the brink—tell me why he should not be immediately stopped, and let Dick Cheney take over ?
Don’t care. They are all bad. Read my post on #285 before responding anymore please...
You encapsulated nothing, Serbs were Ottoman slaves for 500 years, you are in no position to be lecturing about slavery.
Again. Don’t care. They are all bad. Read my post at #285 before responding. I’m not the enemy. And I certainly won’t defend Muslims either...
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