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)
The international laws that were broken in this process were supposed to be the 21st century guidelines. So what now?
With all due respect, please read some pre-90s history and get back to us.
Nobody "supported" the embassy burning. But a lot of us "understand" the motive behind it and it is a legitimate motive. What we don't understand is why the US Government chose to violate UN Resolution 1244 and recognize the independence of Kosovo, when that resolution guaranteed the territorial integrity and Kosovo as a Serbian province.
The seeds of war have been planted and the US Government has chosen to sow the seeds. We have embarrassed and humiliated the Russians so the question now becomes whether we are going to be willing to sacrifice American troops to ensure the territorial integrity of an independent Kosovo? We have bases there with American troops that are now in the sights of a pissed off Russian Army. That base represents the ONLY strategic military target in the "independent" republic of Kosovo. We should have kept out of this from the beginning.
America makes mistakes and Americans and Conservaties and Patriots need to be ready to criticize our government when it does stupid things like violating UN Resolution 1244 and recognizing Kosovo.
Our reaction should have been to announce that we were pulling our troops out of Kosovo, because our only reason for being there was because of UN Resolution 1244 and that was violated by Kosovo in declaring its independence.
We have now forced Putin's hand. We can only pray he folds. I don't think he will. Why would he?
Didn’t Serbia break away from the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century?
The later didn't have to occur at all.
Actually if you take a look at the whole conversation’s context and my other posts on this thread you’ll see I’m certainly arguing the opposite thing from what you perceived from just that one post. It’s out of context. The Albanian apologist I was answering was suggesting the US bomb Serbia and initiate WWIII with Russia because of the Embassy incident. I certainly know who’s land that is - it was more of a rhetorical thing.
True. If you want to continue to believe they are unrelated, that's your right.
But one question. Did you support clinton's bombing of Serbia?
A bit muddled too.
You have so many dots that don’t connect in there it’s hard to put a response together that wouldn’t be 5 times as long.
The ethnic problems in the US come only because there are not limits on what is being done. We are not going to see assimilation at current immigration rates. The US Latino population may loose connections to their home country but they are not going to GET a connection to this one. Not in it’s present form anyway. This is a cultural take over of the country by force of numbers. It won’t make a difference if California or Texas breaks away. In time they will control everything through the democratic process.
The Balkans are another matter altogether. If you followed the history there you would know that. Wanting a 500 year long ongoing conflict to go away because it “makes sense” is a very naïve way to look at the problem. Tito held it together for half a century and here it is again. If one side or the other had stayed atheist after communism it could have worked. The bad way for Europe would have been a conversion to Islam. The best would have been for only the Christians to have came back to life. That is other than just remaining atheist. All this is no more than wishful thinking.
The Serbs are in a weak position right now. Watch what happens as the oil screws get tighter. Neither Europe or the US is going to be able to maintain power enough to deal with these little festering wounds all over Europe and the middle east. Just as there has been a major shift in power to all oil producing countries in the last 8 years there is going to be an ongoing economic drain for the west. We are at the other side of our power peak because we let our energy supply get out of our control. The weak Serb position will soon enough be backed by Russia and Europe will cave in time. Russia will keep this pressure up if for no other reason than to keep oil prices high. That is all they have to do to ruin the US and the west. The oil war is coming because we won’t do what has to be done to stop it.
Just hit a few points but I have to go to work. LOL
What's your point?
Nope. But that doesn't mean I'm willing to blame every bone-headed decision of the current administration on Clinton either.
Well they’re being chummy on this issue because they have a number of ‘provinces’ where ethnic whatever Muslims (Uighurs, I believe) are spoiling for a seccesionst fight just like Chechnya, and a boatload of other places. They see this as a very, very dangerous precedent allowing people to redraw borders. As crazy at that may be (/sarc) I agree with them on that principle in the least, not to mention giving islamic insurgents their own country in the middle of Europe...
I agree with you
Well, we certainly agree on Iraq. We also see Kosovo similarly except that I think it may be more significant than you do. Then again, maybe we’re forcing a Russion hand that we want to force.
I dunno, but time will tell.
Russia’s internal issues are less of a problem in their mind than you think. They are considering this yes but it’s not a major concern as long as the oil price stays up.
If anything happens inside Russia they are just going to crush it just like they did Chechnya. They don’t want them getting any ideas but I don’t think any of them (the potential secessionists) have any illusions about what would happen.
Everything right now that Russia does is about the price of oil. It’s their ticket back to true world power status
If you are going to argue that hundreds of thousands of Serbs being pushed out of Kosovo (and Krajina for that matter) was not Genocide. Are going to be consistant and admit that Srbrenica (while a terrible war crime) was not genocide either.
I do side with our brave Iraqi allies as they help us destroy the terrorists. But I suppose Iraqis are also your enemy because most of them are Muslims.
You fell for Osama’s trap. He wanted us to pick a fight with all of Islam in order muddy the waters and save his sorry ass. But, now as you see in the world, most Muslims side with us.
But if you and that nut Osama want to have a holy war have at it. Just leave the rest of us out of it.
Now that sounds like a Good Lent. :-)
Hear, Hear!
He should have kicked the crap out of Slobo long before that or at least let the Bosnians arm themselves so that they could cap the criminals holed up in the hills above Sarajevo.
Serbs should have capped Izetbegovic while they had him in custody, would have ended it right there.
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